15 years ago Lagaan, a rustic tale of oppressed villagers winning over an unreasonable and uptight set of British officers took the country by storm. Here’s some real masala about the film that you were probably still unaware of!
1. Aamir Khan Almost Rejected Lagaan, Till he Produced it!
Aamir Khan wasn’t impressed with the film’s script when director Ashutosh Gowariker read it out to him for the first time. Gowariker wasn’t one to give up. After rejecting six drafts, Aamir finally loved the 7th one so much that he decided to produce the film. Lagaan (2001) was the first film made under the ‘Aamir Khan Productions’ banner.
2. Aamir Actually Got his Ears Pierced for the Film!
Aamir Khan is known for taking his work a bit too seriously. And to become Lagaan’s Bhuvan, a village boy from British India, he decided to actually get his ears pierced and walk around in the harsh sun, just to get the perfect tan he needed for the character.
3. Lagaan’s Climax Scene had 20,000 People in it!
The cricket match between the uptight British officers and Bhuvan’s motley crew of village folk was the perfect climax for the film. But shooting it with around 20,000 people in the background made it all quite the feat. Not only did the film’s production team coax villagers living around the location to turn up for the shoot, they also provided the entire crowd a set of dhoti kurta for this scene from the period film.
4. Lagaan Was Shot Using Sync Sound
Lagaan (2001) became the first Hindi film to be shot using sync sound which means that dialogues and ambient sounds were recorded live during the shoot itself. This required creating absolute sound proof environments while filming indoors and maintaining complete silence during outdoor scenes. And with almost 300 people on the sets everyday, you can imagine what a task that must’ve been!
5. Aamir’s Wife Kiran Rao Was an AD on Lagaan
Aamir Khan met his current wife Kiran Rao during the making of Lagaan (2001). Rao was an assistant director working on the film and the two reportedly fell in love during the filming of the period drama. They later got married in December 2005 and have a son named Azad Rao Khan.
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