Bollywood fans massively appreciated Junaid Khan’s performance in Maharaj, in which he played a young journalist. Many would often question why he had not taken up more acting jobs prior to the Netflix original or even after it.
However, in a recent conversation, the actor revealed that before he did Maharaj, he had auditioned for two very well-known projects—projects that his family was majorly a part of. Junaid said that he had auditioned for ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’ which starred his father Aamir Khan and ‘Laapataa Ladies’ which was directed by his stepmother Kiran Rao.
In an interview with Vickey Lalwani for his YouTube channel, Junaid spoke about how he and Kiran Rao had together auditioned for ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’ for a mother-son role. He informed that the audience would have seen him in the film and that Aamir Khan wanted to see him try out the role but it did not play out because of budget issues.
Junaid said, “You would have seen me in Laal Singh Chaddha because I tested for it, along with Kiran Rao. She played my mother. We shot 7-8 scenes for the film over four days, amounting to about 20 minutes of footage. It was a test for me as well. Papa wanted to see how I dealt with the material. Ultimately, it didn’t work out, largely due to budget reasons. It was a very expensive film to put a new person in.”
He may not have got the role but he definitely had a great experience working alongside his father Aamir Khan. Junaid also mentioned that post ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’ he also auditioned for Kiran Rao’s ‘Laapataa Ladies’ but it did not work out because Rao told him that Sparsh Shrivastava was a better option.
Junaid mentioned, “Laapataa Ladies was a very different scenario. I did a screen test for the film, but Kiran just said, ‘Sparsh Shrivastava is better for the part,’ and I agree with her. He was better suited for the role.” The ‘Maharaj’ actor also stated that Rao’s decision did not strain their relationship in any way, he said, “Our equation is very good. She is a very fun and warm person, and we get along great.”
From the conversation, it is very clear that Junaid is extremely supportive and appreciative of the choices that were made by his father Aamir Khan and his stepmother Kiran Rao. Junaid will soon be seen in ‘Loveyapa’ alongside Khushi Kapoor in 2025.