Aamir Khan feared ‘public will laugh’ at him for playing 18-year-old in 3 Idiots but Rajkumar Hirani convinced him: ‘You’ve done films that could have never been hits’

On The Great Indian Kapil Show, Aamir Khan elaborated on his decision to embrace the role of an 18-year-old college student in 3 Idiots, despite being 44 at the time.

Aamir Khan played the lead role in 3 Idiots.

The latest episode of The Great Indian Kapil Show saw Aamir Khan share many unheard anecdotes from his personal and professional life. During his conversation with Kapil Sharma, Aamir delved into the intricacies of his decision-making process when it comes to selecting roles. He shed light on his rationale for declining the opportunity to portray the iconic 23-year-old freedom fighter Bhagat Singh when he was 37 years old. He also elaborated on his decision to embrace the role of an 18-year-old college student in 3 Idiots, despite being 44 at the time.

Sharing why he opted out of playing Bhagat Singh on the big screen, he said, “Bhagat Singh ji is a very important historical figure. He was a unique human being. What he did at the age of 22-23, we can’t even think about it. His courage. He was fearless. That’s a very rare quality. Its beauty was that you see a young 23-year-old on the witness stand, whose mustache has not sprouted, making such big statements. If I stood there, I was already turning 40 at the time, it wouldn’t have looked good. That quality of a young guy saying such things won’t come to me. That’s why I didn’t do it.”

However, Aamir Khan agreed to play the role of 18-year-old college kid in Rajkumar Hirani’s 3 Idiots. Explaining his rationale behind it, he said, “I wasn’t even doing 3 Idiots because I thought the public would laugh at me as I was turning 44 and I am playing the role of an 18-year-old boy. 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.”

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He added, “There is my line in the film, ‘Don’t chase success, instead be capable, success will follow you.’ This was Raju’s main thought behind the film. He told me, ‘You have done films that could have never been a hit. For example, you did Taare Zameen Par, Lagaan …all these films were flops on the announcement. 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.’ Then I thought Raju was a great director. I don’t sign a film until I am sure, but this was the first time I went blindfolded because of him.”

Also read | The Great Indian Kapil Show 5th episode first impression: Aamir Khan’s untold stories rescue audience from Kapil Sharma’s dull humour

During the conversation, Aamir Khan also shared how he took inspiration to play the role of Rancho from his nephew and AR Murugadoss, director of Ghajini, who is known for his unfiltered approach towards people.

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