The slacker: Many years before Satyamev Jayate, Aamir much loved for playing no-good idlers - Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar's Sanjaylal Sharma, Andaz Apna Apna's hilarious Amar, Rang De Basanti's bike-riding DJ. Even in Ishq, his character Raja does very little other than goof around with his best friend.
The revenge-seeker: In both Raakh and Ghajini, Aamir's character becomes a vigilante of sorts, exacting deadly justice to avenge the rape of one female friend and the murder of another. In Rang De Basanti, Aamir's group of friends take the law into their own hands with tragic consequences after the government blames the death of an Air Force officer friend on 'pilot error.' Revenge is also the motivating factor behind his crimes in Dhoom: 3.
The tapori: One of Aamir's best-loved screen selves is Rangeela's Munna, with his technicolour clothes, his street-smart conversation and ready arsenal of hilarious one-liners. Ghulam's Siddhu is also a 'tapori,' albeit much less light-hearted than Munna.
The student: Aamir has been cast as a college or high-school student in several films - QSQT, Dil, Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar, Parampara, Love Love Love, Daulat Ki Jung. In Rang De Basanti he plays DJ, who repeatedly fails college. He was 44 when he played engineering student Rancho in 3 Idiots.
The knight in shining armour: In time-honoured Bollywood fashion, Aamir has swooped in to rescue damsels in distress in Dil Hain Ki Manta Nahin (poor little rich girl Pooja Bhatt on the run from her father) and Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke (poor little rich girl Juhi Chawla on the run from her father). However, there is no gender discrimination in Aamir's heroics. In Andaz Apna Apna, he and cohort Salman Khan rescue - or attempt to - their prospective father-in-law from the clutches of his evil twin Teja. In Ghulam, he saves the leader of a motorcycle gang from certain death on a railway track.
The righteous cop: Aamir has been in uniform more than once. In Baazi, he plays Inspector Amar Damjee pitted against the corrupt underling to the Chief Minister. In Sarfarosh, he plays ACP Ajay Rathod who uncovers cross-border terrorism while investigating illegal trafficking in weapons. In Talaash, he deals with the murder of a prostitute and subsequent blackmail.
