Actor Dalip Tahil’s performance as Amir Khan’s father in the 1988 film Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak is still one of his best works. Directed by Mansoor Khan, the film starred Aamir Khan and Juhi Chawla in the lead roles. In a recent interview with Times of India, Dalip Tahil revealed that he was neither a husband nor a parent but just a 31-year-old actor when he played the role of a father in the film.
“I was 31 years old when I played Aamir’s father in Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak. And I didn’t even think before taking up this role. Aamir was a teenager then. I heard the prologue and I agreed to do the movie even before hearing it further. I wasn’t even a father myself at that time when I played a father to Aamir Khan, I was not even married,” the actor told the publication.
Initially, Nasir Hussain was set to direct the film, but the doctors asked him to take complete bed rest as he had suffered a heart attack, so he delegated the task to his son Mansoor. He revealed that Sanjeev Kumar and Shammi Kapoor were cast in the film, but Mansoor couldn’t work with them because they were “too senior” to him, which is why the casting was redone.
Dalip also disclosed in the interview that the father’s role was offered to several big actors but they turned down the role.
After the shooting for the film started, Dalip asked Nasir Hussain, “Where did you find me in the big fat industry?” and the writer-producer replied, “I saw you in Buniyaad and that’s what I wanted in this movie. I wanted a strong character but an emotional one. We knew we were going to cast Aamir and you fit the character of his father.”
Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak was one of the highest-grossing films of 1998. It also starred Faisal Khan and Rajendranath Zutshi, among others.
In the interview, Dalip also discussed how he selects his scripts, revealing that anytime he is offered the narration, he asks himself if the story can be showcased without his character in it. If his character holds an essential role, he accepts the film.
