When Aamir Khan thought Dil scene would backfire: 'Log hum par thookenge'

Aamir Khan recently discussed his formative years in the business and shared his regrets over certain moments and songs from the 1990 romance drama Dil, which featured Madhuri Dixit and was helmed by Indra Kumar. The superstar spoke at the just-concluded Waves Summit about his inner turmoil while filming a crucial moment for the film, which was a smash hit in the early 90s but hasn't held up well in terms of storytelling sensibility and gender portrayal.

Aamir Khan's struggles with industry norms

According to Aamir, he had a difficult time fitting in with the industry standard at the time because he was a newcomer. Specifically, he described a scene in which Raja, played by him, secretly marries Madhu, played by Madhuri, by performing "pheras" around a flaming table in the absence of any witnesses.

Aamir recalled that his rational mind demanded to know why Indra claimed to be taking the 'pheras' when no one was around to corroborate his claims. An elderly woman stands by Saeed Jaffrey's side while he stands alone. Then why is he becoming so anxious? At the end, it's up to them to open the door; therefore, he should just tell them to do what makes you happy. The superstar said, "I won't accept it even if you say you're married."

Aamir Khan's disagreement with director's vision

Several hours were spent discussing the scenario between Aamir and Indra, but the filmmaker had a different take when the superstar made his case.

Indra announced that the audience is not going to think of all these reasonable things. Aamir warned, "How is that possible? They are smart people. They will see the 'pheras' and even though we believe in it emotionally, from a father’s perspective, who does not want them to be together, he will take the common-sense route. He will say, Now you go home."

Aamir caved to Indra's demands and shot the scenario the way he had envisioned it. The true shock, though, came when the superstar saw the response of the crowd at a famous Bandra single-screen theatre.

Audience response and Aamir Khan's realisation

"People started whistling and clapping. I was certain that 'log humpar thookenge uss scene mein' (I was certain that people would spit on us during that scene). That day was a big learning experience for me. Technical and legal logic is one thing; the other thing is emotional logic. So when you take them on an emotional journey, then they are not thinking logically," he explained.

On previous occasions, Aamir has expressed his displeasure with problematic depictions in Hindi movies. While criticising Bollywood's history of objectifying women, he previously confessed to being "ashamed" of the lyrics of the film's songs in an interview with Aaj Tak.

The portrayal of men and women in Hindi cinema has not been sufficiently accountable. Even when they depict bad things happening in the movies, they also show good things coming out of them, and Aamir said that's incorrect. The women in the films are frequently treated as mere objects. 

He said, "Even the songs are like Tu cheez badi hai mast mast (from Mohra). And even I am involved in this and I have done such films. Khambe jaisi khadi hai, ladki hai ya chadi hai. We are calling women ‘khamba’ but not humans. I am very ashamed of it."