On Aamir Khan's birthday, Juhi Chawla recalls their first meeting: 'Didn't know he was the hero of QSQT'

Actor Juhi Chawla has recalled meeting Aamir Khan for the first time. The two made their Bollywood debuts with Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, but had met before filming began.

Actor Juhi Chawla has recalled seeing her frequent co-star Aamir Khan for the first time. Aamir turned 56 on Sunday, and Juhi recalled fond memories of working with him.

Juhi Chawla began her tinsel town journey opposite Aamir Khan with Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988).

In an interview, she said that she first met Aamir when he was helping her learn her lines for her Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak audition, and that she had no idea he was the 'hero' of the film.

She told The Times of India, "I did not see him first on the sets of Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (QSQT). He was actually assigned the job of making me learn my lines during the auditions of QSQT. I was literally being tutored by him on how to enact my scenes for the screen test, which was taking place at producer Nasir Hussain sahab’s house garden. We were given some scenes from Nasir sahab’s previous films to enact. I saw Aamir for the first time there. At that point, I didn’t even know that he was the hero of the film. I didn’t know if I was the heroine of the film yet too."

She said that working with him on some of their early films was like putting together a college play. The actors made their film debuts in QSQT.

Asked what sets him apart from others, Juhi said, "I am not comparing him to anybody else, but what I find outstanding about him is that he has in-depth knowledge on any topic that you choose to speak to him about--whether it is about the stars in the sky or sports, history, politics. He goes into details about everything and can talk about them for hours."

Juhi said that she is reminded of Tom Hanks whenever she sees Aamir on screen. Aamir's next film Laal Singh Chaddha, incidentally, is a remake of Tom Hanks' classic Forrest Gump.