Mumbai, June 30

Superstar Aamir Khan, who is set to appear as an 'item boy' in the number "I hate you as I love you" in his production "Delhi Belly", makes it very clear that the song is an integral part of the story and not just a promotional gimmick.

"The item number was not done for the promotion of the film. It's there because the director and the writer felt that it needed to be included. The character of Disco Fighter was always in the script. Even when the first draft came, it had Disco Fighter," Aamir told IANS in an interview.

"But Disco Fighter had no scene. It was a character which appeared on the wall. Arup (Vir Das) in the film is a big fan of Disco Fighter. When he goes to see a film he goes to see Return of Disco Fighter.

"There is another character called VJ Suhaya. In the opening scenes of the film he speaks about having a song 'I hate you as I love you' and all that. So by the end of the film, the song comes that he was talking about. It has a link with the story of the film. So it was required," he said.

Aamir maintained that his filmmaker wife Kiran Rao insisted that he be the face of the song.

"This idea of, I would say, item bomb came suddenly to Abhinay and Akshat and Kiran also loved it. When Kiran asked me to do it, I took it up," he said.

Directed by Abhinay Deo, "Delhi Belly" is a youth-centric bold film, which stars Imran Khan, Vir Das and Kunal Roy Kapoor.

However, Mr. Perfectionist is aware that his last minute entry might raise the expectation of his audience to a certain height, but he insists it won't decide the fate of the film.

"We want to excite the audience. Yes, the attention would shift momentarily, but no film can work on an item song. I think the film has to work in itself. Until the film is made well at its level, audiences won't love it. If audiences won't love it, the film can't be successful. True test would be on 1st July," said Aamir.

Incidentally, megastar Amitabh Bachchan is also featured in an item number "Go Meera" in his film "Bbuddah Hoga Terra Baap", which is releasing on the same day as "Delhi Belly".

But Aamir says there is no competition with Big B.

"I don't feel any competition. I would definitely not compete with Amitji because I don't think I am capable of competing with him," said Aamir.

He added that there is enough audience for more than two films to run and succeed simultaneously.

"I think we have such a big audience of 1.4 billion that two, three, four cinemas releasing at a time is a non-issue. There is space for all films. Films have to be good then only they will run," he said.