When Aamir Khan’s uncle told him he could never be an actor…

Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak

Following this conversation, Aamir got the biggest shock of his life. The director, who thought that Aamir can’t be an actor, introduced him as the hero of his next film. After meeting Javed Akhtar, Nasir Hussain had an old friend visiting him at the same location where he had met Javed Akhtar. The friend had the same question for Nasir Hussain and asked the director who was this young boy (Aamir Khan). This time around Nasir Hussain had a different answer to give. Nasir Hussain stated, “This is Aamir, the star of my next film.” The man who once said that Aamir cannot be an actor, just introduced him as the hero of his next project. Recalling this incident, Aamir was quoted saying, “Toing karkey main ruk gaya. (I was dumbstruck.) Where did that come from?” Aamir thought that Nasir Hussain was joking, but he was not. After a few days, Aamir realised that Nasir Hussain is writing a film keeping Aamir in mind as the hero and this film was ‘Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak’. Rest is history…

When Javed Akhtar convinced Nasir Hussain

Javed Akhtar had some role to play in convincing Nasir Hussain that Aamir can be a good actor. In an interview, Aamir gave a complete bureau of the conversation that took place between Nasir Hussain and Javed Akhtar with regards to him, which changed the director's perception. Javed Akhtar and Nasir Hussain had a meeting in Khandala during the shooting of ‘Zabardast’ and their conversation was something like this… Javed Akhtar: Woh ladka kaun hai? (Who is that boy?) Nasir Hussain: Woh Tahir ka beta hai. (He is Tahir's son). Javed Akhtar: What does he do? Nasir Hussain: Yeh mera assistant hai (He is my assistant).' Javed Akhtar: Yeh aapka assistant kyun hai? Isko toh aapka star hona chaahiye (Why is he your assistant? He should be your star).

When Aamir Khan impressed Nasir Hussain!

Okay, not as an actor, but Nasir Hussain sure gave an opportunity to Aamir to be the assistant director in films ‘Manzil Manzil’ and ‘Zabardast’. “I told him, "I want to work as an assistant. If you take me, great. If you don't take me, I will go and meet some other directors and I will find some work somewhere,” recalled Aamir. An aspiring actor and the then assistant director did leave a positive impression on Nasir Hussain.

Nasir Hussain: Aamir can never be an actor

In one of the interviews, Aamir also recalled how Nasir Hussain did not consider Aamir a good actor. Aamir is Nasir Hussain’s nephew and some apparently suggested the director to cast the young champ in his film. To this, Nasir Hussain had retorted saying, “No, he can never be an actor. I am a director. I have a director's eyes. Aamir can never be an actor.” Justifying his uncle’s stance, Aamir explained, “'He was saying that to protect me. Plus, I was a very shy kid, very shy. I hardly spoke. I was an introvert. It was very unlikely for anyone to be able to read that this guy is going to be a good actor.”

When Faisal Khan replaced Aamir Khan!

We all know that Aamir Khan made his acting debut as a child artist in the Nasir Hussain’s film ‘Yaadon Ki Baraat’. Following this, Aamir was also to be a part of the ace director’s next ‘Pyaar Ka Mausam’. But something went wrong on the sets, and Nasir Hussain made the decision to cast Aamir’s brother Faisal Khan in the film. Recalling this incident, Aamir once said, “'On the day of the shooting ‘Pyaar Ka Mausam’, I was crying my head off and they could not calm me down. After attempts were made to calm me down, Nasir sa'ab said, "Arrey yaar abhi chhodo isko. Faisal ko le aao (Forget him. Get Faisal)".'