Veteran screenwriter Robin Bhatt, who is the half-brother of Mahesh Bhatt and Mukesh Bhatt and the son of noted filmmaker Nanabhai Bhatt, recently spoke to ETimes about why the Aamir Khan starrer Mela failed to resonate with audiences.
Despite its high-profile cast, the film was a critical and commercial failure. When asked about the reasons behind the film’s failure, Bhatt candidly told us, “Mela had many issues, primarily because we should not have chosen that story. It was somewhat inspired by Sholay, and how can you try to remake Sholay with a different cast? So, obviously, even if you are attempting that kind of film, you need the right casting.”
He highlighted that the casting decisions played a significant role in the movie’s downfall, stating, “Now, Aamir Khan and his brother were miscast, and so was the villain. As I said, there were many factors. Dharmesh Darshan was known for his emotional, dramatic, and romantic films, like Raja Hindustani. Here, he was attempting to make an action-oriented, buddy-type film, which was outside his comfort zone.”
Addressing whether the film’s failure was evident during production, Bhatt said, “After they had completed about 25% of the film, Aamir requested me to look into the script, and I was not happy with its direction. I was included in the writer’s team after they had already shot about five reels.”
Despite the efforts to salvage the film, Bhatt admitted that “nothing really worked for the film.” He elaborated further, saying, “Even Twinkle Khanna, I felt, was miscast. Everything was miscast. Everything, including Aamir Khan. That type of film wasn’t suited for someone like Aamir.”
Having worked with Aamir in successful films like Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke and Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin, Bhatt expressed that the key issue was miscasting. “Aamir is a very good actor when cast in the right role. That was the main problem. His brother was also a miscast—just the wrong choice for the role.”
When asked if it was Faisal Khan’s launch film, Bhatt confirmed, “Yes, kind of.”
Mela, released in 2000, was directed by Dharmesh Darshan and featured Aamir Khan, Faisal Khan, and Twinkle Khanna in lead roles. Teenu Verma played the villain Gujjar Singh and also starred Johny Lever, Tiku Talsania, Archana Puran Singh, Tanvi Azmi, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Navneet Nishan among others.
