New Delhi: Aamir Khan has been one of the finest actors of Bollywood. The actor has given several amazing movies to the industry, some of which did wonders at the box office.
One such movie is ‘Lagaan’. The movie was an epic sports drama and became the third Indian film to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film after Mother India (1957) and Salaam Bombay! (1988)
As the movie completes 15 years of release today, here we bring you some lesser known facts about ‘Lagaan’:
1. Aamir Khan was not the first choice for Ashutosh Gowariker’s ‘Lagaan’. Instead, the director had reached Shah Rukh Khan and Abhishek Bachchan, before roping in Aamir for the movie.
2. It took almost five years for ‘Lagaan’, from the first time Ashutosh Gowariker first narrated his story idea to Aamir Khan, to it hitting the theatres.
3. The building in which the ‘Lagaan’ team stayed for over six months was completely destroyed in the January 26, 2001 Bhuj earthquake.
4. The movie has the most number of British actors playing a significant role in the entire history of Bollywood cinema.
5. Interestingly, Lagaan was the first Indian film to be released in China. It was dubbed and premiered in Shanghai, Beijing.
6. Even Gracy Singh was not the first choice for ‘Lagaan’. Sonali Bendre, Nandita Das, Rani Mukerji and Ameesha Patel were considered for the role of Gauri.
7. It actually started to rain when the song ‘Ghanan Ghanan’ began to play during the first public screening of the movie at a theatre in Bhuj.
8. Aamir Khan was apprehensive about selecting A R Rahman for ‘Lagaan’ because of the musician’s history of not meeting the deadlines.
9. Aamir Khan had a prior condition before signing for ‘Lagaan’. He had told Ashutosh to first get a producer to back the film without letting anyone know that Aamir Khan had agreed to star in it.
10. During shooting, a cricket match was organised between the British actors and their Indian counterparts. British team won the match!
