Aamir Khan On Casting Fatima Sana Shaikh As Lover In Thugs Of Hindostan After Dangal: 'Asal Mein Thodi Baap Hu'

News18

3 days ago

Aamir Khan reveals why Thugs of Hindostan flopped, casting rejections by top actresses, and his creative clashes with Aditya Chopra and Vijay Krishna Acharya.
For an actor known for picking quality scripts, Aamir Khan's Thugs of Hindostan came as a surprising misstep. Despite its big budget and star power, the film failed to meet expectations. Over time, Aamir has been candid about what went wrong — from casting struggles to major script changes that left him frustrated.
Speaking with The Lallantop, Aamir recalled how the female lead role wasn't easy to fill. Several top actresses turned it down before Fatima Sana Shaikh came on board. 'When we were casting for it, no other female actor said yes to this part. Deepika, Alia, Shraddha, they all refused. That film was offered to the entire industry but no one wanted to do it," he revealed. When asked if the script's quality was the reason, Aamir admitted that could have played a role.
Once Fatima was cast, another concern arose — their on-screen dynamic. Having played her father in Dangal, Aamir was now expected to play her love interest. The director decided to remove the romantic storyline entirely. 'We won't have a romantic track between you and her because she was your daughter in Dangal, how can she play your girlfriend here? Audience will reject this."
But Aamir strongly disagreed with this reasoning. 'I don't believe in all of this. Main asal mein thode uska baap hun, aur na asal mein main uska boyfriend hun. Hum log film bana rahe hain bhai," he said. He backed his point with an example from the past. 'Audience is not this stupid that they will think that he is the actual father. We are underestimating our audience if we say that."
He also revealed that the film kept changing from its original version. Aamir said the script was altered so many times that the final version felt unfamiliar. After the movie was completed, he got an enthusiastic call from producer Aditya Chopra. 'I have seen the first cut and it is a brilliant film. You have no idea what you have made."
But Aamir had a different reaction. 'I was shocked," he said. 'I told them I didn't understand it and at first, they thought I was joking. I told them this won't work for a day." The disagreement didn't end there. 'I would fight with them every day that we have made it all wrong. This is structurally incorrect."
He also revealed that one of the original ideas was to kill off Amitabh Bachchan's character at the interval — a major plot twist that was later scrapped. Aamir said he had little control over those choices. 'Vijay and Aditya were both convinced and they were very happy with it and they did not want me to interfere with it. They are the director and producer of the film and they have the final say."
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