Rang De Basanti is one such title in Aamir Khan’s filmography that he considers as a ‘badge of honour’. However it is interesting to know that he wasn’t the first choice to play DJ/Chandrashekhar Azad.
Aamir Khan in Rang De Basanti
Aamir Khan is currently enjoying the success of his comeback film, Sitaare Zameen Par, and he has silently given a befitting reply to his haters and naysayers. Aamir Khan is known as Mr Perfectionist, and again proved why he deserved this title. Over the years, especially from the mid-2000s, Aamir has been associated with projects that made a social commentary, highlighted an issue or stigma, and gave a possible solution for it with entertainment. One of his biggest hits from the 2000s is Rang De Basanti. The period drama, coming-of-age film was a runaway success, cementing Aamir’s position as a risk-taker. However, this is interesting to know that he wasn’t the original choice for the film.
Not Aamir Khan, but this actor was the first choice for Rang De Basanti
How would you react when we tell you that Manoj Bajpayee was the original choice to play Daljeet aka DJ/Chandrashekhar Azad in Rang De Basanti? Yes, the national award-winning actor was considered to lead Rang De Basanti. Kamlesh Pandey, one of the writers of Rang De, recently made this big reveal. In an interview with Ravya Sarda on her YouTube channel, Kamlesh revealed that they were roaming around with the script of the film for 6 years, and no one was ready to make that film. “We had signed Manoj for the role that Aamir played finally. We thought we would make a small film; we didn’t have a big budget.”
Pandey further added that the moment Aamir heard the script, he expressed his interest in doing the film, and even got AR Rahman to come on the project. “UTV (the producer), who had rejected the film twice in the past, immediately said yes to it.”
Rang De Basanti considered to be a Sholay remake?
Pandey asserted that the reason why Rang De Basanti was delayed because the producer couldn’t understand the concept, and even mistakenly considered it to be a Sholay remake. “Producers thought that this was a Sholay remake from the point of view of Basanti. They used to make fun of it and ask who was going to play her, and I used to tell them with a straight face that we were thinking of casting Esha Deol.” Rang De Basanti was released in cinemas on January 26, 2006, to critical and commercial success. The film reportedly earned Rs 97.90 crores.
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