Deepika, Alia, and Shraddha declined 'Thugs of Hindostan'; Aamir admitted his mistake; the film became a major disappointment after high expectations.
Aamir Khan: Aamir Khan, known as Mr. Perfectionist in Bollywood, always generates considerable excitement among audiences regarding his films. But what if there's an Aamir Khan film that even leading actresses refuse to do? This once happened, and that film was 'Thugs of Hindostan'.
Recently, Aamir Khan revealed in an interview that Deepika Padukone, Alia Bhatt, and even Shraddha Kapoor had declined to work on this big-budget film. This is not only shocking but also demonstrates that, sometimes, even superstars face challenges in the film industry.
'Thugs of Hindostan': High expectations turned into major disappointment
When 'Thugs of Hindostan' was released in 2018, audiences expected Aamir Khan to bring something new and powerful after films like 'Dangal' and 'PK'. The film's budget was also substantial, and everything from its trailer to its star cast seemed grand.
However, when the film reached theaters, it received not just mixed but negative responses from audiences and critics. The story was weak, the VFX disappointed, and Aamir's character was not particularly liked by the audience. The film flopped, and Aamir later considered it one of his biggest mistakes.
Why didn't the heroines want to do this film?
Aamir Khan recently revealed in an interview with a YouTube channel that there were many obstacles during the film's casting. He said:
'When we were casting for 'Thugs of Hindostan', no heroine was ready to do the film. Deepika refused, Alia also said no, and Shraddha Kapoor also declined the film.'
The interviewer was also surprised to hear this. Aamir clarified that these actresses, after reading the script, did not consider themselves suitable for it.
Katrina Kaif became the final option
When the other well-known actresses backed out of the film, Aamir and the team approached Katrina Kaif. Katrina had previously worked with Aamir in 'Dhoom 3', and their pairing was also quite liked.
Although Katrina's character in the film was limited and weak, she played it. Fatima Sana Shaikh was also in the film as the other female artist, who had previously played Aamir's daughter in 'Dangal'.
Questions were also raised about Fatima Sana Shaikh
There were internal discussions regarding the casting of Fatima Sana Shaikh as well. Aamir Khan said: 'Victor (Director Vijay Krishna Acharya) and Aditya Chopra were worried that people would not accept Fatima opposite me, because I had played her father in 'Dangal'.'
Aamir questioned this thought and said that the audience can see artists separately from their characters. He said:
'I am neither her real father, nor her boyfriend. We are just artists. If we assume that the audience cannot understand this much, then we are underestimating them.'
Was this film a turning point in Aamir's career?
The failure of 'Thugs of Hindostan' shook Aamir. After the film's failure, he took a long break and became more cautious about scripts. Although his next film, 'Laal Singh Chaddha', was also not successful at the box office, he is now preparing for a b comeback.
One thing became clear from this entire episode — no matter how big an artist is, every film is a risk. And when the top three actresses decline a film, it can be understood that something went wrong with the film.
