NEWS: Never looked at Aamir's eyes, feared falling in love: Rani

There was a time when Rani Mukerji didn't have the courage to "look into Aamir Khan's eyes" and now is a time when she "keeps gazing into his eyes until he asks me not to".

They worked together for the first time in 1998 release "Ghulam". At that time Rani was a newcomer and Aamir was already a star with hits like "Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak", "Dil" and "Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander" to his credit.

After hit film "Ghulam", Rani-Aamir came together on screen after seven years for the not-so-successful historical drama "Mangal Pandey" and now they will be seen as a couple in forthcoming thriller "Talaash", their third film in 14 years.

Reminiscing her experience on the sets of "Ghulam", Rani said: "When I did my first film with him, I used to look at his shoes as I used to be all tensed and nervous. I was a huge Aamir Khan fan. I had a crush on him. When I had seen QSQT ('Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak'), I was in school."

"I was very nervous while doing a romantic scene with him. I would look at his shoes because I couldn't look into his eyes because I feared I would fall in love with him," she said in a group interview.

"Now I look into his eyes. I keep gazing into his eyes until he asks me not to," added the actress who did a special appearance in Aamir-starrer "Mann".

The two enjoy a good friendship off the screen and Rani hopes it is for lifetime.

"Over the years, Aamir and I have built a friendship which, I would like to believe, is for life. I would like to believe that I will be attending his 80th birthday also," she said.

Rani, 34, is all praises for Aamir, 47.

"He was a superstar when I did my first film with him and he is a much bigger superstar even now. His focus, dedication and sincerity towards his craft, his approach towards filmmaking, performance and character, has become greater and bigger with time," she said.

"Talaash", directed by Reema Kagti, is hitting theatres Nov 30.

Shah Rukh Khan Was To Be In ‘TALAASH?

Aamir Khan’s upcoming film, ‘Talaash’, was initially offered to the King Khan. Bollywood badshaah Shah Rukh Khan was reportedly offered the crime-thriller, but turned it down. As we all know, the film eventually landed in Mr. Perfectionist, Aamir Khan’s lap.

The buzz in the industry is that Director Reema Kagti had initially planned on casting Shah Rukh in the role of the policeman, now played by Aamir Khan. Rumour also has it that Aamir had no clue about this previous casting plan.

In an interview, the ‘3 Idiots’ star said, “I didn’t know about it. Even for my other films, I’ve no idea who they are offered to first before they come to me. But the next time someone offers me a film; I will include this question (among other queries).”

It seems strange that Aamir, who is known to be a perfectionist, and is extremely involved in the entire process of the making of the film, is unaware of such a critical factor like the film’s original cast. Perhaps this would be one more area Aamir would be keen to investigate henceforth, before signing a film.

‘Talaash’ stars Aamir Khan, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Rani Mukerji in lead roles. The film releases on 30th November, 2012.

Meanwhile, we hear that the actor has refused to accept a Rs 150 crore endorsement deal because he wants to get involved only in social causes. Khan was recently honored for his endeavors in ‘Satyamev Jayate’ by the National Commission for Scheduled Castes. Aamir confirmed to a daily, “I have cancelled all my endorsement deals.” An insider explained, “Aamir is now going for a complete image makeover and wants to go the social way.”

The actor recently left for a Hajj pilgrimage with his mother as per his promise to her. When he returns he will get back to his second season of ‘Satyamev Jayate