Aamir Khan reveals he was skeptical about playing 18-year-old in 3 Idiots; here’s how Rajkumar Hirani convinced him
Aamir Khan recently revealed the reason why he was apprehensive about playing an 18-year-old on-screen in 3 Idiots while being 44 years old in real life.
Rajkumar Hirani’s 3 Idiots has achieved the status of a cult classic over the years. The 2009 film that starred Aamir Khan, Sharman Joshi, and R Madhavan in the lead was made on a mere budget of Rs 55 crores but went on to earn over Rs 400 crores at the global box office. The film was a milestone for Aamir’s career but did you know he was skeptical about signing up for this?
During his recent appearance on The Great Indian Kapil Show, Aamir Khan revealed that he was apprehensive about playing an 18-year-old on-screen when he was 44 in real life. He wasn’t sure how it would come across.
Why did Aamir Khan not sign 3 Idiots at first?
Khan shared with the show’s host that he thought the public would laugh at him as he was going to be 44 and was playing the role of an 18-year-old boy. He shared, “It would be weird. I told Raju to take three youngsters but he was after me. I hadn’t worked with Raju till then. I was a big fan but the story he brought me, I was like how will I play this young character.”
Remember the line from 3 Idiots - "Don’t chase success, instead be capable, success will follow you?" Aamir said that this was Rajkumar Hirani’s core thought behind making this film. He reminded Aamir that he has done some of those films including Taare Zameen Par, and Lagaan which were assumed to flop at the announcement and could have never been a hit.
Rajkumar asked Aamir, “Then why did you do these films? You didn’t do them thinking you will get success. It was your passion, so you did it. So, success followed you. Your entire career has been about this. So, if you say this line, people will believe it.” This was when Aamir said that despite being unsure, he went blindfolded because of the ‘great director’ Rajkumar Hirani.
Aamir Khan further in the conversation revealed that the inspiration behind his character Rancho was his nephew and Ghajini’s director AR Murugadoss. AR wasn’t referred to while writing the character but it was Aamir who self-picked his nuances as the filmmaker was known for his unfiltered approach towards people.