Aamir Khan Wanted Lead Role In Dil Chahta Hai, Akshaye Khanna Stepped Down Says Farhan Akhtar: 'It Had To...'

Farhan Akhtar made his directorial debut with Dil Chahta Hai, which was headlined by Aamir Khan, Akshaye Khanna and Saif Ali Khan. However, he recently recalled that Aamir’s role as the jovial Akash Malhotra was first given to Akshaye Khanna. Farhan revealed that when Aamir signed the film, he wanted to play Akash’s character as he had already played several serious roles. Akshaye Khanna stepped down ‘graciously’ for the greater benefit of the film.

Farhan Akhtar told Faye D’Souza, “I have experienced true grace from Akshaye Khanna. When I met him for Dil Chahta Hai, I had offered him the role of Akash, which Aamir ended up doing… When I approached Akshaye at that point, I wanted to cast two other younger actors, so I went to Hrithik Roshan and Abhishek Bachchan, who were just one film old at that time. But they had other plans, and that didn’t happen, so I had to go for the slightly older generation of actors for Dil Chahta Hai.”

“After dar dar ki thokrein khake, I showed the script to Aamir. He told me that since he had done a couple of serious roles, he wanted to play the role of Akash… Akshaye calmly told me that he loved the film and knew it had to be made. He said, ‘I will play that part.’ It’s rare to come across actors who let go of roles so gracefully,” Farhan said.

Farhan also recalled how Shah Rukh Khan starrer Don was first offered to Hrithik Roshan. Farhan Akhtar began writing the script for Don soon after the release of Hrithik Roshan’s Lakshya. He told Hrithik that he wanted to cast him in the film and would soon present him with a script. However, while writing, Farhan could only think of Shah Rukh Khan. Farhan said that Hrithik graciously told him to pursue Shah Rukh as it was his project. “Hrithik did exactly the same thing as Akshaye. He told me to go forward with it as I had to make my film. I just found that amazing,” Farhan said.

Meanwhile, Farhan Akhtar is now busy developing Don 3. The film will feature Ranveer Singh as the new ‘Don’. Kiara Advani has also been roped in for the film.