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Bollywood filmmaker Mansoor Khan, left behind the glamorous world of the Hindi entertainment industry, after making cult classic films like Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar, and Josh among others. Cousin of Bollywood’s Mr Perfectionist Aamir Khan, together the duo extensively worked together before the former decided to quit and move to Coonoor and start a cheese farm. He has now criticised Aamir’s performance in Laal Singh Chaddha and suggested that the latter’s son Junaid Khan would have done a better job. He also added that he wouldn’t have cast Kareena Kapoor Khan in the film.
An official remake of the Hollywood classic Forrest Gump (1994), starring Tom Hanks and Robin Wright, Laal Singh Chaddha failed to impress the audience. While many criticised the movie for many reasons, one complaint which stood out was Aamir’s portrayal of Laal and how the mannerisms of the character are similar to his character in PK. While the 60-year-old actor took the blame for the film’s poor performance whole-heartedly, and expressed how he couldn’t do justice to the younger version of the character, Mansoor dismissed it and said he got the elder version’s performance “totally wrong.”
SEE ALSO: Aamir Khan Reflects On Junaid’s Flops, Says Failures Will Strengthen Him: ‘Even I Was Like That’
Quoted by Hindustan Times, he said, “Usne younger bola? Matlab ab tak nahi samjha.” Khan recalls that after watching the film’s first trail he questioned Aamir. He revealed that the Dangal actor has a “format” where he calls people close to him for a screening and ask for their opinions on his films. “Unfortunately, he always picks me first. I said, ‘You’ve overdone the mannerisms. You don’t need it. Unfortunately, it’s close to his mannerisms in PK.’ Aamir has recognised that,” he added.
Curious about the source of Aamir’s character’s mannerism in the 2022 film, Monsoor had questioned if it was because of director Advait Chandan’s suggestions. Pointing out that if he had been the one to direct it, he would have “never allowed it.” Aamir clarified that it was not Advait’s idea. The actor added that that single factor is what took away the film’s essence, making the audience feel disconnected from each scene.
Mansoor went on to reveal that Khan’s elder son Junaid was also considered to play the character. He recalled watching the latter’s screen test and being convinced that his innocence would have been able to pull in the audience.
Hindustan Times quoted Mansoor Khan saying, “Aamir had asked me why don’t I come and see Junaid’s screen test. I thought Junaid did a brilliant job. You might say he’s only 28 years old. There was a certain innocence that even the best actors can’t craft. If my heart goes out to you, then it doesn’t matter how great of an actor you are. When they asked me, I said Junaid should be in the film.” He added that his statement has left the producers at Sony and the director shocked. He also revealed that he wouldn’t have cast Kareena Kapoor in the role. “What is this fear of market mein opening nahi lagegi? Kya bakwas hai,” he concluded.
For those who don’t know, Junaid Khan made his acting debut with the much-awaited Netflix film Maharaj, co-starring Shalini Pandey, Sharvari, and Jaideep Ahlawat. He went on to star in the rom-com Loveyapa, alongside Khushi Kapoor. In an earlier interview, he had opened up about auditioning for Laal Singh Chaddha. He had revealed that he shot 20 minutes of footage for the film with Kiran Rao, essaying the role of his mother.
However, the film didn’t work out in his favour due to budget constraints. The 31-year-old actor added, “We shot 7-8 scenes for the film over four days, amounting to about 20 minutes of footage. It was a test for me as well. Papa wanted to see how I dealt with the material. Ultimately, it didn’t work out, largely due to budget reasons. It was a very expensive film to put a new person in.”
It really makes us wonder how different Laal Singh Chaddha would have turned out to be if Junaid Khan had played the lead character instead of Aamir Khan.
