‘Twinkle Khanna couldn’t carry a movie on her shoulders, she was not right for Mela’: Suneel Darshan had ‘no choice’ but to give in to Aamir Khan’s demands

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Suneel said that changes were made to the original story that he’d written, and that Aamir needed to take his permission before enforcing certain changes. The most important change, he said, was introducing the character that was played by Faisal. He wasn’t a part of the original story. “He added the brother’s character. Otherwise, everything else was mine. At a later point, Aamir realised that they needed some permissions and consent. He got through to me, and I had no choice but to agree.”

Actor Twinkle Khanna with Aamir Khan in film Mela. Express archive photo

In an interview with Bollywood Hungama earlier this year, Dharmesh Darshan was asked if Aishwarya Rai was the first choice for Mela. He said, “She was. She was also my first choice for the role of Memsaab in Raja Hindustani (1996). My heart was on her. But she urgently had to go for Miss World. I didn’t want to take any chances as I wanted an actress who could devote her full time to the film and Bollywood. It was her sheer grace that she didn’t hold it in her heart.”

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While promoting one of her books, Twinkle had said at an event, “I have not given any hit film. Whatever films I have done should be banned and (no one should watch) it. Most of the time, I pretend I have Alzheimer’s and I don’t remember my film career and it makes me happy that ways.” The film Mela had major ripple effects. Not only did it end Twinkle and Faisal’s careers, it also caused a rift between Suneel and Dharmesh, which hasn’t been repaired to this day.

Speaking about their falling out, Suneel admitted that their parents tried to patch things up, but that they have all realised that some things are best left alone. “Some things don’t work out. People have their own thinking, and approach, and attitude. It’s best to accept and move on, instead of… My parents were always hopeful that the brothers would be together, but it was not destined to happen,” he said.