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Script kept changing: Aamir recalls 'Thugs of Hindostan' failure
17 May 2026

Aamir Khan recently spoke about the debacle of his film, Thugs of Hindostan (2018), and revealed what drew him to the project.

Speaking to SCREEN, he said, "For me...what character I'm playing comes secondary."

"So, when I say yes to Dangal, it's because I love the script."

"It's a great story with all parts having wonderful stuff to do. Then I focus on my character, Mahavir. But I haven't said yes to the film because kya character hai Mahavir ka!"

Khan was drawn to Firangi's 'unreliable' nature
Character focus

Khan admitted that the story of Thugs of Hindostan was "normal," but he was fascinated by his character.

"Firangi is such an unreliable character. You don't know when he's speaking the truth and when he's not. He's only about himself."

"I found him to be a very attractive and engaging character. He's got some great moments," he said at the Screen Academy masterclass at Whistling Woods International in Mumbai.

Khan compared 'Thugs of Hindostan' to 'Sholay'
Film comparison

Khan also compared Thugs of Hindostan to the iconic Bollywood film Sholay (1975).

He explained, "In Sholay, you have Sanjeev Kumar's Thakur, who needs to take revenge for his family being wiped out. And two people come in and help him - Jai (Amitabh Bachchan) and Veeru (Dharmendra)."

"Over here, it's Zafira (Fatima Sana Shaikh) whose family gets wiped out. She needs help, and Firangi comes in."

Khan regrets changes made to 'Thugs of Hindostan's script
Script changes

Khan also expressed regret over the changes made to Thugs of Hindostan's script.

"For casting reasons, we kept changing the script," he revealed. "We should not have changed the script even if we didn't get the casting we wanted."

"So when you've seen Thugs, you haven't seen the original script that Victor (Vijay Krishna Acharya) had written because it went through a lot of changes."

When Khan said he didn't like 'Thugs of Hindostan'
Film's failure

This isn't the first time Khan has pointed out the flaws in Thugs of Hindostan. Last year, he revealed that he didn't like the film at all.

"I felt that structurally, we went wrong with the writing, and I tried to tell them about it," he said on Zee Music Company's YouTube channel.

"I know this won't work... when Thugs didn't work, I didn't feel bad because I didn't like it too."