One Khan, Not Three: Aamir Joins Dhoom 3 as the Franchise's First Khan Villain

Few rumors in Bollywood travel faster than a casting rumor, and few are as stubbornly wrong as the idea that the Dhoom franchise lined up one Khan per film. The reality is simpler and more interesting: Dhoom 3 cast a Khan — one Khan — and his signing was the real story.

After John Abraham played the biker-thief villain in Dhoom (2004) and Hrithik Roshan took the mantle as the super-thief in Dhoom 2 (2006), Yash Raj Films turned to Aamir Khan for the third installment. It became official on February 1, 2011, after months of talks with Aditya Chopra: Aamir would play a negative role — an anti-hero — in Victor Acharya's Dhoom 3, alongside the returning regulars Abhishek Bachchan and Uday Chopra as Jai and Ali.

For Aamir, who has made a career of scripts he believes in, it was a genuine departure: his first full-fledged negative role in a big commercial film (his earlier shades-of-grey part in Deepa Mehta's 1947: Earth aside). "I liked the script very much," he said at the time. "I never thought I would fit in this kind of film." He also invoked the franchise's real tradition: the villain always makes a mark, the way Hollywood franchises let Arnold Schwarzenegger be Mr. Freeze or Jack Nicholson be the Joker. "Dhoom is also like that. Each time there is a new villain; he comes with his own colour, his own personality."

So no, there were never "3 Khans for the last 3 Dhooms." There was John, then Hrithik — and then, for the third film, a Khan. That was newsworthy enough without the rumor mill's help.

Sources

• Aamir's in 'Dhoom 3' — Masala.com
• Aamir: Dhoom is great franchise to be villain — SantaBanta
• Aamir Turns Anti Hero; Whips Up 'Dhoom'! — Movie Talkies