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The Aamir Khan-starrer Lagaan was released two decades ago on June 15. The actor and film-maker says the film shaped him in many ways.
"Lagaan was, is and continues to be an amazing journey for me," the Bollywood star said on Monday. "It has been a journey in which I have met exciting new people, started relationships that have lasted over two decades, learnt so much, experienced so many emotions, experienced so much. This journey has shaped me in so many ways."
Directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, the film is set in 1893, during the late Victorian period of India's British Raj. The story revolves around a small village in Central India whose inhabitants, burdened by high taxes, accept a challenge to play a cricket match against a team of British officers.
If they win the match, their taxes would be excused, but failing to win would mean having to pay triple taxes.
"In this journey, I want to thank Ashu, the entire team of Lagaan, all the different teams that took it to the various audiences across the world and all of you who have seen the film," said Aamir. "We are fellow travellers."
Lagaan, made on a then-unprecedented budget of US$5.32 million, grossed US$53 million from distribution worldwide and made it to the Oscars. But Aamir, who marked his debut as a producer with the film, said he wouldn't dare to make it again.
"If you ask me to make Lagaan again, I will not even attempt it," he told IANS. "I will not have the courage to make Lagaan again."
The film defied every stereotype of the era, in the process reorganising quite a few idioms of mainstream Bollywood film-making.
"My ultimate dream was to create something that will linger in the audience's mind," said Gowariker. "That it would be appreciated 20 years down the line is something that is unimaginable. Lagaan is the story of people coming together and standing united against all odds."
Aamir said he did not expect the kind of response the film garnered. The reaction to the climactic cricket match, which occupies the last hour of the film, was a pleasant surprise too. "People in the theatres in the last one hour used to convert it into a stadium. The audience would shout 'Bhuvan! Bhuvan!' We didn't expect this kind of a response. It was a dream response," said the actor.
The film continues to be popular even after two decades. Netflix is streaming a reunion special titled Chale Chalo Lagaan: Once Upon on its YouTube channel. "Lagaan is one of the most iconic creations of Indian cinema. It is an epic tale that won hearts everywhere and showed the brilliance of Indian storytelling on the global stage," said Ms Monika Shergill, vice-president, Content, Netflix India.
Indo-Asian News Service
