When Tigmmanshu Dhulia ‘showed off’ in front of Aamir Khan: ‘Maine khatarnak set lagaya’

Filmmaker Tigmanshu Dhulia recalled a funny anecdote about trying to show off in front of Aamir Khan while working on a TV show. Tigmanshu said in an interview that he didn’t have any doubts about his own capability when he began working on his first film, because he’d worked in television already. And back then, he said, television wasn’t such a restrictive medium, and he was allowed to be flamboyant with his filmmaking.

He said in Hindi, in an interview with Bollywood Hungama, “I don’t think I’ve ever ever told anyone this. We were shooting at Esel Studio in Trombay, it used to be a cheap studio to shoot at. They had everything there; a petrol pump, a court, a village, a temple. We were working one day, and we noticed some excitement. Lots of cars started coming in. We were curious, and we were told that Aamir Khan had come to shoot Sarfarosh.”

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Just to ‘show off’, Tigmanshu decided to put together a ‘lavish’ shot. He said, “Acha, inko dikhate hain. Maine kaha, ‘Yeh crane le jao chhat pe haveli ke’ (I wanted to show off in front of the Sarfarosh crew, so I told my people to put together a lavish crane shot).” He continued, “Maine khatarnak shot lagaya, sirf dikhane ke liye unko (I designed a killer shot, just to show those people).”

Tigmanshu worked as a casting director and writer before embarking on a directorial career with Haasil. He has since helmed films such as the Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster trilogy, Bullett Raja, Paan Singh Tomar, and the streaming series Criminal Justice, The Great Indian Murder, and the upcoming Garmi.