If this is not the biggest news to come out of Bollywood, then we’re not sure what is: the ultimate trinity – the three Khans – are to star in a film together.
Producer Sajid Nadiadwala has reportedly managed to pull off what other filmmakers have so far only dreamt of doing. According to close sources, he has roped in Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Aamir Khan for a movie that is planned to go on the floors in January 2017, with a December 2017 release in mind.
The film is purported to be of epic proportions, where each of the megastars will get an equal share of the limelight without bruising the actors’ egos or the sentiments of their fiercely loyal – and divided – fans.
We leave it up to the producer to come up with a suitable storyline to support this gargantuan and delicate task. What we’re more interested in is how the three will actually manage to work together.
There is on-screen history there, for sure: SRK and Salman have appeared on screen together in Karan Arjun (1995), Dushman Duniya Ka (1996) Kuchh Kuchh Hota Hai (1998), Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam (2002) and Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega (2000), while Aamir and Salman gave us one of Bollywood's most beloved cult comedies, Andaz Apna Apna (1994). Even SRK and Aamir came together for the 1993 write-off Pehla Nasha, where they made cameo appearances as themselves.
However, no love has been lost in their private lives. The usually sensible and publicity-shy Aamir, who avoids controversy for the most part, did the unthinkable in 2008 when he announced on his blog that he had a dog called Shah Rukh. SRK took it on the chin and made light of the news when asked for a comment: “I have never bothered about it because I also say a lot of things in fun and I think I am also may be stressing somebody else out ... I don’t get stressed when friends pass comments like this. Actually I enjoyed it.” Aamir quickly clarified afterwards that the dog actually belonged to the caretakers of his Mumbai home.
But the rivalry between SRK and Salman, known for their on-now, off-now relationship, made news for years, until Ramadan last year, when the two were spotted hugging (in what was later deemed to be a planned photo-op) at an iftar hosted by a prominent Mumbai politician.
After Salman was found guilty on May 6 in the infamous 2002 hit-and-run case, all of Bollywood took to social media to support the actor – with the glaring exception of SRK and Aamir. Perhaps it was as a compensatory gesture that the two conspicuously retweeted the first-look poster of Salman Khan’s upcoming film, Bajrangi Bhaijaan.
Which begs the following questions: can three huge egos fit in one frame? How will Salman commit to dates when his future is so uncertain? Will Aamir have to change the name of his dog?
When asked recently about casting the three Khans together, filmmaker Farah Khan said: “Even God can’t get them together.”
Now that Nadiadwala seems to have done it, maybe he actually will pull the whole project off with aplomb.
There’s just one tiny little flaw in his plan: leaving the most talented of the Khans out of the picture – the one that even Hollywood picked up: Irrfan Khan. Fix that, Nadiadwala, and you’re all set.
artslife@thenational.ae
