'Not Aamir Khan, but makers wanted to cast Shah Rukh Khan in ‘Sarfarosh,’ says director John Matthew Matthan

Aamir Khan starrer ‘Sarfarosh’ has completed 25 years since its release in 2024. Directed by John Matthew Matthan, the film also featured Naseeruddin Shah and Sonali Bendre. The filmmaker is currently on a break as he no longer enjoys the filmmaking process. He admitted that he spends his time at home, watching a lot of TV and all the films in theaters.

Matthan was aware of the significance of this movie, given the Kargil conflict and tension between India and Pakistan during its release. However, he had no idea it would endure for 25 years. He cast Aamir Khan in ‘Sarfarosh’ after being impressed by his performance in the 1990 film ‘Dil’ alongside Madhuri Dixit. In an interview with Indianexpress, he revealed that the makers wanted to cast Shah Rukh Khan, not Aamir, in this film.

The director considers himself a cinephile, having started watching films since 8th grade. He watched almost all Hindi films as he entered college. However, in the 1980s, he stopped watching them for a long time because none satisfied him. He went to Rajasthan and Delhi to pursue his own project and conducted research. While staying in a guesthouse in Delhi, he saw Aamir on TV playing a role in ‘Dil’ where his character attempted to rape Madhuri Dixit’s character. Aamir looked honest in the role, which suited him well. Aamir was not a big star then, but the director returned to Mumbai with Aamir in mind to start working on ‘Sarfarosh’.

Matthan further added that his cinema friends suggested featuring Shah Rukh Khan instead of Aamir Khan in this film to potentially earn more money. His friend, producer Manmohan Shetty, backed two films starring Shah Rukh Khan: Vikram Mehrotra’s ‘Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa’ and Praveen Nischol’s ‘English Babu Desi Mem’. They all advised Matthan to cast SRK instead of Aamir, but the filmmaker believed that Shah Rukh did not suit the role. When they pointed out that SRK's movies could generate more revenue, Matthan refused to do so.


Later, John met Aamir, who agreed to the movie. He began analyzing Aamir, who had previously only done romantic roles, believing that his transformation in ‘Sarfarosh’ would impress people. Nobody dared to cast Aamir in an action film before. Aamir also wanted to do something new and realistic. However, when he signed the film, he had his apprehensions. Matthan was confident it would recover its costs.

According to Matthan, after the commercial success of ‘Sarfarosh’, Aamir realized the importance of doing films with original stories. This led to ‘Lagaan’. Aamir's attitude towards movies changed after that, and he has been choosing projects that are different from the usual patterns, helping him to stay relevant over the years.

Matthan is set to make a comeback with ‘Sarfarosh 2’.
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