Lagaan remains one of the iconic movies in Indian cinema, with Aamir Khan portraying the character of Bhuvan, who is still vividly remembered for his role in the cricket match. Interestingly, Aamir initially hesitated to take on this character, finding it rather bizarre.
In an earlier interview with PinkVilla, the actor disclosed his initial reservations about the movie. He admitted that he had serious doubts about accepting the role after director Ashutosh Gowariker narrated the story to him, leading to a swift rejection.
“When I heard Lagaan, in five minutes of its narration, I rejected it. I was like it is a story of people who are not able to pay Lagaan as there are no rains and they play cricket with British people? I was like ‘What a bizarre thought is this? I told Ashutosh, ‘This is a strange story. I told him to get me a different story’.”
He added, “I loved the final script of Lagaan and found it unbelievable. I told him, ‘It is a fantastic script and it does break the record of mainstream cinema. But I am scared to say yes. I can’t do it. Later, I would often think why am I not doing the film? Then I told Ashutosh to narrate the story to my parents. They heard it and were crying. They told me I should do it.”
Released in 2001, “Lagaan” unfolds the tale of a village named Champaner in Gujarat, where the people are challenged by a haughty British officer, essayed by Paul Blackthorne, to a game of cricket. This challenge serves as a wager to exempt them from paying the onerous taxes (lagaan) they owe.
Aamir’s most recent appearance was in “Laal Singh Chaddha,” a Hindi remake of the beloved 1994 classic, “Forrest Gump.” Unfortunately, the film did not fare well at the box office and struggled to make an impact.