As Dil Chahta Hai completes 25 years, Aamir Khan recently joined the film’s cast and crew to look back at memories from the film. During another conversation with We Are Yuvaa, the actor also recalled some interesting moments from his earlier films Talaash and Lagaan, involving filmmaker Reema Kagti. Aamir revealed that Reema had scolded him for arriving late on the sets of Talaash and had also refused to give him special treatment when they worked together on Lagaan.
Aamir recalled an incident from the making of Talaash, which was directed by Reema Kagti. The actor had asked her if he could arrive one hour late because he wanted to attend former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar’s retirement party. However, the event went on longer than expected and Aamir eventually reached the sets almost 4-5 hours late. He knew that Reema would not be happy with him and was prepared to be scolded. Aamir shared, “I thought, ‘Aaj Reema se daant kha lenge (Today I will accept scolding from Reea ). Sachin Tendulkar ke liye itna bhi chalega’ (Will accept this for Sachin). She blasted me.. she said, ‘How dare you come late? Is this your professionalism?’ Itna mujhe sunaya. I am still working on her (anger). We are getting there.”
This was not the first time Aamir had faced Reema’s anger over punctuality. The two had earlier worked together on Lagaan, where Aamir played the lead role and was also the producer. Reema was working as the second assistant director on the film. Aamir remembered that he had once asked her to call him 15 minutes before the other cast and crew members for breakfast because he needed more time to eat. Reema refused to make an exception and told him that his hair and makeup team would also not arrive 15 minutes early just for him.
Aamir admitted that her response hurt him, especially because he was the producer of the film. He said, “I’m the producer, and she is scolding me. I said, ‘It takes time for me.’ She said, ‘I don’t care; you have to come.’ She spoke to me very harshly. I felt hurt. It didn’t affect her; she said, ‘Very good, you can be read on time then.’ After a week, exhausted, I went back to having breakfast there again.”
Talaash: The Answer Lies Within was written and directed by Reema Kagti and co-written by Zoya Akhtar. The film was produced by Farhan Akhtar’s Excel Entertainment and Aamir Khan under Aamir Khan Productions. It featured Aamir Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Rani Mukerji in lead roles, with Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Rajkummar Rao and Shernaz Patel in supporting roles.
