An extremely successful debut, Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na (2008), made Imran Khan, in today’s parlance, a “national crush”. On Koffee With Karan, celebrities were asked to decide who will be India’s next superstar – Imran or Ranbir Kapoor. Awards and bigger films followed until Katti Batti, Imran, nephew of actor Aamir Khan, decided to take a break from films. He became a social media darling a few years ago and has now done a cameo in his Delhi colleague Belly’s film Vir Das. Happy Patel Khatarnak Jasoos. As far as comebacks go, it’s as low-key as possible, but it aligns with Imran’s beliefs: he wants to work with friends, not be part of the Bollywood rat race.
Imran, in a recent interview with HT, also ruled out being part of Bollywood’s PR machine one day. “I’ve worked in a time where I had PR and a manager. Having tried it and knowing what it brings to the world, now I don’t want those things. I don’t want a manager to go out and find work for me. The manager’s pay rate depends on keeping me consistently employed, so it can pressure me to do things I don’t want to do.
However, the actor He accepted that when he was starting his career, there were times when he was devastated when things didn’t go his way. The films he mentioned were Rohit Shetty’s Chennai Express, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra Delhi 6 and Vikramaditya Motwane’s Bhavesh Joshi. The three films ultimately starred Shah Rukh Khan, Abhishek Bachchan and Harshvardhan Kapoor, respectively.
Imran had auditioned for Delhi 6, before his debut in Jaane Tu…Ya Jaane Naa. “At various times, there have been several films that just didn’t fit. With Mehra, it was ‘Delhi 6’. At that time, I hadn’t done any film, I auditioned for the film (the lead role). But at that time, they didn’t want to put the money on a new person, an untried and untested person,” Imran told PTI in an interview.
At this point in his life, Imran Khan prefers to work alongside friends and like-minded people, like Vir Das in Happy Patel.
Delhi 6 was the story of an Indian-American boy who becomes embroiled in communal tensions when he arrives at Delhi’s Chandni Chowk with his grandmother. While the 2009 film was not a box office success, it remains acclaimed for its incisive commentary on a topic that has become more relevant over time.
Imran said there were real-life parallels to the lead character in Delhi 6. “I was born in the United States and grew up as a child of two worlds. So, I identified with those things. So my instinct before, and even after, was, ‘That would have been a great film to be a part of,’ I wish I could have been in that film. The film has aged quite well. Even back then, I was very excited to have been a part of it; I loved the role so much. ” I felt pretty devastated that I didn’t get the role. But I guess, considering the scale of the film and the budget, they wanted a well-known person. “This was before the release of ‘Jaane Tu…’,” he added.
‘Harshvardhan Kapoor replaced me in Bhavesh Joshi after my film flopped’
After Imran Khan faced failures, he was eliminated from Bhavesh Joshi Superhero. It happened after his 2013 film Gori Tere Pyaar Mein, co-starring Kareena Kapoor Khan, flopped. “After ‘Gori Tere Pyaar Mein’, I was taken out of the film. So that was also out of my hands, out of my control. The film turned out well. It’s one of those films that is unique and original, someone has tried to push the boundaries of what we can normally do and I appreciate that,” he said.
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Imran Khan in a still from Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na.
Imran Khan replaced by Shah Rukh Khan in Chennai Express
While Rohit Shetty had approached Imran with Chennai Express, it ultimately didn’t work out. “We had a couple of conversations about it. But between us, we thought we were out of sync creatively. His narration was hilarious, and the movie turned out to be hilarious. But I don’t think he would have been right. I saw what I was looking for, I thought it was funny.
“I don’t think he was right for that, which is the conversation we had, and I said, ‘Listen, I don’t see us syncing up.’ Shah Rukh Khan was a better choice, I don’t think he can surpass Shah Rukh,” Imran said.
Imran acted in films like Jaane Tu…Ya Jaane Naa, I Hate Luv Storys, Break Ke Baad, Mere Brother Ki Dulhan, Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu and Delhi Belly, among others.