Aamir Khan reveals directors unwilling to work with him in early days

Actor Aamir Khan on Saturday said several leading directors in Hindi cinema were unwilling to work with him in the early years of his career despite the success of his debut film Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak QSQTSpeaking at the 23rd Hindustan Times Leadership Summit here Khan said that even after becoming an overnight star after his first film in 1988 he struggled to get offers from the filmmakers he admiredI started getting a lot of offers for films but I wasnt getting offers from the directors I wanted to work with I had a list of directors I wanted to work with but none of those directors approached me he saidAt that time even after a superhit like QSQT you still had to establish yourself as a star before the Agraders referring to the directors wanted to work with you Khan saidKhan said he signed eight to nine films at the time believing it was modest compared to contemporaries who were doing several dozen films at once But once shooting began he realised he had made a big mistakeIm not built to do twothree films together he said as early releases such as Love Love Love Awwal Number Tum Mere Ho and Jawani Zindabad flopped at the theatresStating that he was unhappy with his film choices that he made early in his career the actor said he eventually realised the importance of doing films that have a good script right director and producerMy sensibility did not match the number of people I was working with These films started releasing and they started bombing one flopped then another flopped then a third one too I was labelled one film wonder by the media he saidThe 60yearold actor said that he realised his career was going down the drain in this manner as he was so unhappy with what he was doingI used to come home in the evening and cry I swore to myself that never again will I compromise with my work unless I trust the director the script is something I love and the producer is someone who can produce and release it well he addedRecalling when he was approached by Mahesh Bhatt for a movie during that career slump Khan said even though he was keen to collaborate with the acclaimed director he rejected the offer as he was unhappy with the scriptI was very happy when I got a call from Bhatt sahab he was on the rise he had made Saaransh Arth and Naam I was relieved that finally one director I want to work with is reaching out to me he saidBut after hearing the script the actor said he did not like it and was so disappointed that he told Bhatt Ill think about it and went homeThat night I couldnt sleep I was like should I say yes to Bhatt sahab and compromise on what my heart says or should I say no and leave this opportunity to be working with him Next day I told him I cant do the film as I didnt like the script he addedBhatt sahab asked what I didnt like and we started discussing it But that film never happened the actor saidAamir further said the decision to not compromise on his belief gave him the courage to do films that he truly believes inWhat was important is that when I felt my career was over and nothing was going to save me at that time I had conviction and courage to say no to a film that I didnt believe in That gave me the strength to take all the difficult decisions that I took in my career like doing films like Lagaan Taare Zameen ParHe said had he compromised that day and said yes to Bhatt his career would have had a different graph The fact that I was ready not to compromise at my worst phase gave me a lot of strength and that was a turning point for meAamir last appeared in Sitaare Zameen Par directed by RS Prasanna The film skipped an OTT release after completing its theatrical run Khan who also produced the movie released it on YouTube via a payperview PPV model for Rs 100This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever