The last time Kiran Rao directed a film – Dhobi Ghat in 2010 – Aamir Khan had an extended cameo in it. The actor’s stature has only grown since. And as Kiran Rao comes back to the big screen with her next film Laapataa Ladies, Aamir is again co-producing it. This time, however, he is not on screen, but not for the lack of trying. Kiran Rao reveals to DNA that the actor was keen on plating a crucial role in the film and even auditioned for it.
Laapataa Ladies stars newcomers Sparsh Srivastava, Pratibha Ranta, and Nitanshi Goel in the lead roles, along with Ravi Kishan as a police inspector. This was the role that Aamir was keen to play, reveals Kiran. “When this character was written, Aamir was very keen to play this because any actor would love to play it. Honestly, it would have changed the dynamic of the film box office-wise if he was playing a very meaty, big role from the beginning to the end. It would have been a very different film had he been in it. Aamir wanted to test. I kept saying that the rest of the cast is very genuine, believable and it may not work. Aamir would say I will look different,” says Kiran.
Aamir even agreed to doing a screen test for the film and as per Kiran, did such a good job that the team was tempted to cast him, albeit only for a bit. “He did one test which was amazing. I keep feeling that someday we should put it out to show the world what he had done. He did a really good test. It really tempted all of us to go with on some level. But the presence of a star in this kind of environment makes you very aware that you are watching a star. At that point, it shifts from being a very believable story you are immersed in to something else,” the filmmaker recalls.
But in the end, Kiran and Aamir both decided that Ravi Kishan would be a better choice to play Inspector Manohar in Laapataa Ladies. Kiran explains her reasoning: “Ravi ji brings an incredible earthy ras (flavour) to the character that is instinctive and authentic, something that nobody else can bring.”
After being feted at the Toronto International Film Festival last year, Laapataa Ladies is getting a theatrical release in India on March 1.
