Aamir Khan Did Ghajini Because He Couldn't Say 'No' To Villain Pradeep Rawat

Pradeep Rawat also played the villain in the Tamil and Telugu versions of Ghajini

05 Aug 2026, 03:48 · NDTV

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Pradeep Rawat played the villain in the Tamil and Telugu versions of Ghajini
Rawat convinced Aamir Khan to star in the Hindi adaptation of Ghajini
Ghajini became the highest-grossing Indian film of 2008 and crossed ₹100 crore

How did Pradeep Rawat finally convince Aamir Khan to do the movie?

For some actors, a single character is enough to make their name and fame. Late actor Pradeep Rawat, who played the villain in the Tamil and Telugu versions of Ghajini, convinced Aamir Khan to play the lead role in AR Murugadoss's Hindi adaptation. How did he convince Aamir Khan? That's a story worth sharing.

In a throwback interview with Siddharth Kannan two years ago, Pradeep Rawat shared in detail how he met the Ghajini director on SS Rajamouli's film set and how he brought Aamir Khan on board for the film.

"I was already successful in Telugu films back then. SS Rajamouli's assistant saw me in Lagaan. They hired an agency to find me. I was asked to audition for Rajamouli's second film, Sye. It was based on rugby, which is the toughest game in the world. Moreover, it was a college boy's role. When I got selected, Rajamouli changed my character to a gunda, a mawali, and to suit my age.

"So, while I was shooting for the film in Hyderabad, I saw one person coming and peeping behind the door where I was getting my makeup done, and leaving without telling me anything. After he did it a couple of times, I asked my assistant, 'Who is he?'

"Then the person replied, 'Sir, I am AR Murugadoss. I am a director.'"

At that time, AR Murugadoss couldn't speak English or Hindi; neither did he have the typical personality of a director, recalled Pradeep Rawat. As Pradeep had already worked with Salman Khan, the director wanted to cast him in the lead role of Ghajini.

"Salman is short-tempered, so I felt he would have issues with AR Murugadoss. But I have known Aamir for 25 years. I have never seen him scream at anyone. He never uses foul language. That's why I approached Aamir for the role," Rawat recalled.

Rawat first told Aamir Khan that he wanted to show him the Tamil film. He didn't reveal that he was actually approaching him for the lead role in the Hindi version.

"Aamir is very clever though (smiles). He kept on dilly-dallying. But ultimately he did the film because he couldn't say 'no' to me," Rawat recalled.

The rest is history.

Ghajini was theatrically released on 25 December 2008, coinciding with Christmas. It became the highest-grossing Indian film of the year and the first Bollywood film to cross the ₹100 crore mark domestically, creating the 100 Crore Club.

Pradeep Rawat died on Tuesday evening while undergoing treatment for cancer. He was 74.

The actor was initially admitted to Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital in Mumbai before being shifted to a cancer hospital in Bhiwandi around 10 days ago for further treatment. He is survived by his wife and his son, Vikramaditya. Actor Yashpal Sharma confirmed the news of his death with an Instagram post.

His filmography includes Sarfarosh, The Hero: Love Story of a Spy, Stalin, Veeram, 1: Nenokkadine, Loukyam, Nenu Sailaja, Sarrainodu, Nene Raju Nene Mantri, Aayirathil Iruvar, Market Raja MBBS and Miss Match.

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