Aamir Khan reveals Sitaare Zameen Par almost starred Farhan Akhtar, Sivakarthikeyan

India Today

13 hours ago

Ever since the trailer of Aamir Khan's Sitaare Zameen Par released, fans have been praising the actor's performance as Gulshan, the ill-mannered basketball coach to neurodivergent children. However, not many know that the Bollywood star had initially backed out of the film, and the makers had already signed Farhan Akhtar for the part. The plan was also to make the film in Tamil, with Sivakarthikeyan roped in for that version. But as they say, destiny has its own way, and Aamir eventually returned to the project.advertisementIn a group interview held in Mumbai on June 5, Khan opened up about working with RS Prasanna and recalled how the director had always envisioned him to play the lead role. While the superstar was fond of the story, he felt that the character was far removed from who he is. He even went on to suggest other actors who could portray the "ill-mannered, politically incorrect, rude, and arrogant man, who feels he is always right."The actor admitted working on the film after the failure of Laal Singh Chaddha, which left him distraught.
"I was heartbroken because I loved the film (Laal Singh Chadha). I still love it and think it's really a beautiful one. But the bulk of the audience didn't like it, so it was very heartbreaking for me. I called Prasanna and told him that I was depressed and wouldn't be able to work. I'm an emotional person, so it would have been tough for me to work on a film. I was crying and just didn't even want to leave the house. So I asked him to take someone else, and because he understood, he didn't want to force me. He asked me to stay on as producer and finalised Farhan Akhtar and Sivakarthikeyan."advertisementKhan further shared that the plan was to make two films, in Hindi and Tamil. The dates were locked, and Prasanna, Divya (the writer), and the superstar had multiple meetings, as he had certain inputs to share.'In that one week, within the first half an hour of the first day, as she was reading the script and discussing points, I suddenly felt, 'why am I not doing this film? It's such a good script, have I gone mad to let it go?' But I couldn't tell them anything. After a week, when we locked everything, I finally confessed my feelings, but told Prasanna that I wasn't expecting any action. He said, 'This is your film, you should do it',' he recalled.While the actor mentioned that the change was already done, the filmmaker referenced a Rajinikanth action scene where he forces a bullet back into the gun, hinting that things can always work around.Khan said that Prasanna then shared, 'You cannot deny me as a director because you were my first choice. For two years, I have been with you, so please don't do this'.'The 'Andaaz Apna Apna' actor added, 'I was in a dilemma because Farhan was also very excited and wanted to play it differently. While I tried to decline, they put so much emotional pressure on me that I finally spoke to them. I was honest with Farhan and Sivakarthikeyan, and they agreed. Farhan, of course, was disappointed. He told me, 'I really love the role, but you should do it because you were the first choice.' He was very sweet and supportive. Similarly, Sivakarthikeyan also told me, 'Why are you saying sorry? You do the film, it's your film.' They were both very sweet and supportive. So then, I finally came back to the film.'Sitaare Zameen Par will hit cinema halls on June 20.Must Watch