Mumbai, Mar 14 : Celebrating his 44th birthday on Saturday, Bollywood actor Aamir Khan appealed people to exercise franchise in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

"Our vote is very crucial. And, everybody should use it in the right way. First of all, we should have knowledge about all the candidates who are contesting from our constituency. More often we do not even bother to have knowledge about the candidates. We do not even have the knowledge about the number of candidates contesting and their educational background," Aamir said while addressing the media persons and a large gathering of his fans outside his house in Bandra.

Aamir also thanked his fans for giving him support throughout his career.

"It has been an exciting journey. I am really happy and grateful for the kind of success I have got. I am very thankful to my fans who have given me support throughout my career. I am really happy with the way things have gone. It has been a learning experience. It has been an exciting journey," said Aamir.

Born on March 14, 1965 in Mumbai, Aamir first appeared on the silver screen as a child actor in his Uncle Nasir Hussain's film `Yaadon Ki Baaraat' in 1973.

Eleven years later, he made his adult acting debut in a role that went quite unnoticed in Ketan Mehta''s Holi (1984).

Khan''s first notable leading role came in 1988 in the film Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak which was directed by his cousin and Nasir Hussain''s son Mansoor Khan.

After that, he went on to appear in several other films in the late `80s and early `90s: Dil (1990), which became the highest grossing film of the year, Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin (1991), Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar (1992), Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke (1993) (for which he also wrote the screenplay), and Rangeela (1995). Most of these films were successful critically and commercially.

In 2001 he appeared in Lagaan. The film was a major critical and commercial success, and received a nomination for Best Foreign Language Film at the 74th Academy Awards.

In 2007, with the film `Taare Zameen Par' he marked his directorial debut. The film earned critical acclaim and was appreciated for bringing a dyslexic child's problems and feelings in front of society.

In 2008, Aamir appeared in the movie Ghajini. The film was a major commercial success and became the highest grosser of the year. (ANI)