Do you Know? Not Aamir Khan, But ‘Short-Tempered’ Salman Khan Was The First Choice For Ghajini

In the Aamir Khan movie Ghajini, actor Pradeep Rawat portrayed the antagonist. He recently talked about how director AR Murugadoss originally intended to put Salman Khan in the blockbuster picture.

The Tamil film of the same name was remade as Ghajini by director Murugadoss. However, Pradeep thought that casting 'short-tempered' Salman would cause unnecessary complications and the director wouldn’t be able to deal with it well.

Pradeep Rawat Talks About Salman's Replacement In The Film

In an interview with Siddharth Kannan, Pradeep said that didn’t feel Salman was the right choice for the film. According to him, “I thought in my mind ‘Salman is short-tempered' and Murugdoss doesn’t speak in English or Hindi. He didn’t even have a personality back then.”

He also revealed that how the director wanted to cast Salman Khan in the film, and how he convinced him for Aamir to play the lead role. According to him, “Murugadoss used to keep saying ‘I want to make it in Hindi, I want to make it in Hindi. Pradeep further said that the filmmaker was very fond of Salman Khan and was keen on casting him in the remake of the movie."

Here's Why Pradeep Rawat Felt Salman Wouldn't Be The Best Choice

Aamir and Pradeep had earlier worked together in Sarfarosh and he felt that he would be the best choice, given his calm nature. In conversation with Siddharth, Pradeep revealed, “I thought Aamir would be the right choice for the role because he was cool-tempered and behaves respectfully with everyone. In the past 25 years, I have not seen Aamir shout or yell at anyone. He has never disrespected anyone or used abusive language. So I thought, nature-wise, Salman cannot be handled or there would be unnecessary complications.”

He further added, “Aamir sharif hai but chalak bohot hai. Bohot hoshiyaar hai.” However, after pursuing him for six months, Aamir finally saw the film and he immediately told Pradeep that he was doing the film. The actor further mentioned that Aamir agreed to do Ghajini only because the superstar couldn’t say no to him. “And that was because I have never approached him seeking any favours.” 

Talking about Ghajini, the film was released in 2008. It also featured Asin in a key role. The film showcases the story of Sanjay, who is hit by an iron rod, and suffers from a condition that prevents him from remembering anything beyond fifteen minutes. The film directed by A.R. Murugadoss, and produced by Tagore' B. Madhu, and Madhu Mantena.