Did you know Boney Kapoor wanted Salman Khan in ‘Ghajini’ before Aamir Khan? says, ‘I still regret it’ | Hindi Movie News

Boney Kapoor wanted Salman Khan for ‘Ghajini’ remake before Aamir Khan. Their 20-year bond started with ‘Sirf Tum’, hit blockbusters like ‘No Entry’ and ‘Wanted’. Boney saw Salman’s ‘Tere Naam’ look—chiseled, shaved head—as ideal for Suriya’s role. Rights issues with Allu Aravind and Madhu Mantena’s delays led to loss. “I still regret it,” he says.

Boney Kapoor and Salman Khan have shared a professional bond for over 20 years, kicking off with the 1999 film ‘Sirf Tum’. They later teamed up for blockbuster hits like ‘No Entry’ in 2005 and ‘Wanted’ in 2009. But a Hindi ‘Ghajini’ remake with Salman didn’t happen. Boney said in a recent interview he wanted Salman for it, but Aamir Khan did it instead

Ideal casting choice

In a Rediff interview, Boney shared his reasoning for seeing Salman as perfect for the part Aamir eventually took. Referencing Salman’s look in ‘Tere Naam,’ he said that in the first half of ‘Tere Naam,’ Salman sports long hair, but for the post-interval portions, when he is confined to an ashram for the mentally ill, he has shaved his head. Boney thought that with his chiseled physique and his pruned hair, Khan would be a perfect fit for Suriya’s role in ‘Ghajini.’

Rights hurdles

Boney believed Salman’s build and commanding on-screen aura suited the film’s demanding character journey ideally. He shared how the chance escaped him due to remake rights hurdles, stating, “My representative down South approached the producer for the Hindi remake rights. He was told by Salem Chandrasekharan that they had been given as collateral to Allu Aravind… but he could buy the rights by paying off both of them.”

Lost opportunity

He next reached out to Madhu Mantena, a key contact of Allu Aravind, who kept promising, “Madhu kept assuring me, ‘Ho jayega (It will happen).’” The situation flipped when Pradeep Rawat brought the Ghajini remake to Aamir, as Boney explained: “For almost six months, while he was debating over whether he wanted to do the Hindi remake of Ghajini, Madhu kept me dangling. When Aamir finally consented, Madhu Mantena and Allu Aravind decided to produce the film themselves, and I lost out.” Kapoor still laments the what-if, saying, “I wanted to remake Ghajini with Salman, and to this day, I regret missing out on the opportunity.“