On June 15, 2001, Aamir Khan's film Lagaan was released on the big screen for the first time. The story revolve around the members of a tiny village who were not only burdened by years of drought but also by heavy taxes in the pre-Independence era.
When a British army officer challenges them to a game of cricket, everyone jumps at the chance to win the game and get their taxes lifted. Many people still adore and rewatch the film 20 years later.Lagaan was even nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 2002 but did not win. Aamir Khan, the film's lead star, recently told out about how he felt when Lagaan didn't win an Oscar.
AAMIR KHAN RECALLS NOT WINNING THE OSCAR
He saying, "I often get asked, ‘how disappointed were you for not winning the Oscar’? Of course, I was disappointed. I would have liked to win. Many have asked me if the songs and length of the film was an issue for the Academy members? The fact that the film was nominated and was in the top five, says that the members loved it. It’s not easy to be nominated."
Also Read: See PICS: Nisha Rawal throws birthday party for son Kavish Amid dispute with husband Karan Mehra
He also talked about how Oscar helped Lagaan gain a wider audience and how people who had never heard of it ended up seeing it.
LAGAAN WAS A HUGE CHALLENGE, AS AAMIR REVEALS
Aamir said, "I knew it was a great challenge because the film was an unusual one," when asked about the much-loved film. He even revealed that Aditya Chopra and Karan Johar, two of his close friends, had warned him.
Aamir explained, “When I decided to make Lagaan, I realised I was taking on a huge challenge because it's a really unusual, exceptionally tough film. I met with Adi Chopra and Karan Johar only a couple of weeks before I flew for filming. They are some of my closest friends, and they were really concerned.’’
They added,‘You're creating such a big film as your debut production, shooting on a single schedule with sync sound. Set a date of 30 days and see how it goes. If you stick to a single schedule, you won't have time to remedy your errors. Do not attempt to sync sound because no one has done it in a long time. It will cause a delay in your shooting. 'Get the dialogues dubbed afterward, and be sensible.''
The film featured Aamir Singh, Gracy Singh, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Rajendra Gupta, Raghubir Yadav, Rajesh Vivek, Pradeep Rawat, and British actors Rachel Shelley and Paul Blackthorne.