Aamir Khan admits concern over being mocked by public for '3 Idiots' role

Aamir Khan revealed that he feared the public would laugh at him for playing an 18-year-old in 3 Idiots, but Rajkumar Hirani convinced him by saying, "You’ve done films that could have never been hits."

During his appearance on The Great Indian Kapil Show, the 49-year-old actor talked about why he turned down the chance to portray the iconic 23-year-old freedom fighter Bhagat Singh at the age of 37.

The PK star said, “Bhagat Singh ji is a very important historical figure. He was a unique human being. What he did at the age of 22-23, we can’t even think about it. His courage. He was fearless. That’s a very rare quality. Its beauty was that you see a young 23-year-old on the witness stand, whose mustache has not sprouted, making such big statements." 

"If I stood there, I was already turning 40 at the time, it wouldn’t have looked good. That quality of a young guy saying such things won’t come to me. That’s why I didn’t do it.”

Offering insights on why he agreed to play the role of 18-year-old college kid in 3 Idiots, Aamir said, “I wasn’t even doing 3 Idiots because I thought the public would laugh at me as I was turning 44 and I am playing the role of an 18-year-old boy."

"It would be weird. I told Raju to take three youngsters but he was after me. I hadn’t worked with Raju till then. I was a big fan but the story he brought me, I was like how will I play this young character."