When Aamir Khan complained to Mahesh Bhatt about Anupam Kher’s ‘loud acting’ in Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahi, was ignored

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Kher said that he remembered the incident because the topic of conviction had just come up. He said in Hindi, “I came for the rehearsal on the first day, and I was looking like Chunky Panday’s father, who was a very well-known doctor. My reference point was that this character is the world’s first dad who encourages his daughter to bail on her own wedding. But when Mr Aamir Khan did his first scene with me…” Bhatt took over, also in Hindi, “He told me brother that Anupam was giving a very loud performance. And I felt that since a co-actor had brought this up, I should mention it to Anupam. He took me aside, and…” Bhatt mimed the self-assured gesture that Kher had made to him, reassuring him that he was sure of what tone to take in the performance. And that was more than enough for the filmmaker. “I said okay, and that character made the role what it was,” Bhatt said.

Kher worked with the superstar on the film Dil, which has been much-discussed recently, following Animal director Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s comments about its misogyny. Bhatt and Aamir had a famous falling out; their differences were rumoured to have started because Aamir felt that the filmmaker wasn’t fully committed to his work. Bhatt had his own perspective on the falling-out, and he explained in an old interview on the WildFilmsIndia channel, “He worked with me on Ghulam. That wasn’t a pleasant experience for me. When a man is burdened by his greatness, that burden is shared by people around him. Economically, that is very difficult, especially if you’re making movies with reasonable budgets. You can strive for excellence, but not perfection. Perfection is an illness. Excellence can be achieved through hard work.”