Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan says he was offered to play the role of late Sunil Dutt in Rajkumar Hirani’s Sanju, the upcoming biopic on actor Sanjay Dutt, but he refused it only because he wanted to essay the title character.
Asked if he was offered to play the role of Sunil Dutt, he said: “He (Hirani) approached me with the script and I loved it. He wanted me to play Dutt saab’s role. It is a fantastic role and the story is largely on the father-son relationship. But Sanju’s role is unbelievable.
“So as an actor, I told Raju that Sanjay Dutt’s role is so wonderful that it won my heart. So in this film, I can’t do any other role but Sanjay Dutt’s, which of course I cannot do because Ranbir (Kapoor) is playing it. So, do not offer me anything.”
Aamir, who has been part of the industry for 30 years, finds Ranbir to be a good actor and is confident he must have done well in the film.
“I cannot wait to watch the film now,” said Aamir, who has worked closely with Hirani in 3 Idiots and PK. Sanjay Dutt was also a part of PK.
In real life, Aamir shared a strong bond with Sunil Dutt.
Reminiscing some fond memories of the late actor, he said: “He always sent me telegrams in those days to wish me on Diwali, Eid, birthday… If my film did well, he sent me a congratulation note.”
What was his favourite memory of Sunil Dutt?
Aamir said: “During the riots of 1993, the Hindi film industry took a delegation to the then Chief Minister to stop the riots. Around 40 people went to the CM’s office. After that, we decided that since no immediate action had been taken, we will sit under the statue of Mahatma Gandhi near Mantralaya. All 40 of us came and sat under the statue and we decided until the violence stops, we won’t move from there.
“For the night, we decided to continue it rotationally. So on the first time, Dutt Saab, Yash Chopra, Johnny Walker, I and one of the film producers, we all sat down together at night under the Gandhi statue. We spent the whole night there… Of course, the next day people came and by the evening the CM took some action.
“But for me, it was a memorable night where I was listening to the stories of their journey from Dutt saab and Johnny Walker. I remember that night very clearly. He was a very strong, dignified and gentle person.”
Aamir also confirmed he was producing the slain Indian music mogul Gulshan Kumar’s biopic with Bhushan Kumar.