Aamir Khan had decided to back out of Mogul, a biopic on Gulshan Kumar, in light of the MeToo accusations that had surfaced against the film's director Subhash Kapoor.
Aamir Khan
Last year, the director of Mogul (a biopic on the late music baron Gulshan Kumar), Subhash Kapoor, was one of the accused in the MeToo movement that took India by storm. Aamir Khan, who was roped in for the biopic, had taken a step back from the project in light of the accusation. In a major development recently, however, Aamir Khan has reversed his decision and confirmed that he would now be working on the film with the director.
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Talking about the same to Hindustan Times, the Thugs Of Hindostan actor has shared that his decision comes from the fact that a person is innocent until proven guilty, and that only courts can serve justice. In October last year, Aamir Khan had tweeted that he would not be a part of Mogul, but now it seems like the actor has decided to go ahead with it.
— Aamir Khan (@aamir_khan) October 10, 2018
Talking about the same, Aamir told the publication, "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. 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."
He further expressed, "Mr Kapoor was denying the charge. This was not a case where there was a complaint about misconduct in the workplace. This matter was in a court of law. Courts of law are known to take longer. Kiran and I have zero tolerance for any sexual misconduct. But without an ICC ruling, or a court ruling, how are we to decide whether the accused person is guilty or not."
Aamir said that in the end, they reached the conclusion that 'in this state of mind and with so much discomfort, they will not do the film'. Shedding light on the circumstances, Aamir shared, "Subsequently, Mr Kapoor was removed from the film. T-series terminated his contract. Then, we heard that Mr Kapoor was also dropped from some other projects which were in the pipeline."
Talking about how their decision affected Kapoor's life, the actor said, "That really troubled us because we felt that our action had inadvertently cost a person - who is yet to be tried in a court of law - to lose his livelihood. What if he is innocent? We were very troubled."
Aamir further told the publication about how and why he decided to reverse his decision. "Earlier this year in the month of May, I got a letter from IFTDA. IFTDA is the director's association. I think Mr Kapoor in his efforts to get work had written to his association, IFTDA. So, they sent me a letter saying that his matter was subjudice, and that I should wait for the courts to decide on his matter. And until such time he should not lose his right to earn a living... They appealed to me to reconsider my decision. When I read that letter I felt even more guilty."
"And then we decided to do one more thing to allay our discomfort. We decided to meet a lot of women who had worked with Mr. Kapoor. We met or spoke with around 10-12 women who had worked with him. Heads of departments, assistant directors, costume assistants, etc," said Aamir.
Aamir Khan shared that whoever they spoke to spoke highly of Subhash Kapoor. He says, "I cannot deny that this interaction with women who had worked with him gave 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."
Taking everything into consideration, Aamir Khan is now all set to play the lead in Gulshan Kumar's biopic, Mogul, which will be directed by Subhash Kapoor.
Also read: #MeToo effect: Ekta Kapoor sacks Subhash Kapoor from web series The Verdict
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