Aamir Khan Thought Delhi Belly Would Ruin His Image: 'Bahut Buri Film Banayi Hai Yaar'

At a recent Delhi Belly fan meet, Aamir Khan looked back at the making of the film and shared how close it came to going completely wrong. The event was also attended by Imran Khan and Vir Das. Aamir spoke about watching the first cut of Delhi Belly during a test screening in Mumbai. He said the screening included Kiran Rao, Imran Khan, music composer Ram Sampath, and a few others. Since police security is always with him, Aamir asked them to watch the film as well. Recalling his reaction, Aamir said, “There was me, Kiran, Imran, Ram Sampath (music composer) and some eight to 10 people at the screening. Mumbai Police’s security accompanies me everywhere. So, I asked them to watch the film too. I was also watching the film for the first time.

When I was watching, I thought, ‘Bahut buri film banayi hai yaar (laughs). Alag level buri bani hai (When I was watching it, I thought, ‘They’ve made a really bad film, man (laughs). It’s bad on a whole different level).” After the screening ended, Aamir asked one of the policemen for his honest opinion. The response shocked him. “After the screening got over, I asked the cop how he liked the film. He looked at the screen, then he looked at me, and then he looked down. Then he said, ‘Sir, pichhle 25 saalon mein jo aapne naam kamaya hai na, wo aap ye ek film mein gawane wale ho (Sir, in the last 25 years, all the respect you’ve earned — you’re about to lose everything with this one film).‘ He actually said it so bluntly.” Aamir explained that such reactions are not uncommon when watching early versions of a film. “A lot of the time, first cuts don’t work. It’s not an unusual thing. When humour is not working, and there are a lot of abuses, then you feel that’s only for effect. So, that makes it worse. That’s how bad it was.” He later shared that the team revisited the film after a couple of years and worked on fixing what wasn’t working. Interestingly, the cop’s blunt comment even made it into the film’s teaser. In it, Imran Khan warns, “Mamu apni saari izzat gawane wale hain (Mamu is about to lose all his respect).” Backed by Aamir Khan Productions, Delhi Belly was written by Akshat Verma and directed by Abhinay Deo. The film starred Imran Khan, Kunaal Roy Kapur, Vir Das, Poorna Jagannathan, and Shenaz Treasurywala. Though it felt risky at first, the film went on to become a cult favourite over the years.