When Amole Gupte Felt Betrayed By Aamir Khan Over Taare Zameen Par: “That’s When I Got To Know…”
Amole Gupte once recalled how Aamir Khan's unexpected move during Taare Zameen Par's wrap-up party shocked him. Here’s what led to their creative fallout.
Aamir Khan gave a blockbuster in his directorial debut, Taare Zameen Par, in 2008. The ace actor hit the bull’s eye in his first attempt itself, and the movie went on to win the Best Film award at the 53rd Filmfare Awards. But was Aamir the real director of the film?
Amole Gupte, the film’s creative director and original story writer, disputes this. He had a fallout with Aamir after the actor took the movie from him and allegedly claimed it as his creative work.
How Did Aamir Khan End Up Replacing Akshaye Khanna?
According to Amole, he wanted to make the movie with Akshaye Khanna and had requested Aamir to arrange a meeting with Khanna for script narration. However, Aamir himself wanted to first hear the script before he could pass it on to Akshaye. Khan heard the script, and he liked it so much that he wanted to be part of the project and produce it himself.
How DidAamir Khan’s Wrap-Up Party Declaration Spark A Rift?
Amole got on the boat with Aamir, and the two shot for the movie for 109 days. According to him, Khan stunned him during the wrap-up party of the film when he declared that he was the director of the movie. That was the beginning of a long-term feud between Aamir Khan and Amole Gupte. According to Gupte, he was surprised and hurt when Aamir declared himself the director of the movie. There were also rumors that the writer didn’t like the edited version of the film. However, he negates the fact.
“There was no question of not liking the edited version because my wife Deepa was editing the material in Panchgani as we were shooting. We were all very proud of the film. Then, we had a wrap-up party. And that’s when Aamir announced he was the director of the film. That’s when I got to know of his intentions,” Hindustan Times quoted Amole Gupte from an interview that took place in 2008.
Asked whether this betrayal affected him, Gupte remarked that it instead made him question himself. “Where did I go wrong? Had I not been there throughout the shooting for every take, including Aamir’s wonderful performance, I’d have understood that I’ve gone wrong somewhere. But I’ve enacted lines for all the actors in TZP. It hurt a lot. But I didn’t want a confrontation,” he said.
Be that as it may. Aamir is now coming with the spiritual sequel of Taare Zameen Par titled Sitaare Zameen Par. The movie is directed by R.S. Prasanna and is slated for release on June 20, 2025. Let’s wait and watch if Sitaare Zameen Par will create magic like Taare Zameen Par.
