Aamir Khan's run in with Englishmen seems to be inevitable. The latest character to be revealed from Thugs of Hindostan has the actor Lloyd Owen playing the villain in Vijay Krishna Acharya's epic film.
Introducing the character, Khan wrote a tongue in cheek remark saying, 'John Clive... not to be confused with Robert Clive... as you can see he is one of the most gentle and kind souls. Loving, caring non violent, and generous. My idol!'
The remark is quite the opposite of the ominous teaser which opens to the sight of British soldiers preparing to fire a volley of shots, before it segues into Owen seated regally on a chair dressed in embellished attire. The actor is likely to play the British commander tasked with taking on the thugs led by Khan.
Owen is an actor trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA) and famously played Dr Henry Jones in The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (1992-93).
He is the latest Englishman to play the opposition to Khan's character. The actor began the tryst with Lagaan (2001), where Paul Blackthorne made his debut as the antagonist.
Khan repeated the sequence in Mangal Pandey: The Rising (2005) where Toby Stephens was cast as the English officer William Gordon, opposite Khan's Mangal Pandey.
Thugs Of Hindostan also features Fatima Sana Sheikh, Amitabh Bachchan and Katrina Kaif in pivotal roles. The film is based on the lives and adventures of the thuggee cult in central India. The film will hit the theatres on 8 November.