Dalip Tahil Was Only 31 When He Played Aamir Khan’s Dad In Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak

Dalip Tahil in a still from Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak. (courtesy: YouTube)

New Delhi:

Veteran actor Dalip Tahil, who is best known for playing antagonists in Bollywood movies, in a recent interview with ETimes revealed that he was 31 when he played Aamir Khan’s dad in the 1998 film Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak. The Actor told ETimes, “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.”

Recalling how he was cast in the project starring Aamir Khan and Juhi Chawla, Dalip Tahil added, “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.”

Dalip Tahil is best-known for starring in projects like Buniyaad, Darr, Baazigar, Ishq, RA.One and Bhag Milkha Bhag, to name a few. His film credits also include Gandhi, Ankur, Shakti, Arth and Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke, among others.