Aamir Khan’s Star Studded Film Mela Was a Critical and Commercial Failure Due to Miscasting, Says Veteran Screenwriter Robin Bhatt

Mumbai, Maharashtra - In an exclusive interview with ETimes, veteran screenwriter Robin Bhatt, has revealed that the 2000 Bollywood film, Mela starring Aamir Khan and his brother Faisal Khan, was a disaster due to miscasting.

The movie, directed by Dharmesh Darshan, featured a star-studded cast including Twinkle Khanna, Johny Lever, Tiku Talsania, and Archana Puran Singh. However, despite its high-profile cast, the film failed to appeal to audiences and was met with negative reviews from critics.

Bhatt pointed out that the casting decisions played a significant role in the movie's downfall, stating that Aamir Khan and his brother Faisal Khan were miscast in their respective roles. He also expressed that Dharmesh Darshan's attempt to make an action-oriented film was outside his comfort zone.

"It was somewhat inspired by Sholay, and how can you try to remake Sholay with a different cast?" Bhatt said when asked about the reasons behind the film's failure. "Now, Aamir Khan and his brother were miscast, and so was the villain."

Bhatt also claimed that even Twinkle Khanna was miscast in her role, adding that everything in the film was miscast. He attributed the film's failure to Aamir Khan's poor casting choice.

"Aamir is a very good actor when cast in the right role," Bhatt emphasized. "That was the main problem. His brother was also a miscast—the wrong choice for the role."

The interview came as a surprise, as many had wondered who could have hinted at the misgivings of the screenplay when Aamir Khan himself did not ask his brother's help to rescue his career.

The movie Mela, which released in 2000, was Robin Bhatt's production but did not receive much positive response from critics or audiences.