MUMBAI, India: Aamir Khan says he’s happy he’s been able to entertain people during his quarter-century as a Bollywood star.

His debut film, “Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak,” which premiered 25 years ago Monday, starred Khan opposite newcomer Juhi Chawla in a modern Romeo-and-Juliet tale that created box-office history.

“I can’t believe how I have reached here, and I feel so happy from my heart that I was able to entertain people,” he told reporters at a press conference Monday. “I have tried to make a place for myself in each and every Indian heart, I feel very happy about this.”

In the past decade, he’s become one of Bollywood’s names and has the cachet to make any project he chooses.

Khan performed as a child actor in a couple of films, but his career took off with the success of “Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak.” Several films made through the 1990s were box-office hits.

In 2001, Khan turned producer with “Lagaan,“or “Tax,” a film on poor farmers in British-ruled India challenging their oppressors to a cricket match. The acclaimed period drama was nominated for an Oscar for best foreign language film.

He’s also thrown his weight behind social causes, joining anti-dam protesters and embracing an anti-corruption activist.

Khan says he sees his failures as being as important as his successes.

“I give importance to my wrong steps because I have (had) the opportunity to learn from them and I was able to improve myself.”

Known as a thinking person’s superstar, Khan’s latest movie was “Talaash” or “Search.”

Time magazine named him this month to its list of the world’s 100 most influential people.