Title.
Lagaan ushered in a new era in Aamir Khan's career. Directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, it was Aamir's first film as a producer and remains the last Indian film to have been nominated for a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar.
But did you know that before Aamir Khan, Ashutosh Gowariker had approached Abhishek Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan for the role?
Ashutosh told Rediff in 2001 that Abhishek 'loved the film'. But when the filmmaker had offered him the role, 'they were planning to launch him with JP Dutta -- it was a career move they had to make'. He said, "I think they were right in those circumstances. If he had done this, it would've become his launch film. I think he would've played it differently too."
About Shah Rukh Khan, Ashutosh said, "He would have made a different kind of Bhuvan. See Bhuvan's definitions change -- as does the script. It's like a paradigm shift. Every actor imparts his personality to a character -- the moment he does something, the character undergoes a bit of change. And when he does it, everything around him changes. So obviously Shah Rukh would have played it differently."
Abhishek's father, Amitabh Bachchan, provided the narration for the film. But Aamir revealed in 2011 that Ashutosh had to be persuaded to retain Amitabh's voiceover after the filmmaker had second thoughts about it. Aamir said, "I again went to Amitji and told him that my director has gone mad. He now wants you for the film. Amitji did not utter a word but reminded me that he was superstitious and felt that he brought bad luck. I said we are ready to take the risk because so many factors had gone against the film during the making but we had overcome all the difficulties."
Lagaan completed 20 years of release on June 15. The film was a critical and commercial success.
Despite being trained at India's prestigious National School of Drama, Yashpal Sharma realised that getting a job in the movies would be a bitter struggle.
In fact, he was 'fed up' of Mumbai after arriving here. That's when Lagaan came into his life and changed it forever.
He tells Patcy N/Rediff.com, "Lagaan was a turning point in my life and career. This film gave me confidence to face everything in life."
After coming to Mumbai, I was struggling. I had come here after playing main roles in plays in NSD. I thought I would get films easily, but I did not get decent offers. The people I knew were not helping. So Lagaan was a turning point in my life and career. This film gave me confidence to face everything in life.
In those says, I used to carry a pager. I got a message, saying, 'Call Aamir Khan Productions.' When I called, I learnt that Ashutosh Gowariker wanted to meet me. I knew they were casting for Lagaan. I thought I would get a small role.
When I went there, Ashutosh gave me a narration for three hours and 45 minutes! I loved Lakha's role though I was not aware what role they would offer me. When I came to know that he was offering me Lakha's role, I couldn't thank him enough. But Ashutosh said you haven't gotten the role yet, you have to give an audition.
My audition happened the next day at Aamir Khan's house. After I left - I must have just reached the railway station - I got a message on my pager that I was selected.
The next day I met Reenaji (Dutta) and signed the contract. Before I met her to sign the contract, I kept thinking, 'Aaj toh ek lakh rupaiya maang he lenge.'
By the time I reached there, I came down from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 80,000 to Rs 50,000. I had no work, so I could not be demanding.
When I reached, Reenaji said they would be giving Rs 1.5 lakh to everyone, as the budget was very low. So I blurted out, 'Madam, do lakh toh hone chahiye.' She agreed and I signed the contract.
I had met Ashutosh once when I was working in CID in 1997. He was acting in it; he was a part of Shivaji Satam's investigation team. At that time, he was writing Lagaan. He would come on the sets and write in his free time. He had seen me there and had thought that I could fit somewhere in his script.
I felt lucky that I was getting a chance to work with Aamir Khan because I respected him as an actor. I was his fan and after Lagaan, 3 Idiots and Rang De Basanti, I have become a huge fan.
We started working on Lagaan on my bir
... keep reading on reddit ➡Robert Downey Jr, who is a much bigger star than Tom Hiddleston called Aamir "extraordinary", but I did not see Indian media picking it up. Why is it that with SRK, these things are blown out of proportion ?
There are only 3 Indian movies which have earned an Oscar Nomination in history - Mother India, Salaam Bombay!, and Lagaan. Ashutosh Gowariker broke all the rules of Bollywood to create a his masterpiece "Lagaan" which wowed fans and critics all over the globe.
Lagaan: Once upon a time in India (2001)
Directed by Ashutosh Gowariker
Produced by Aamir Khan
Starring - Aamir Khan, Gracy Singh, Rachel Shelley, Paul Blackthorne and Kulbhushan Kharbanda
Written by Ashutosh Gowariker
Music by A.R. Rahman
Budget/Box Office - Rs 25 Crore/Rs 65 Crore
Awards - National Film Award (Total 8 Awards), Best Film at Filmfare (Total 8 Awards), Oscar Nomination for Best Foreign Film
IMDB Rating - 8.1/10
RT Rating - 95%
My Rating - 10/10
The story of this movie starts with a young actor-writer-director whose acting career didn’t takeoff after 20+ side character roles in mostly average movies and both his writing-directing efforts were also below average fares. This was to be his magnum opus with aspirations to become something unparalleled and unequal with any other movie in Bollywood history. A movie about a subject, set in an era, written in a language and shot in a manner which was literally a “No No” for mainstream Bollywood movies. No one wanted to make this movie, put their money behind his vision and unknown to anyone become part of one of India’s greatest triumphs of the last few decades. The movie which is listed in the 100 international movies to watch before dying and the one which literally drove its creators, its fans, India and many many many across the globe gaga was none other than “Lagaan”.
Never make a movie about sports, movies set in previous centuries don’t do well at the box office, movies in regional languages or dialects have an uphill task to be recognized as mainstream and always record the dialogs in the studio not on location. These are the golden rules of movie making in India. Ashutosh Gowariker had written a movie in Awadhi language about a cricket battle set in pre-independence India between the British colonists and a small Indian village with a plan to shoot with live sync sound recording on location in Bhuj, Gujarat and not in a studio. Not only was this a recipe for disaster but an absolute non starter. Ashutosh narrated the concept to Aamir who he worked with on his previous film “Baazi” and was literally shooed away. Aamir had already bombed with a “Cricket” movie ca
... keep reading on reddit ➡Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao shocked fans by announcing their divorce after 15 years of being married. They said in a joint statement that they will continue to be ‘co-parents and family for each other’ and will raise their son, Azad Rao Khan, together.
In an earlier interview with a Chinese news channel, Aamir Khan had talked about how he found love in Kiran Rao after splitting from his first wife, Reena Dutta. Aamir and Kiran got married on December 28, 2005. During the making of Ashutosh Gowariker’s Lagaan, Aamir first met Kiran, who was an assistant director on the film. “But at that time, we didn’t have any relationship, we were not even great friends. She was one of the people on the unit. It was after my separation and divorce after some time that I met her again,” he had said.
“In that moment of trauma, her phone came and I talked to her on the phone for half an hour. And when I put the phone down, I said, ‘My God! I feel so happy when I talk to her.’ It struck me in that instant that when I am talking to her I am so happy,” he had added.
Edit: forgot some movies: Ashoka, Mohenjo Daro, Padmaavat, Jodha Akbar.
Hi! The aforementioned movies I have seen, but I would love to see more like this! This is how I learn about the history of India - seeing these movies and looking up the inspirations. Would love to learn more!
Hi r/bollywood, a couple of months ago I asked this sub for recommendations of two bollywood films to discuss on a podcast and Mother India and Lagaan were suggested. Our pod is by two british cinephiles who have been running our pod on movies for about 5/6 months now and this is our first exposure to bollywood. I've got to say we were both incredibly impressed with the sheer quality of Mother India, I think you would be hard pressed to find another film that is so packed with themes from the era of cinema. Lagaan was less impressive to be honest but as cricket lovers the last hour was a genuine joy. What is the general consensus on these films in the wider community? I saw Lagaan was nominated for an Oscar, was there not a better film from India in 2001?
If you wanna check out the podcast its here:
https://fryyourgreens.buzzsprout.com/1429063/8281872-mother-india-lagaan
Genuine thanks for the recommendation from the reddit user who came up with this combo!
I'm planning on having a Bollywood night some of my friends and I'm trying to decide what movie we should watch. Would Lagaan be a good option? Some others that ive been considering are Chak De India, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, and Rocket Singh.
Movies that watched in the past and have at least somewhat enjoyed have been Race, Dhoom, and Three Idiots (which they enjoyed a lot). I'm open to any other suggestions that you guys may have.
Also if we do end up picking Lagaan will we be safe to skip the musical parts? 4 hours is a long time for a movie, but I don't want to miss out on anything important.
Thanks!
"Madness in the Desert” the documentary that showcases the heart and pain behind the making of this masterpiece of Indian Cinema is so good that it’s rating on IMDB is higher than the actual movie. I would definitely recommend watching the madness even if u don’t love this movie but are a Bollywood aficionado. The story of this movie starts with a young actor-writer-director whose acting career didn’t takeoff after 20+ side character roles in mostly average movies and both his writing-directing efforts were also below average fares. This was to be his magnum opus with aspirations to become something unparalleled and unequal with any other movie in Bollywood history. A movie about a subject, set in an era, written in a language and shot in a manner which was literally a “No No” for mainstream Bollywood movies. No one wanted to make this movie, put their money behind his vision and unknown to anyone become part of one of India’s greatest triumphs of the last few decades. The movie which is listed in the 100 international movies to watch before dying and the one which literally drove it’s creators, it’s fans, India and many many many across the globe “Mad” was none other than “Lagaan”.
Never make a movie about sports, movies set in previous centuries don’t do well at the box office, movies in regional languages or dialects have an uphill task to be recognized as mainstream and always record the dialogs in the studio not on location. These are the golden rules of movie making in India. Ashutosh Gowariker had written a movie in Awadhi language about a cricket contest set in pre-independence India between the British colonists and a small Indian village with a plan to shoot with live sync sound recording on location in Bhuj, Gujarat and not in a studio. Not only was this a recipe for disaster but an absolute non starter. Ashutosh narrated the concept to Aamir who he worked with on his previous film “Baazi” and was literally shooed away. Aamir had already bombed with a “Cricket” movie called “Awwal Number" with the legendary Dev Anand. He wanted no part in this movie. Ashutosh reached out to SRK, his costar of the TV series “Circus”, but with no success. After banging his head on every studio’s door for 4 years while detailing out the characters, building the story and refining the script, Ashutosh returned again to Aamir. Listening to the story again and again with Ashutosh’s increasing passion to make this happen, eventually grew on Aamir. He proposed that not
... keep reading on reddit ➡