At the Red Lorry Film Festival in Mumbai, Aamir Khan and filmmaker Ashutosh Gowariker They came together to celebrate 25 years of the landmark film Lagaan, a project that not only redefined sports dramas in Indian cinema but also overcame a lot of uncertainty upon its release.
“Unusual film for Indian cinema”
Looking back, Aamir He recalled how the odds were stacked against the film. “Seven-eight sports films flopped before the release of Lagaan,” he said, calling it an “unusual film for Indian cinema”. The actor also opened up about creative disagreements with Gowariker, particularly the clean look of his character Bhuvan in a drought-stricken village.
The never-ending beard debate
Revealing who won the argument, Aamir admitted with a smile, “In the end Ashutosh won the argument, but to be honest, Bhuvan should have been what I look like now.”Defending his choice, Gowariker explained, “Lagaan was an experimental film and script; I had to recast other characters. I only had Aamir Khan, and I thought he should look handsome in the film. He should be clean-shaven, have a slightly different hairstyle and no moustache. I thought that was more important for the film.”
“Where did he get the water to shave?”
The joke didn’t end there. Aamir playfully pointed out a logical inconsistency in the film’s scenario. “Tell me one thing, it didn’t rain in that town, there was no water to drink, and this guy was shaving every day…how did the whole town not beat him up?” he scoffed.He added, “Bhuvan was getting water to shave every day, the other villagers didn’t even have water to drink. No one reacted then, but the logical question is why was he shaving – that should be the last thing on his mind.” Released in 2001, Lagaan went on to become one of the most iconic films in Hindi cinema. In 2002 he was also nominated at the Academy Awards, strengthening his global legacy.
