Aamir Khan Talks About His On Screen Relationship With Fatima Sana Shaikh: “Not Her Father Or Boyfriend”
Hyderabad: Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan has finally addressed the long-standing conversation around his pairing with actor Fatima Sana Shaikh in the 2018 period drama Thugs of Hindostan. The actor, in a recent interview with a newswire, spoke about how the casting came to be and the challenges the makers faced in finding a female lead.
According to Aamir, several top actresses turned down the film before Fatima Sana Shaikh, who had earlier played his daughter in the 2016 blockbuster Dangal, was cast in the lead opposite him. Directed by Vijay Krishna Acharya and produced by Yash Raj Films’ Aditya Chopra, Thugs of Hindostan also featured Amitabh Bachchan and Katrina Kaif, but struggled to find a suitable female lead for Aamir’s character.
“This was another issue that Adi and Victor had,” Aamir said, referring to producer Aditya Chopra and director Vijay Krishna Acharya. “No heroine said yes to that film. Deepika, Alia, and Shraddha – everyone said no. That film was offered to probably everyone in the entire industry, but that one role was not getting locked.”
Eventually, Fatima Sana Shaikh was selected based on her audition performance. However, the creative team was hesitant about portraying a romantic angle between her and Aamir, given their prior on-screen father-daughter relationship in Dangal. “Ultimately, Victor went with Fatima. Victor and Adi said, ‘Fatima’s test is good, let’s take her, but we won’t keep your romance with her because she is your daughter in that film (Dangal). How can she be your girlfriend in this one? Audience will reject it’,” Aamir said.
Responding to this concern, Aamir shared his perspective, firmly stating that he believes the audience is capable of distinguishing between fiction and reality. “I don’t believe in all of this. Main asal mein thodi uska baap hoon, aur na asal mein main uska boyfriend hoon. Hum log film bana rahe hain bhai. (I am not actually her father, nor am I actually her boyfriend. We are making a film),” he said.
He also cited past examples from Hindi cinema to support his point, pointing out that megastar Amitabh Bachchan has successfully played both romantic and familial roles opposite the same actress. “Bachchan has played Rakhee’s lover as well as her son. He had done the same with Waheeda ji. This has happened historically. We are underestimating our audience if we say that.”
Despite the film’s ensemble cast and massive budget, Thugs of Hindostan failed to impress critics and audiences, ultimately bombing at the box office. Aamir admitted that he wasn’t satisfied with the final outcome of the film.
He revealed that he had been shocked when he watched the film and had told the makers that he didn’t understand it. At first, they had thought he was joking. He had also said that it wouldn’t work even for a day. However, they didn’t want him to interfere with it, as they were the director and producer of the film and had the final say.
