Aamir Khan Wasn’t the First Choice for 3 Idiots – Rajkumar Hirani

The actor-director combo of Aamir Khan and Rajkumar Hirani make a dream-team for every film producer in the country. They worked together in 3 Idiots which became a block-buster hit, breaking all previous opening records and grossing over 300 crore mark (US $55 million). Now that their second film, PK is also getting rave reviews from the audience and critics alike, their fans from all parts of the world are understandably super excited.
However, you might find it intriguing that Aamir Khan was never the first choice for 3 Idiots. Rajkumar Hirani admits that he wanted to cast a team of newcomers for all the major parts of 3 Idiots, including the character of Rancho (Ranchoddas Shamaldas Chanchad) which was subsequently portrayed by Aamir. Hirani even admits that he had picked 3 newcomers to play pivotal roles in the film but was unhappy with their chemistry and lack of co-ordination. He dropped the idea and approached Aamir with the script and rest as we say, is history!
Later on, Hirani got so impressed with Aamir’s work that he discussed the basic plot of PK with him, on the sets of 3 Idiots itself. Now that the film has released, it is receiving fabulous reviews. Some of the critics are even comparing PK with classics made by filmmakers like Guru Dutt and Bimal Roy.