"Papa was very keen that I do the film."
Junaid Khan revealed that he auditioned for the titular character in Laal Singh Chaddha (2022).
An official remake of Forrest Gump (1994), the film eventually starred Junaid’s father Aamir Khan.
Delving into the incident, Junaid said:
“I had actually auditioned for Laal Singh Chaddha which Papa has talked about publicly, but it didn’t work out.
“Papa was very keen that I do the film.”
Junaid Khan later made his film debut with the Netflix film Maharaj, which was produced by Aditya Chopra and directed by Siddharth P Malhotra.
Talking about Junaid’s audition for Laal Singh Chaddha, Siddharth said:
“It was this audition that Aditya Chopra and I saw, and what an audition that was.
“It was outstanding and if that clip can be released at some point in time, it would be great.”
Laal Singh Chaddha was written by the actor Atul Kulkarni. He pitched the script to Aamir in 2008.
After agreeing to do the film, Aamir then embarked on a nine-year journey to obtain the rights to remake Forrest Gump.
The production of the film was halted due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which resulted in the film’s release getting delayed several times.
When the movie ultimately released in 2022, it was a box office disaster.
While on The Great Indian Kapil Show in 2024, Aamir revealed what he thought went wrong with the film.
He admitted: “I think the pitch of my performance was a little too high.
“So it didn’t hold and because of that, the whole film was spoilt.
“The entire onus was on me.”
Meanwhile, Junaid Khan played Karsandas Mulji in Maharaj – a real life figure from the 19th century.
Junaid divulged his attraction to Maharaj and what made him do the film.
He explained: “He was a real person who in 1862 was talking about those things which even today are happening.
“It happens in society today. And it happens in every society.
“And at that time he was fighting about it when we didn’t have that much knowledge.
“So I found the character and the story very inspirational.”
“That there is a man who had so much understanding back then.
“I have been auditioning since 2017. I liked the story when Siddharth P Malhotra approached me for the film.
“I loved the script when it was narrated to me and I had faith that Siddharth P Malhotra will make such a sensitive film properly.”
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