Aamir Khan REVEALS Why Thugs Of Hindostan Failed Despite Following Sholay’s Formula

Aamir

Khan recently reflected on the lessons learned from Thugs of Hindostan, one of his career’s biggest box office flops. He admitted prioritising his character over the film’s overall script was a “fundamental error,” emphasising that his usual approach is to choose stories first, characters second. The actor revealed that significant changes were made to the original script due to casting decisions, which changed the film's vision. Comparing the movie’s structure to the classic Sholay, Aamir highlighted how the narrative focus shifted away from his role, underscoring the importance of story over star appeal in filmmaking.

Why Aamir Khan compared Thugs Of Hindostan with Sholay?

During a SCREEN Academy Masterclass in Mumbai, Aamir Khan opened up about his approach to choosing projects. Taking Dangal as an example, he said that when he agreed to the film, it was because he loved the script. Aamir said that it was a great story with all parts having interesting elements and that he focused on his character, Mahavir. However, he added that he had not agreed to the film because of Mahavir’s character alone.

Following this, he shared that he found Thugs of Hindostan interesting because of the unpredictability of his character Firangi. He said that the film has a very normal story and added, "It's Sholay." He then continued that in Sholay, Sanjeev Kumar’s Thakur needs to take revenge for his family being wiped out and two people come in and help him. Jai (Amitabh Bachchan) and Veeru (Dharmendra) arrive, while in Thugs Of Hindostan, there was Zafira (Fatima Sana Shaikh), whose family gets wiped out. When she needs help, Firangi (Aamir) comes in. He said that both the films have similar formats and added that Jai and Veeru are the heroes of Sholay, but it’s not their story but Thakur’s and similarly, it’s not Firangi’s story but Zafira’s in Thugs Of Hindostan. "So, in terms of its formula, it was more similar to a film like Sholay," added the actor.

Aamir Khan also revealed that Thugs of Hindostan changed significantly during development due to casting issues, and he regretted altering the original script, saying audiences never saw Victor Acharya’s initial version.

Aamir Khan's work front

Aamir recently starred in Sitaare Zameen Par. He also made a special appearance in the Tamil film Coolie and Vir Das' Happy Patel: Khatarnak Jasoos. Meanwhile, under his production, Ek Din, starring Junaid Khan and Sai Pallavi, was released on May 1.