Aamir Khan, on the eve of his big Diwali release Thugs of Hindostan, in a candid moment admitted that he used to have a major crush on the late and great actress Sridevi. The Bollywood superstar was talking about people who had him awestruck and Amitabh Bachchan, his co-star in the YRF fantasy action adventure releasing on Wednesday, was the first name that came to Aamir’s mind. Then, with a little thought and after some hesitation, he revealed that Sridevi was another artiste of whom he was in considerable awe.

“I was a huge fan and had a major crush on her,” Aamir said of Sridevi. The first time he met her was just after he had become an actor and they had to shoot for a film magazine cover together. “It happened at the  old Centaur Hotel and I did my best to avoid looking at Sridevi’s eyes,” Aamir recalled. “If I had to look into her eyes, she would have known I have a crush on her!”

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But he came away from that photo shoot so enamored by Sridevi’s quiet personality, her elegance and radiant beauty, that Aamir wanted to do a film with the legendary actress from the South. He rushed to Mahesh Bhatt and unburdened his excitement onto the filmmaker.

“I even knew what kind of film I had in mind with Sridevi,” Aamir said. “It was the 1953 Hollywood romantic comedy Roman Holiday in which Gregory Peck plays a reporter and Audrey Hepburn a royal princess who dodges her security and throws protocol to the wind to explore Rome on her own. She is met and recognised by Peck, and they have a blast in Rome, but he keeps the secret of her identity to the end.”

Bhatt saab heard Aamir out in silence, then pulled out a book from his shelf and showed him the story of the 1934 Hollywood romantic comedy It Happened One Night. “And that’s how he made Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin in 1991 with Pooja Bhatt and me,” said Aamir, still wishing he had acted with Sridevi.