Aamir Khans Dangal Daughters: Two Little Girls Cast as Geeta, Babitas Sisters

The level of curiosity about Aamir Khan’s next film Dangal is almost as intense as the secrecy surrounding the casting of his on-screen daughters. Names like Kangana Ranaut and Taapsee Pannu were bandied about for a while but two unknown actresses, Fatima Shaikh and Sanya Malhotra, were eventually cast as real life wrestlers Geeta and Babita, the eldest of the four daughters of Aamir’s character Mahavir Phogat. The younger roles have now also been revealed to have been cast.

Mumbai Mirror reports that young actors Zaira Wasim and Suhani Bhatnagar will play Ritu and Sangita, little sisters to the celebrated Geeta and Babita who have brought home several Commonwealth medals. Their father, a wrestler from a small Haryana village, coached his daughters.

Mumbai Mirror also reports that all four actresses are living in Aamir Khan’s former Bandra home and are training with him as preparation for their roles. “After a few hours of gruelling kushti sessions, they return to the apartment where they have to take compulsory rest before sitting down to lunch,” a source tells Mumbai Mirror.

Aamir, 50, reportedly eats his meals with his ‘daughters,’ whose evenings are devoted to perfecting the Haryanvi dialect and accent.

The PK star is believed to be enjoying the company, after training alone for films like Dhoom: 3 where he played an acrobat. He’s also put on weight to play Mahavir Phogat, tipping the scales now at over 90 kilos which he says has alarmed his wife and mother. He’s also going to have to lose the weight to film his scenes as the younger Mahavir, after shooting the portions as the older version.

The role of Mahavir’s wife has not been cast yet. Actress Mallika Sherawat has been auditioned for it.

Filming for Dangal begins in September.