Aamir Khan, has opened up about how he handles box office failure. The actor shared his analytical approach to understanding why films don’t connect and a fascinating behind-the-scenes revelation about how the second half of the blockbuster ‘PK’ was rewritten before release.
Aamir Khan on accepting a film’s failure
Aamir Khan acknowledged that not every well-intentioned film finds its audience. For him, the first step after a setback is straightforward acceptance. In an interview with Variety India, he said, “The first thing I do is I accept it. It’s very important to accept what has happened. I feel when a film doesn’t work, the bottom line is simple — that it didn’t work.”Rather than deflecting blame or moving on quickly, Aamir shared that he treats every underperforming film as an intellectual exercise. He described his method of dissecting failure as both structured and genuinely engaging. He explained, “It’s like solving a puzzle.” The actor further added, “You’re trying to figure it out. Which is why one of the things I do with my directors very often is I discuss the film with them before the release. Did we end up making what we set out to make? How successful do we think we are before the release? And that’s a very important discussion to have because then you’re able to judge the film creatively.”
Aamir Khan reveals the second half of ‘PK’ was rewritten
This pre-release creative audit proved especially critical during the making of ‘PK’ (2014). Aamir Khan and director Rajkumar Hirani noticed that parts of the original second half echoed thematic elements of ‘OMG: Oh My God’, which was released shortly before ‘PK’s scheduled theatrical run.“The plot was totally different, but some of the themes were similar. I remember Raju (Hirani) reacting and saying, ‘Sometimes that happens, but we must change our second half.’ So we changed the second half.”The superstar added that they were upset with the final product. He said, “Before the release, we were not totally happy with the film because the original second half was slightly different from what we have made. But this was the best we could have done. Luckily, the film worked, and it was a big success.”
More about Aamir Khan
The actor recently made a cameo in the Vir Das starrer ‘Happy Patel: Khatarnak Jasoos’. The film was released in February this year. His production house has backed the project ‘Lahore 1947’, starring Sunny Deol. The movie set to arrive in cinemas later this year.
