Why did Aamir Khan reject Dilip Kumar and Raaj Kumar's Saudagar?

MUMBAI: Aamir Khan makes sure to leave the audience in awe of his performance every time he hits the silver screen. Mr Perfectionist has given us several blockbuster movies. However, there have been times when Aamir had rejected movies that turned out to be blockbusters, which include Darr, Hum Aapke Hain Koun, and Saajan. But did you know that Aamir even got a chance to share screen space with legendary actors Dilip Kumar and Raaj Kumar. But he turned down the offer.

This happened during the casting of 1991 release Saudagar, which had brought the Bollywood’s biggest legends Dilip and Raaj together after over 30 years. The two actors were earlier seen in 1959 release Paigham. Interestingly, the Subhash Ghai directorial also marked Vivek Mushran and Manisha Koirala’s grand Bollywood debut. While the duo emerged as overnight stars, Vivek was not the first choice for Vasu’s role in the movie. Instead, the role was first offered to Aamir Khan who was then a well established actor in the industry. However, the actor had turned down the offer as he felt the movie didn’t have much space for him. Apparently, Aamir felt his role was quite short when compared to Dilip Kumar and Raaj Kumar. Post his rejection, Vivek was roped in for the movie, and Aamir’s loss turned out to be a newcomer’s gain.

Credits: Pinkvilla