Faissal Khan recalls career-destroying movie Mela with Aamir Khan and Twinkle Khanna: 'I knew I was not a great actor, so...'

Aamir Khan’s attempt to launch his brother Faissal Khan as a leading actor with the film Mela turned out to be a major setback for Faissal’s career. Despite the film’s star-studded cast and years of effort, Mela failed to impress at the box office, leading to lasting tensions and missed opportunities.

Production delays

In a recent Pinkvilla interview, Faissal revealed that production delays in Mela were due to disagreements between his brother Aamir and the director. He admitted that after his debut in Madhosh, he was self-critical and decided to improve by taking acting lessons, practicing singing to strengthen his voice, and learning dance and fight skills. He believes these efforts helped improve his performance in Mela.


The actor explained that Mela featured many talented actors, including Aamir Khan, Johnny Lever, Asrani, and Archana Puran Singh. The director, Dharmesh Darshan, challenged him by saying that since Aamir was the best, if Faissal could match his performance, it would prove his own talent. At the time, Aamir was receiving widespread praise for their recent hit Raja Hindustani, so standing out alongside him was seen as a true test of Faissal’s abilities.

A film made for brotherly support

He further revealed that Mela took four years to complete, starting in 1996. He explained that Aamir Khan wanted to help him because at the time, many brothers were working together in films, like Sunny and Bobby Deol in Dillagi, and Arbaaz Khan and Salman Khan in Hello Brother. Since no one wanted to cast Faissal alone, Aamir and director Dharmesh Darshan decided to make a film with both brothers, seeing it as a test for Faissal.

Conflicts nearly derailed the project

Faissal explained that the film’s delay was due to conflicts between Aamir Khan and director Dharmesh Darshan. He had promised producer Ratan Jain not to take on any other projects until Mela was completed, which finally released in 2000. At one point, Aamir even threatened to leave the film because of these disagreements, but eventually, he and Darshan resolved their issues and continued working on the project.



In a previous interview with Bollywood Hungama, director Dharmesh Darshan blamed Aamir Khan for interfering in the making of Mela. He admitted that while he was strict during Raja Hindustani, he became softer on Mela, which affected the film's quality. Dharmesh also mentioned casting issues, noting that apart from Aamir, the rest of the cast was not very strong. Despite these challenges, he praised Faissal’s performance, saying that Faissal showed significant growth from Madhosh to Mela, and in some scenes, even outshined Aamir with a very real performance.

According to NDTV, Aamir Khan has admitted that he regrets making Mela. After the film's failure at the box office, Aamir and director Dharmesh Darshan never worked together again.