Aamir Khan says he almost quit Sitaare Zameen Par, Farhan & Sivakarthikeyan were first choices

During a promotional event for the release of his upcoming movie Sitaare Zameen Par, Aamir Khan shared that he was burned out with the failure of Laal Singh Chaddha and wanted to walk away from the project, but then decided to stay on as producer.

He also shared that they had plans to do a Hindi version with Farhan Akhtar in the lead and a Tamil version with Sivakarthikeyan in the lead. He also shared that both actors loved the scripts.

Initial casting plans

"I told Prasanna that I was depressed and hence needed a break. Prasanna had a heart attack (laughs) on hearing that. He was very understanding. He said, ‘I understand what you’re going through and that emotionally, you don’t feel like doing the film. But I request you to produce it instead.’ I agreed."

"At that time, we had decided to make two versions – one in Hindi with Farhan Akhtar, while Sivakarthikeyan was going to do the Tamil version. They loved the script, and the dates were even worked out." Shared Aamir Khan

How Aamir came back on board

Aamir went on to reveal that what ultimately led to him changing his mind was participating in the movie script reading sessions. “Then, on the seventh day, mere se raha nahin gaya (I couldn’t hold back). I told the writer, Divya, and Prasanna that I loved the script. I also said, ‘Now it’s too late. The casting has already been done. The bullet has been fired from the gun.’ Prasanna told me, ‘I am from Chennai. We take the bullet that’s been fired and put it back in the gun!”

Sitaare Zameen Par was officially announced in October 2023, and filming began in February 2024. The movie is produced by Aamir Khan Productions and directed by R. S. Prasanna, known for his work on Kalyana Samayal Saadham and Shubh Mangal Saavdhan.

Sitaare Zameen Par is scheduled to hit the big screen worldwide on 20 June 2025.