Aamir Khan says ‘mujhe producer kabhi nahi banna tha’; reveals his father’s advice made him take the leap: ‘He said…’

Actor Aamir Khan reveals that he never wanted to become a producer, but the directors he looked up to and his father Tahir Hussain inspired him to become one.

By: Entertainment Desk

New Delhi | September 9, 2025 09:39 PM IST

Aamir Khan reveals the advice his father Tahir Hussain gave him about being a producer. (Photo: Express Archive)

Actor Aamir Khan has carved a niche for himself as a producer, championing several critically acclaimed and commercially successful films such as Lagaan, Delhi Belly, Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, Laapataa Ladies, and Dhobi Ghat, among others. However, in a recent interview, Aamir revealed that becoming a producer was never part of his original plan. The actor-filmmaker shared that he stepped into production only because his father, Tahir Hussain, encouraged him to do so.

In a preview of an upcoming episode of trade analyst Komal Nahta’s podcast Game Changers, Aamir talked about how seeing his father’s life as a producer convinced him to stay away from the line of work. He said, “When I saw my father’s career, I realised mujhe producer kabhi nahi ban na hai (that I never want to become a producer). You have to work more than anyone else; you are the one who is taking all the risk, and yet you are the one who is cursed by people. A lot of times the team doesn’t cooperate with you, and that’s why it took 8 years to make my father’s film Locket. I looked at all this and thought that now I have become an actor, I have some success, and Qayamat se Qayamat Tak has worked, so why should I become a producer?”

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Aamir added that many people used to ask him when he was going to step into his father’s shoes, but he always shrugged them off. “I gave a lot of interviews during my early years where people would ask me, ‘When will you produce a film?’ And I used to say, ‘Never. I will become a director, and I am already acting, but I will never become a producer.’ This kind of categorical statement should never be made. When I read the script for Lagaan, I liked it a lot, but I wondered who would produce it and do justice to it? I used to think about it every day, and then I thought about the people who I looked up to, like Guru Dutt, Bimal Roy, K. Asif, and Chetan Anand. They had guts, and they made whatever they wanted to make. I was inspired by these greats, and I told myself to get over my fear and make the film,” said Aamir.

Talking about taking the leap of faith, Aamir Khan revealed that it was the script of Lagaan that finally helped him overcome his hesitation about producing. He admitted that he feared no one would back the film, or even if they did, they wouldn’t invest the resources it truly required. Aamir shared that it was his father’s advice that ultimately convinced him to produce the film himself.

He said, “I invited my wife and my parents for the narration of Lagaan. Ashutosh did the narration, and I remember just staring at their faces and watching the whole film play out. The moment the narration got over, I asked Reena, and she said, ‘It’s a great story; I really liked it.’ Then I asked my parents, and they agreed that the script was great. So I asked my father whether it was too different and if we would be able to pull off something of this scale. He said, ‘Achi kahani bohot mushkil se milti hai; ek dafa achi kahani mil jaaye na, socho mat (You don’t get good stories very often; once you get it, you shouldn’t dwell on it too much).'”

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