Aamir Khan and Amitabh Bachchan-starrer Thugs of Hindostan, which elevated fans’ expectations after releasing the trailer, disappointed them to a big extent with the actual film. The critics weren’t impressed with  Vijay Krishna Acharya’s magnum opus and the decline at the Box Office speaks for the audience.

Recently, Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, who feels very differently about his contemporary, Aamir Khan’s film, shared his take on it.

Speaking to The Telegraph, the Dilwale actor defended Thugs of Hindostan and praised the team of the film for their efforts to make an adventure thriller.

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Acknowledging Aamir Khan and Amitabh Bachchan’s contribution to Hindi cinema, the actor said, “There are people who have given excellence to cinema for years. A film can be good, a film can be bad; none of us can ever claim ki maine duniya ki sabsi achchi film banayi hain. Mr Bachchan and Aamir have been people who have constantly contributed to the excellence of cinema. The greatest contribution to Hindi cinema in the last 10 years has been from Aamir, and with Amitji, it’s been even longer. Now if a film of theirs (Thugs of Hindostan) doesn’t reach the level that you expected it to, does it take away from what they have done for cinema?”

“I think some people have been a little too harsh. It’s heartbreaking. It doesn’t mean that their spirit is broken, they are all amazing artistes who will bounce back. But one needs to be a little less harsh. I think Stree was fabulous and we need to make 20,000 films like that. But I also think that Thugs of Hindostan is fantastic. Sometimes we do go wrong, but Aamir has never done a film in which he hasn’t put in his best… I’ve known him for 20 years. And if there’s anyone who can put in even more effort than Aamir — which Aamir will also agree — it’s Amitji… and at this age! So they’ve come in with good hearts and great talent and tried to make a film which tries to open up a new genre,” Shah Rukh Khan continued.

“An adventure film has not been made in India in decades… probably Parasmani (1963) in black and white was the last one. Thugs… has tried to introduce this genre and kabhi kabhi upar neeche ho sakta hai. But the fact remains that in our cinema, we haven’t made an Indiana Jones and screw the comparison yaar, humne Pirates of the Caribbean bhi nahin banayi. So props to them for the attempt,” he added.

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The 53-year-old actor will soon be seen in his upcoming film, Zero, as a vertically challenged man. Talking about the unconventional film, he said, “What I am saying is that we need to give everything a chance. If Zero works, it will give people encouragement to make films that are even bigger in scale and story.”

Directed by Anand L Rai, Zero, will mark the second collaboration of Shah Rukh Khan, Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma.

Produced by Colour Yellow Productions and Red Chillies Entertainment, the film is slated to hit the theatres on December 21, 2018.