Reema Kagti says that she did not choose Aamir Khan, Farhan Akhtar, Rani Mukherji and Kareena Kapoor for her film 'Talaash'. “It was the other way round; they chose me to direct them. I was an assistant to Aamir Khan for 'Lagaan' and 'Dil Chahta Hai'; since then I have had a great rapport with him. However, I could not tell Aamir during the 'Lagaan' days that I would like to do a film with him.”

About 'Talaash' she says, “The idea was Zoya’s and we jointly scripted it. Of course Aamir participates in every aspect of filmmaking. Others may get tired but he is one actor who sits until the idea becomes worthwhile. Definitely, it is not easy to convince him. I wanted to make the film with him, but it didn’t seem to work with him.

“Finally, after two-and-a-half-years, I was informed that Aamir had some dates available and then we went with the script to him. To my surprise, he liked the storyline instantly and then we worked on his dates. Once Aamir was finalised half the work was done.”

Like Aamir, Reema says that Rani and Kareena too were her first choices. “Rani plays Aamir’s wife and Kareena is the other lead. Both are fantastic actors. While Rani likes to get into the minutest details and keeps inquiring about every twist and turn, Kareena believes in being spontaneous. Both actors are meticulous. Rani is like a front-bencher — intense and serious while Kareena is perfect and effective in all situations.”

The director says that she finally understood Aamir after directing him. “Aamir has a serious air about but he is actually a prankster. He is like a school boy and always does something which you wouldn’t believe him to be capable of.”

Reema also says that she was never put under any pressure by any of the actors. “Aamir did discuss the scenes before we started the shoot. He followed me as the director and did what was needed for the scenes. But I do not know whether he blindly followed me, you need to ask him that. On the whole Aamir is a non-interfering actor on the sets.”