Bollywood actor Aamir Khan has reflected on the challenges faced by the producers of Thugs of Hindostan in their quest to find a female lead for the 2018 historical film. Multiple prominent actresses, such as Deepika Padukone and Alia Bhatt, turned down the project from Yash Raj Films. Consequently, producer Aditya Chopra and director Vijay Krishna Acharya decided to cast Fatima Sana Shaikh for the role. The fact that Aamir and Fatima had previously portrayed a father and daughter in Dangal just two years earlier posed a “problem” for Chopra and Acharya.

Even there were strong speculations that Aamir Khan is in a relationship with Fatima but the actor never responded about them. In a conversation, Aamir discussed his pairing with Fatima, referring to her as his “daughter from Dangal” for Thugs of Hindostan. He shared, “This was another issue that Aditya Chopra and Vijay had. No actress agreed to take on that film. Deepika, Alia, Shraddha Kapoor, everyone turned it down. The film was offered to many in the industry, yet that single role remained unconfirmed.”

Ultimately, the choice fell to Fatima, as Vijay Krishna Acharya and Aditya Chopra felt that while Fatima auditioned well, they could not present a romantic relationship between her character and Aamir’s because she was his daughter in the previous film. “How can she be your girlfriend in this one? The audience would reject it,” Aamir noted.

Nonetheless, Aamir maintained that the primary focus was on creating a film. “I don’t subscribe to that belief. In reality, I’m neither her father nor her boyfriend. We’re just working on a movie, my friend,” he remarked. Despite featuring a prominent cast, which included Amitabh Bachchan and Katrina Kaif, Thugs of Hindostan ultimately underperformed at the box office.