Aamir Khan quit Saare Jahan Se Acha because of Mahabharata. Heres why

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aamir khan photos — Aamir Khan at the Cinestaan Indias Storytellers Contest in Mumbai. (Photo: Varinder Chawla)

Until last year, superstar Aamir Khan was supposed to headline the Rakesh Sharma biopic, which now has Shah Rukh Khan in the lead role. But while Aamir has kept mum about the reason behind his exit from the project, film writer Anjum Rajabali revealed the star was so consumed by Mahabharata, that he had to let go of the biopic, which is now titled Saare Jahan Se Acha.

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The film, which was earlier called Salute, would have marked a reunion for Anjum and Aamir 20 years after their previous collaboration Ghulam (1998), which was their first film together.

“Frankly speaking, I was very keen that Aamir does it and he, at that moment, had liked it. We had discussed a lot. We had a lot of hopes for it but unfortunately (there was) the larger project of Mahabharata, which he was consumed by,” Anjum said at the award ceremony of Cinestaan Indias Storytellers Contest.

His comment was met by an “Oh My God!” remark by Aamir, who had so far avoided speaking about his much-ambitious project.

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Heaping praise on the script of Saare Jahan Se Acha, Aamir reiterated that he suggested Shah Rukh to hear the story.

“It is a great script. Salute is a wonderful script and I am a big fan of Rakesh (Sharma). Its a wonderful story and I feel sad that I was not able to do it, which is why I called up Shah Rukh and told him it was a wonderful story and he should hear it. I am glad he liked it. All my best wishes for the project.”