Darsheel Safary on Aamir Khan’s takeover of Taare Zameen Par set: 'Forget who the director is'

Aamir Khan reportedly took over directing Taare Zameen Par from Amole Gupte, sparking ghost directing claims. Aamir denies this. The sequel Sitaare Zameen Par releases June 20, 2025.

Aamir Khan and Darsheel Safary in a still from Taare Zameen Par

Even though he was once called a "perfectionist", Aamir Khan is now under fire for allegedly "ghost directing" films and stealing the spotlight from other directors. Darsheel Safary's recent revelations provide light on the extent of Aamir's involvement in the direction of the critically praised film Taare Zameen Par even though Aamir has constantly refuted these accusations.

Darsheel Safary reveals Aamir Khan replaced Amole Gupte as director

Darsheel Safary discussed the film's production dynamics in an interview with Vickey Lalwani. He spilt the beans on Aamir Khan replacing Amole Gupte as director and writer. Darsheel claims that Aamir instructed them to not think about what they had just shot. He will be the one to direct it. Here they have Amole, who will be serving as creative director on set. They will all work together to create his film and ignore the identity of the director.

Darsheel elaborated by saying that Aamir took over as director after Amole had just spent two or three days on set. "I was scared of Aamir, sir," Darsheel reflected on his ordeal. He shared that Amole and he were friends. Gupte had noticed that Darsheel was attending Shiamak Davar's lessons. His friendship with Amole was very strong. Their friendship extends to his son as well. Together, they have done numerous mastics.

Darsheel Safary’s relationship with Amole Gupte and personal insights

According to Darsheel, Aamir was also quite hands-on when it came to providing feedback on set. He overheard them discussing the pros and cons of various approaches. The young actor recalls Aamir's inputs with outstanding clarity.

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Aamir replied to the persistent claims of "ghost directing" in an interview with Galatta Plus. He admitted that people would often think he was ghost directing. They would reason that because it had occurred so frequently with him, it couldn't have been a coincidence whenever these directors refused to collaborate with him and their films bombed. Convincing people that these directors, not himself, were directing these films was a challenging task.

While Aamir's role as director of Taare Zameen Par has long been a point of contention, Darsheel's latest remarks help to clarify the extent to which the superstar had creative say over the film's making.

Upcoming sequel Sitaare Zameen Par and Aamir Khan’s new role

On June 20, 2025, you can catch the spiritual sequel to Taare Zameen Par. It's called Sitaare Zameen Par. Aamir will play a basketball coach in the sequel, which promises a change of pace while retaining the film's uplifting themes, rather than his role as a teacher in the original.

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