Aamir Khan has opened up about why he agreed to star in Thugs of Hindostan, a film he now admits “bounced very badly” at the box office. Speaking candidly at the recent Screen Academy Masterclass at Whistling Woods International in Mumbai, the actor reflected on what went wrong with the 2018 period action drama and shared how it became the only film where he prioritised his character over the story.
Aamir explained that while choosing films, he usually places the story above everything else, including the role he is offered.
“For me, what character I’m playing comes secondary,” Aamir said. “So, when I say yes to Dangal, it’s because I love the script. It’s a great story with all parts having wonderful stuff to do. Then I focus on my character, Mahavir. But I haven’t said yes to the film because kya character hai Mahavir ka (what a character Mahavir is!).”
Released in 2016 and directed by Nitesh Tiwari, Dangal starred Aamir as wrestler Mahavir Phogat and went on to become the highest-grossing Indian film worldwide, earning over Rs 2000 crore.
However, Aamir admitted that Thugs of Hindostan was the one exception where he broke his own rule.
“There has been only one instance, when I gave precedence to my character over the story, but it bounced very badly,” he said.
The actor then compared Thugs of Hindostan, directed by Vijay Krishna Acharya, to the 1975 classic Sholay.
“Thugs of Hindostan has a very normal story. It’s Sholay,” Aamir said.
Explaining the similarity, he added, “In Sholay, you have Sanjeev Kumar’s Thakur, who needs to take revenge for his family being wiped out. And two people come in and help him – Jai (Amitabh Bachchan) and Veeru (Dharmendra). Over here, it’s Zafira (Fatima Sana Shaikh) whose family gets wiped out. She needs help, and Firangi (Aamir) comes in.”
He continued, “It’s a very similar format. So, Jai and Veeru are the heroes of the film, but it’s not their story. It’s Thakur’s story. Similarly, it’s not Firangi’s story. It’s Zafira’s story. So, in terms of its formula, it was more similar to a film like Sholay.”
Aamir also revealed that the version audiences saw was far from the original script.
“For casting reasons, we kept changing the script. I wouldn’t know I’d do a fundamental error, but sab se hota hai (it happens with everyone). We should not have changed the script even if we didn’t get the casting we wanted,” he said.
“So, when you’ve seen Thugs, you haven’t seen the original script that Victor had written because it went through a lot of changes,” the actor added.
Despite the film’s disappointing performance, Aamir said he was genuinely drawn to his character, Firangi.
“Firangi is such an unreliable character. You don’t know when he’s speaking the truth and when he’s not. He’s only about himself. I found him to be a very attractive and engaging character. He’s got some great moments,” Aamir shared.
Released in 2018, Thugs of Hindostan starred Aamir alongside Amitabh Bachchan, Fatima Sana Shaikh, and Katrina Kaif, but failed to meet expectations despite its star-studded cast and massive scale.
