It's my destiny: Aamir Khan on his strained relationship with his brother Faissal, 25 years after Mela's release

As Mela turns 25, Aamir Khan has finally opened up about the film's failure and its impact on his mental health, besides breaking his silence over the highly publicised fall-out with his brother Faissal Khan. Mela released in 2000 and was supposed to be a relaunch vehicle for Faissal. However, the movie failed to perform well at the box office, and it became one of the most talked-about failures of Aamir Khan's career. The actor revealed that the tepid response to Mela was a severe jolt, and once again brought back injuries linked to family disputes.

Aamir Khan breaks silence on his relation with brother Faissal Khan

Aamir Khan recently replied to the serious allegations made by brother Faissal Khan, as well as the distance that arose between them. With the issue arising, Aamir responded, "Kya karein? That is my destiny. You can fight the world, but how can you fight your own family?” This is in relation to the allegations made by Faissal Khan about Aamir, who claims he kept him in confinement for more than a year in Mumbai. After Faissal severed all ties with the family last year, Aamir and his family reacted to the allegations by releasing a statement that deemed them to be ‘upsetting’ and that ‘all choices’ were made jointly for ‘medical reasons’.

The beginning of Mela dates back to 1996, where director Dharmesh Darshan partnered again with Aamir Khan, following the phenomenal success of Raja Hindustani, starring Karisma Kapoor. Aamir was already proven to be a bankable star in Hindi cinema, post Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar, Andaz Apna Apna, and Rangeela.

Leveraging off it, Mela had a motive to revitalize Faissal Khan, whose film, Madhosh, in 1994, had a lukewarm opening.

Despite these efforts, however, the production of the film faced quite a few delays. Dharmesh and Faissal Khan have both gone on record stating that Aamir Khan’s involvement ruined the production. Mela has also been seen as a loose remake of Sholay, with Aamir Khan’s character being similar to Veeru and Faissal Khan’s being identical to Jai. Aamir Khan has never wavered from his claim that Mela was his way of launching his brother’s career.

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