Aamir Khan‘Lagaan’ has completed 25 years and remains one of the most iconic films made in India. As the team celebrates this silver jubilee milestone, the cast and crew came together for a special screening of the film and are reminiscing fond memories. In a recent interview, the actor Paul Blackthorne Andrew Russell who played Captain also spoke about it when he returned to India to celebrate the film.Recalling how the project came about, he said in an interview with Screen, “My agent called me in London and said, ‘There’s a Bollywood film they’re auditioning for you.’ I said, ‘Bollywood movie? That’s unusual.”His doubts disappeared when he got to know more about Aamir Khan and the scale of the project. “I met Aamir and I suddenly realized, ‘Wow, this is something.’ Then I thought, ‘Are you kidding me? I have the opportunity to spend five months in India, to work with this incredible man and live this experience.’ It didn’t matter what happened next. I wanted to do my best and enjoy it.”Looking back now, Blackthorne describes the whole experience as life-changing. “It became this incredible phenomenon. It’s been an extraordinary gift.”One memory that sticks out vividly is hearing AR Rahman’s music for the first time while shooting. “They set up the loudspeakers in the cricket ground and Aamir said, ‘Now you’re going to hear the music’. I thought, ‘Holy, let’s hear it.’ Everyone sat and listened. That was the first moment I thought, ‘Wow. Oh my. That’s going to be the music on top of that.'” That’s when I started to feel that this could be something special.“Away from the cameras, a certain fact has stuck with him for decades. During a break after filming on location in the palace, he decided to spend some time in the sea.“I went down to the beach. There was no one around. I took off all my clothes and ran into the ocean.” The surreal sequence of events that followed felt almost too perfect to be true. “As I was running towards the sea, these pink and black flamingos suddenly flew past me. They jumped across the water in front of me. Then all these flying fish started jumping out of the waves around me.’Recalling the moment, Blackthorne laughed and said, “At that point, I thought, ‘OK, let’s cover up the crown jewels and keep everything intact.’
How do you feel about Lagaan’s impact on Indian cinema?
Standing in the water, surrounded by the spectacle of nature, he realized he was seeing something extraordinary. “I stood there thinking, ‘You know what? This is an experience.'” Then I got dressed and went back. But those trips to the beach became my Sunday ritual.’Even after 25 years, Blackthorne continues to be amazed by the love people show for ‘Lagaan’. “People get really excited when they realize you’re part of the film. Taxi drivers in England suddenly start Facetiming their family members.”The reactions can be distracting at times, jokingly. “I’ll be sitting there thinking, ‘Can you please concentrate on driving the car, sir? We can take a selfie later’.”However, he appreciates the love that viewers have shown him over the years. “It’s a beautiful thing. If someone has enjoyed something you’ve been a part of, that’s great. It’s nice to bring something positive into the world. I feel so grateful to have had that opportunity.”
