Celebrating its 25th anniversary this month, the successful film Josh, starring Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, continues to enjoy lasting popularity, with its songs still featured on many playlists. In a recent interview, filmmaker Mansoor Khan revealed that Aamir Khan had initially ‘hated’ the film.
Mansoor Khan reveals how he navigated casting Josh between Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan; says, “I asked, ‘Shah Rukh, are you doing the film?’ He said, ‘No, because I know Aamir will get Max’s role’”
In an interview with SCREEN, filmmaker Mansoor Khan recounted the moment he pitched Josh to both Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan. He revealed, “After Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar, I was searching for a new script and wrote much of Josh with both Aamir and Shah Rukh in mind—Aamir for the romantic lead opposite the heroine, and Shah Rukh as Max. When I narrated the story to Aamir, I didn’t specify which roles they were meant to play, so Aamir assumed he would be Max. I thought, ‘Oh no, now what do I do?’ I decided to hold back and see how Shah Rukh would respond first. Honestly, I never planned to give the role of Max to Aamir; I just wanted to see how things would unfold.”
He further shared, “So I went to meet Shah Rukh and narrated the script to him. He really liked it. And by the end of the narration, he’d already started talking about the scenes, because his mind is very active. He was like, ‘Yeah, in that scene, Max can do this, and in that one, Max can do that.’ And I thought, ‘Oh God, this guy also wants the same role.’ But anyway, I did want him for Max. So I asked, ‘Shah Rukh, are you doing the film?’ And he said, ‘No, because I know Aamir will get Max’s role.’ At that point, I didn’t really know how to respond. So I just left it there. I didn’t say anything.”
He added, “But later on, Aamir himself said, ‘No, no, I don’t want to play this role.’ He’d already done a lot of soft-boy, lover-boy parts. And he’d also done that tapori role in Rangeela, so he wanted to change his image.”
The director also revealed that Aamir’s reaction after watching the film took him by surprise but was still understandable. He recalled, “He saw it at that time and said he hated it. So I said, okay, fine. I was pretty disillusioned after that too. I didn’t watch it again for 15, maybe 17 years. I finally saw it about eight years ago, and honestly, I feel it’s not a bad film. I told Aamir, ‘You should see it now.’ I said, ‘See, back then, the wounds were still fresh.’”
Also Read : Taare Zameen Par Fan Meetup: Aamir Khan BREAKS silence on replacing Amole Gupte as director; reveals that he wanted to approach Mansoor Khan, Ram Madhvani, Prasoon Pandey for helming the project
More Pages: Josh Box Office Collection
BOLLYWOOD NEWS – LIVE UPDATES
Catch us for latest Bollywood News, New Bollywood Movies update, Box office collection, New Movies Release , Bollywood News Hindi, Entertainment News, Bollywood Live News Today & Upcoming Movies 2025 and stay updated with latest hindi movies only on Bollywood Hungama.