{"id":376057,"date":"2026-01-18T00:15:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-18T00:15:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/376057\/"},"modified":"2026-01-18T00:15:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-18T00:15:10","slug":"dont-ask-the-story-dont-ask-the-money-why-aamir-khan-said-yes-to-dev-anands-awwal-number-without-reading-the-script-hindi-movie-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/376057\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Don\u2019t ask the story, don\u2019t ask the money\u2019: Why Aamir Khan said yes to Dev Anand\u2019s Awwal Number without reading the script | Hindi Movie News"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\u2018Don\u2019t Today, Aamir Khan<\/a> is known as Bollywood\u2019s ultimate perfectionist\u2014an actor who refuses to associate with a film unless he is fully convinced by its script. Over the years, this approach has seen him walk away from several high-profile projects. But early in his career, Aamir once made a rare exception\u2014and that too without even asking for the story.The film was Awwal Number (1990), directed by legendary actor-filmmaker Dev Anand<\/a>.Recounting the incident in a recent conversation with Vickey Lalwani, Dev Anand\u2019s close friend Mohan Churiwala revealed how Aamir agreed to do the film purely out of respect for Dev Anand.\u201cAamir Khan has said in an interview that Awwal Number is the only film where his father told him, \u2018Don\u2019t ask about the story, don\u2019t ask about the script, don\u2019t even talk about the money. Just go and say yes to Dev Saab,\u2019\u201d Mohan shared.He added, \u201cDev Saab\u2019s stature was such from the very beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Dev Saab was the best paymaster\u2019<\/p>\n

In the same conversation, Mohan spoke at length about Dev Anand\u2019s professionalism\u2014especially when it came to payments.\u201cHis assistants used to tell me that Dev Saab was the best paymaster. Forget late payments, he would personally call people and make sure they were paid,\u201d he said.Recalling an incident involving late comedian Birbal, Mohan added, \u201cBirbal has written on his YouTube channel that he worked in Lootmaar, and since the film didn\u2019t do well, there were some payments he hadn\u2019t taken. Dev Saab called him and said, \u2018Birbal, come immediately and collect your cheque.\u2019\u201dAccording to Mohan, box office performance never dictated Dev Anand\u2019s ethics.<\/p>\n

When SD Burman refused to do Hare Rama Hare Krishna<\/p>\n

Mohan also recalled a lesser-known episode involving legendary composer SD Burman and Dev Anand\u2019s cult classic Hare Rama Hare Krishna.\u201cWhen Burman Dada heard the story, he stood up and said, \u2018Don\u2019t make this film. This is a disgusting story. What is wrong with you to even plan such a story?\u2019\u201d Mohan said.Burman\u2019s reaction deeply shook Dev Anand. Realising the discomfort, he decided to introduce an additional character to ensure there was no inappropriate angle involving his character and the sister.Despite the changes, SD Burman remained firm. \u201c\u2018Don\u2019t make this film. I don\u2019t want to do it, and you shouldn\u2019t either,\u2019\u201d Mohan recalled. <\/p>\n

Aamir Khan Opens Up: ‘Father\u2019s Struggles Made Me Fear Producing Films’<\/p>\n

Dev Anand stayed firm<\/p>\n

Unfazed by the resistance, Dev Anand went ahead with Hare Rama Hare Krishna, eventually roping in RD Burman for the music. The film went on to become a landmark in Hindi cinema.Much like that decision, Awwal Number too reflected a phase where Dev Anand\u2019s legacy and reputation carried enough weight for even a young Aamir Khan to say yes\u2014without a script, without a narration, and without questions. A decision that feels almost unthinkable in today\u2019s era of contracts, clauses and creative control.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Today, Aamir Khan is known as Bollywood\u2019s ultimate perfectionist\u2014an actor who refuses to associate with a film unless…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":376058,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[40493,143086,143085,143088,143082,6491,29788,143087,143089,96,143083,143084,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-376057","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-celebrities","8":"tag-aamir-khan","9":"tag-aamir-khan-awwal-number","10":"tag-aamir-khan-dev-anand","11":"tag-aamir-khan-films","12":"tag-awwal-number","13":"tag-celebrities","14":"tag-dev-anand","15":"tag-dev-anand-awwal-number","16":"tag-dev-anand-films","17":"tag-entertainment","18":"tag-hare-rama-hare-krishna","19":"tag-sd-burman","20":"tag-uk","21":"tag-united-kingdom","22":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/376057","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=376057"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/376057\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/376058"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=376057"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=376057"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=376057"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}