EXCLUSIVE: Nitesh Tiwari Had Planned 5 Endings for Aamir Khan’s Dangal?

Did you know? Director Nitesh Tiwari and the writers team penned not one, but five alternative endings for Dangal, ensuring a lasting impact on audiences The director recently revealed this interesting fact as he appeared for a podcast at Game Changers, hosted by film critic and trade analyst Komal Nahta. The podcast platform shows Komal Nahta delving into several interesting conversations with some of the biggest directors of the entertainment industry by their legacy. The podcast delves deep into their work and beyond, offering valuable insights.

In a recent episode of the podcast series, the National Award winning filmmaker Nitesh Tiwari joined the list of some of the biggest directors of our country among the guests of the show. During his talk with Komal Nahta, the acclaimed director revealed an interesting fact about the writing stage of Dangal, talking about Aamir Khan’s Dangal Alternate Endings. The director said that while writing Dangal, he along with the writers faced a challenge as the audience knew Geeta would win the gold medal, they needed to make the story more engaging. 

Adding on to the topic, Nitesh Tiwari revealed, “It was very alarming for us as writers as the audience knew that Geeta was going to win the gold. Now how do we make it a little difficult or different for the audience? So when what is known becomes important.” 

The filmmaker further explained that they decided to keep Mahavir Singh out of the finals, and wrote five different versions of how that could happen. This twist made the audience wonder not if Geeta would win, but how she would win without her father’s presence.

He further added, “We decided Mahavir Singh cannot be there, he has to be outside, So we wrote five different versions of what can keep him out. And then we finally agreed to this one as it was paying off for the national anthem. So the audience will not think that Geeta will win gold but they will think about how she will win when Mahavir Singh is not there. That was the whole idea to keep him out of the finals.”

This was the story of how Nitesh Tiwari planned that in the absence of Mahavir Singh geeta would win the gold medal and how Geeta Phogat Clinch Gold Medal. This Nitesh Tiwari gripping ending with finale round revealed the engaging and goosebumps inducing climax as what we remember of the classic sports drama.

As of the future, director Nitesh Tiwari is currently working on the magnum opus Ramayana movie duology. The film stars Ranbir Kapoor, Sai Pallavi, Sunny Deol, Yash as the leading characters included in its huge ensemble cast. The first part of the film is currently scheduled to release on Diwali 2026.

With Game Changers, Komal Nahta is set to redefine the landscape of Indian cinema conversations. Tune in to the YouTube channel for Game Changers!