Aamir Khan, a celebrated actor in Bollywood, has had his share of both colossal hits and major flops. One such flop that remains etched in the memory of the industry is ‘Thugs Of Hindostan,’ released during the festive season of Diwali. Despite being the biggest opener of its time, the film failed to capture the hearts of the audience, leaving them disheartened.
What many might not know is that before Aamir Khan, ‘Thugs Of Hindostan’ was offered to Hrithik Roshan. Yash Raj Films, the production house, had initially set their sights on the talented actor and even contemplated casting Deepika Padukone as the leading lady. However, the partnership didn’t materialize as smoothly as they had hoped.
Hrithik Roshan reportedly began preparations for the film, even working on his Awadhi dialect, and raised substantial demands for script alterations. Report from Firstpost suggested that Hrithik asked for a whopping sum of around Rs 60 crore for his role in the film. This significant fee request was attributed to his prior film, ‘Mohenjo Daro,’ which had been a box office disaster.
Notably, it wasn’t only Hrithik who was enthusiastic about the project; Aditya Chopra, head of Yash Raj Films, was also keen on having Hrithik star in ‘Thugs Of Hindostan.’ Hrithik made it clear to Aditya Chopra that he was willing to wait until the script was perfected, regardless of how much time it took.
Reports from the Deccan Chronicle revealed that director Vijay Krishna Acharya, who had previously collaborated with Aamir Khan on ‘Dhoom 3,’ narrated the script to the ‘PK’ superstar, who instantly fell in love with it without requesting any changes.
As Hrithik Roshan waited for ‘Thugs Of Hindostan’ with anticipated script revisions, little did he know that he would eventually be replaced by Aamir Khan, leading the film to become one of the most significant flops in the history of Yash Raj Films.