Mumbai, Jun 16 : Actor-filmmaker Aamir Khan says had it not been for Ashutosh Gowariker's script of ‘Lagaan', he would have never turned producer.
“I had seen my father struggle and his problems as a producer and had never wanted me to be one. But, Ashutosh's script was so good that I could not desist myself from not taking the plunge,” Aamir said last night at a celebration party to mark the completion of a decade of the landmark film and the 10th anniversary of his banner Aamir Khan Productions.
Aamir said film financer Jhamu Sughand always told him to produce movies. “Ever since we worked together on ‘Rangeela', he would say that. I always said no. But, when I finally decided to turn producer, my father gave me courage to go ahead,” he recalled.
He admitted that he did not have the guts to say ‘yes' to Ashutosh for a long time. Aamir said he considers himself fortunate that ‘magical scripts' came his way like ‘Taare Zameen Par', ‘Peepli Live', ‘Dhobi Ghat', ‘Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na' for his home banner and ‘Sarfarosh', ‘Rang De Basanti' as an actor.
“But, you should give me credit for selecting them which later went on to be landmark films of my career. I was fortunate enough to work on amazing scripts and great directors which helped me to grow as a person and a filmmaker,” he said.
Appreciating former wife Reena who was the executive producer of ‘Lagaan', Aamir said Reena was never connected to films during their married life. “It was amazing how she grasped the reins of the film. She held the film together and was one of the key members of the production team,” he recalled.The celebration party was attended by the cast and crew of Lagaan, stars of Aamir's other productions. Amitabh Bachchan, who was the narrator of ‘Lagaan' came over for a short while.
Satyajit Bhatkal's “Madness in the Desert”, a documentary of the making of ‘Lagaan' was screened on the occasion.Aamir described the celebration as ‘going down memory lane' which has brought tears to his eyes. Ashutosh said he was grateful to Aamir for putting faith in him for the movie which has been a turning point in his life.
“Before ‘Lagaan', I and Aamir worked on ‘Baazi' which had not done well. But, I knew him well even before directing him. So, the friendship helped in making movies a memorable time,” he added.
To a question on why the two had not worked together after ‘Lagaan', Aamir said if the director had a script which excites him, he would definitely work with him. While Ashutosh
said he desires to work with Aamir again, but was waiting for a script that would impress him. “I will not make a film with somebody in mind because that will curb my creative aspect,”he felt. PTI
