In the wake of sexual harassment allegations against director Subhash Kapoor by actress Geetika Tyagi, Aamir Khan had backed out of Mogul, the Gulshan Kumar biopic that the actor was supposed to produce with T-Series. After almost a year, Aamir had reconsidered his decision and is now back onboard with the said project and will be playing the role of music baron Gulshan Kumar on screen.
Many would wonder why Aamir, who has zero tolerance for any sexual misconduct, would be willing to work with an accused person on a project. Clarifying his stand, the Dangal actor said that he felt guilty of causing a person lose his right to work and earn a livelihood because of his actions.
"Well, Kiran and I were producing Mogul and I was acting in it. When we were doing the film we did not know that there was a case against Mr Subash Kapoor. I believe it is a five or six year old case. We are not too much in the media space, so I guess it slipped our attention. Last year, during the #MeToo movement, mention of this case came up. That's when we got to know about it, and we were most disturbed. Kiran and I spoke about it at length. We were in a big dilemma for more than a week," Aamir Khan told Hindustan Times in an interview.
"I couldn't sleep at night because I used to constantly feel that my actions have inadvertently caused a person, about whose guilt I have absolutely no idea, to lose his right to work and earn a livelihood," he further added.
— Aamir Khan (@aamir_khan) October 10, 2018
In their own capacity, Aamir and Kiran decided to speak to a handful of women who Subhash had worked with in the past. And all of them went on to praise the director and how he used to look after everyone and care for them. And this particular interaction did give Aamir and Kiran a sort of comfort.
"What we found is that, without exception, all of them spoke very highly of him. Not only did they not feel any discomfort with him, but rather they went out of their way to praise him. They said that he looked after everyone on his set with great care. Caring, sensitive and supportive were the words used to describe him. Mind you, both Kiran and I are fully aware that these particular women may have had a very good experience working with Mr Kapoor, but that does not mean that he could not have misbehaved with some other woman. However, I cannot deny that this interaction with women who had worked with him, did give us comfort. And so, taking everything into account, I wrote back to IFTDA saying I have reconsidered my decision, and that I would come back on to the film," Aamir said.
Aamir is currently busy with Lal Singh Chaddha, the remake of Hollywood's multiple Academy Award-winning movie Forrest Gump (1994). He will not only reprise the titular role of Tom Hanks in the Forrest Gump adaptation but also produce the film. It will be directed by Advait Chandan, the director of Secret Superstar and a former manager of Aamir Khan.
