Everybody needs a script. No actor is above script. Here the superstar persona towers over in India. You named Rajinikanth, that's the same with Salman in Hindi. That's the pattern they carefully followed post Wanted.
No, you read it like that about dhoom 3. I meant it positively. Aamir wants to speak from his work alone. Dhoom 3 was all style no substance. Aamir dislikes that part as he has carefully built a trust for over decades with the audience presenting the substance. He won't let a Dhoom 3 take away all that. PK & Dangal were well thought off to be the followed up films after Dhoom 3. And that is the reason why TOH is coming, a full on massive budget extravaganza. Aamir knows to balance.
In the 90s Aamir was all afraid his image. Late 90s he broke free of that fear by choosing not to hold onto any image. Action image was not possible as even Salman was struggling. Romance image was owned by Shah Rukh & it was impossible for anybody to survive or even face him in that image post DDLJ. 1947 Earth didn't happen overnight. Aamir was careful learning to balance between a Ishq & Mann with that of Sarfarosh & Ghulam. Mela was the final nail in the coffin & Lagaan changed his perception forever.
You see, only masala is not the reason. You only see this as a fan. For me movies are a deeper emotion. A vast subject to study. I didn't do a film course just to throw away money. I did my course coz I love it. You only read between lines. I study & present the facts. Actor's job is to act, do whatever the director asks them to. Superstar has to think further as that is part of our film culture & audience sentiment.
In the end, you spend crores of money on a story & you want people to watch it. To make people watch it you ensure you tell the story in a way they want to listen. So the PK & Dangal were the dumbed down 70s narration style which again a BB or Sultan had. Even Aamir experiments only with Secret Superstar or Dhobi Ghat or even Talaash. Rest, for his event films he follows old school bollywood style to please the audience. In case of PK, Raju's style complimented. In case of Dangal, Aamir made Nitish to narrate that way.