Aamir Khan convinced Amitabh Bachchan to take up Jhund: ‘He told me I must do this film’

Amitabh Bachchan is back on screen, this time as a soccer coach in Jhund. The 79-year-old plays NGO Slum Soccer founder Vijay Barse, a Nagpur-based retired sports teacher who pioneers a slum soccer movement. It was Aamir Khan who had convinced Amitabh to take on the role. When Aamir actually got to watch the film, he turned emotional and called it ‘one of the greatest films’ of Amitabh Bachchan. Also read: Jhund movie review: Amitabh Bachchan scores a goal in this sports drama with a heart

Aamir got to hear the script of Jhund and was so impressed that he recommended Amitabh Bachchan to do the film and also convinced him for the role. He said it would be a perfect collaboration. Confirming the same, Amitabh had said, “I remember when I discussed that with Aamir; he told me I must do this film. And you know what happens when Aamir endorses something”.

T-Series shared a video on its YouTube channel which showed how Aamir got emotional on watching the film. After wiping his tears as he gave a standing ovation, Aamir said, “What a film. My God. Bohut hi behtareen film hai (It’s an amazing film). It has happened for the first time that a film has received a standing ovation during a private screening. I don’t have words to say. The way you have captured the emotions of girls and boys of India, it’s unbelievable. The way the children have worked is unbelievable.”

Director Nagraj Manjule recently told PTI how it was a lifetime opportunity for him to work with Amitabh and he wanted to make the most of it. He said, “It was daunting when I would think, how will I possibly be able to work with him. Before Jhund, I had only worked with no actors. So I would think what would be the process, how will I direct him. But credit to him, he really never made me feel any pressure or burden”.

Jhund was first announced to open in cinemas in 2020 and then later in June 2021, but was pushed both the times due to the Covid pandemic.