Aamir Khan’s worst movie mistakes: Bollywood-ised Godfather, snake charmers indulging in black magic and cricket with bomb threat

Expectations weren’t so high even when Aamir was doing Indra Kumar’s 1990 film Dil, where his character threatens the female protagonist with sexual assault because she falsely accused him of rape. No one would have thought then that one day, this would be the actor who takes India to the Oscars. It is shocking how mainstream cinema accepted these elements as plot devices but at least, Aamir had the good sense of acknowledging how problematic this was, albeit a few decades later. The bar is so low for actors accepting their mistakes that this deserved some applause.

Madhuri Dixit and Aamir Khan in Dil.

There was also the time when Aamir played a snake charmer, (or was he an ichchadhari naag?) who also performs black magic, in his father Tahir Hussain’s 1990 film Tum Mere Ho. If anyone on Aamir’s team knew any magic, this would be the first film they would want to erase from everyone’s memory as there is actually a sequence in the film where men are rewarded for kidnapping women as the women physically push them away.

There was also a Godfather adaptation where Aamir plays Michael, and Rajinikanth (yes, Superstar Rajinikanth) plays Sonny, and the film was called Aatank Hi Aatank. It became Bollywood-ised when they wanted some song and dance but otherwise, the gangsters here were dressed in suits and hats in the humid heat of Mumbai. Their sweaty armpits, and parched look didn’t help anyone.

Whilst Aamir was making some strange film choices, he was spending an extraordinary amount of time in selecting the ‘perfect cap’ for one of his films. Mahesh Bhatt, in a chat with Radio Nasha, revealed that Aamir spent 10 hours deciding what kind of cap he should be wearing in the 1991 film Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin. One can only wonder why Aamir spent 10 hours on a cap, while he was also making that snake charmer movie. But, the incident on Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin solidified the ‘Mr Perfectionist’ tag. A lot of times, the moniker made it sound like the word ‘perfect’ was being used sarcastically, but the negative association left the building after the actor’s resounding success in the early 2000s. After films like Lagaan and Dil Chahta Hai, Aamir’s perfectionism was credited for his success.

Mahesh Bhatt said that Aamir Khan took ten hours to select this cap.

After Aamir entered his ‘international star’ era in the early 2000s, it was expected that the Midas touch from ‘Mr Perfectionist’ would change the fortune of every film. After all, he was the only one in his generation who had finally cracked the mantra of marrying commerce with content. He was also the one who was responsible for starting a new era of film marketing with films like Ghajni, 3 Idiots and PK.

But, in the same era, Aamir made some mistakes that aren’t as easily forgettable as those in the early part of his career. His 2013 film Dhoom 3, which was the third film of YRF’s popular franchise, was highly anticipated. The first two films of the franchise were big money spinners so Dhoom 3 was marketed as a success even before its release. Strangely, Aamir, who had been at the forefront of promoting all his films until then, seemed like he had already given up on Dhoom 3 even before its release. Talking about the film’s box office, Aamir told PTI that he had “no expectations.” Of course, films like these are designed for the box office but Aamir was so stressed that he picked up smoking again. Perhaps, he saw it coming. The film was a terrible mistake and anyone who has seen it, will know that the only memorable parts about this film were the excellently choreographed dance sequences done by Katrina Kaif. It is probably the trauma of this film that 12 years on, YRF is yet to announce the fourth film of this franchise.

Aamir Khan in Thugs of Hindostan.

A few years after Dhoom 3, Aamir joined hands with YRF once again and this time, it was for another mistake called Thugs of Hindostan. Not just Aamir, the film also starred Amitabh Bachchan. The two biggest talents in the Hindi film industry couldn’t save this sinking ship, which actually had the audacity to tease a sequel at the end. At this point, one has to think how delusional the makers must be to actually believe that this would turn into a franchise. By this time, Aamir knew better so he held a press conference and announced that he was taking full responsibility for the film’s failure. He even apologised to his fans for putting them through this.

Many would argue that his last release, the 2022 film Laal Singh Chaddha, should have been followed up with an apology as well but here, Aamir did something even more, he announced his retirement. The Forrest Gump adaptation saw Aamir play the central role earnestly but in most places, he didn’t even look like a real person, he looked like a character who was trying too hard to act.

Aamir Khan in Laal Singh Chaddha.

Of course, the retirement was temporary and Aamir is now back at the movies. He is still known as the ‘perfectionist’ and the actor, who is now turning 60, wears the moniker like a crown. But if these imperfections did not exist, would the perfectly neat record be even half as fun?