Aamir Khan was basking in the success of his critically acclaimed film Lagaan when filmmaker Ashutosh Gowariker approached him with another story idea. The story of an orphan boy who rose through the ranks to work in NASA as a scientist and later embarks on a quest back in India in search of his caregiver, Kaveri Amma. But the plot did not stick with Aamir.
ALSO READ | #BoycottAamirKhan trends again: ‘Sitaare Zameen Par’ faces online backlash and boycott calls
The actor revealed in an interview with Zoom that the story—which was then called Kaveri Amma—felt flat to him and got bored when Gowariker narrated it to him. Aamir said, “It was a three-hour-long narration. When he asked me how I liked it, I said I wanted to tell you my first reaction. I said, ‘I got bored. It’s very important for you to hear this reaction. Your thoughts are noble, and what you want to say through the film is valid. But if you say it in such a boring way, I will not enjoy it. I don't know the rest but I am bored. You have to make this interesting.”
Eventually, Gowariker went on to cast Shah Rukh Khan to play Mohan Bhargav in Swades. The film was widely appreciated and acknowledged as Shah Rukh's best on-screen performance to date. “Actually, I have not seen Swades yet. So maybe he must have done it right,” Aamir said. “I noticed that people especially liked Shah Rukh's work.”
ALSO READ | Aamir Khan turned down THIS role in Mansoor Khan’s ‘Josh’ because...
Aamir is currently gearing up for the release of Sitaare Zameen Par, a spiritual sequel to his film Taare Zameen Par. The film is slated to release on June 20.
