Dalip Tahil recalls playing Aamir Khan’s father in Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak when he wasn’t even married: ‘I was 31’

Actor Dalip Tahil has spoken about his role in Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak in which he essayed the role of actor Aamir Khan’s father. In a new interview, Dalip said he was 31 years old then and didn’t even think before taking up the role even though he wasn’t married. He also revealed that actors Sanjeev Kumar and Shammi Kapoor were chosen to be a part of the film. However, director Mansoor Khan told him he couldn’t work with them ‘because they are too senior’. (Also Read | Dalip Tahil says Ramesh Sippy’s Buniyaad changed his life: ‘My mom used to watch show and start crying’)

Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988) is a romance directed by Mansoor Khan and written and produced by Nasir Hussain. The film featured Aamir Khan, Juhi Chawla, Goga Kapoor, Ravindra Kapoor, Alok Nath, Reema Lagoo and Ajit Vachani among many others. The film won a National Award.

In an interview with Times of India, Dalip said, “After Buniyaad I got Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak. I asked Nasir Hussain saab, long after we were shooting for the film, ‘Where did you find me in the big fat industry?’ Because it was such a powerful role and he told me, ‘I saw you in Buniyaad and that’s what I wanted in this movie. I wanted a strong character but an emotional one. We knew we were going to cast Aamir and you fit the character of his father’. A lot of big actors had refused Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak. It was supposed to be made with Mr Sanjeev Kumar and Mr Shammi Kapoor. At that time Nasir Hussain saab was going to direct the movie. But he suffered a heart attack and doctors advised him not to take on the burden of direction.”

“He offered the film to his son Mansoor, who loved the subject, but then he said there is no way I can work with Sanjeev Kumar and Shammi Kapoor, because they are too senior. So the film went through a whole recasting and it was offered to quite a few character actors in the industry. I won’t take names but a lot of people turned down Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak. I was 31 years old when I played Aamir’s father in Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak. And I didn’t even think before taking up this role. Aamir was a teenager then. I heard the prologue and I agreed to do the movie even before hearing it further. I wasn’t even a father myself at that time when I played a father to Aamir Khan, I was not even married,” he added.

Fans saw Dalip last in the sports drama Toolsidas Junior. It is produced by Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, Ashutosh Gowariker and Sunita Gowariker under the banner of Ashutosh Gowariker Productions and T-Series films. Directed by Mridul Mahendra, the film also features Sanjay Dutt, Rajiv Kapoor, and Varun Buddhadev.