Ashutosh Gowarikar’s ‘Lagaan’ is a big landmark in Indian cinema even after 25 years of its release. This Aamir Khan starrer film is remembered today not only for its historical cricket match but also for its powerful story. The public remembers every frame of what happened on the screen in this film, but the stories of what was happening behind the scenes during the making of this film are also very interesting.
Actor Paul Blackthorne, who played the role of British officer Captain Andrew Russell in Lagaan, in an exclusive conversation with India Today, recalled the shooting days and shared many interesting unheard stories from the sets of the film. One interesting incident among these is related to the special dish “Curry Pasta” made for the British cast of ‘Lagaan’.
The shoot of ‘Lagaan’ was very difficult
Paul, who played the role of ruthless British officer Andrew Russell in Lagaan, described the shooting experience as intense and exhausting and said that he had never felt like this before in his life. He told, ‘It was like living in a pressure cooker for four months. And there was a lot of things together in that cooker. Indian actors, British actors, the local people there, the story of the film, the atmosphere, the location… everything was very intense.
Most people know that the shooting of ‘Lagaan’ Gujarat It took place in the Bhuj area of India, where the film’s cast and technicians spent months facing extreme weather. Paul told that every day on that shoot brought a new challenge. ‘It took weeks to shoot the cricket match portion. But apart from that, we used to get one day off in a week, then I would run straight to the beach, sit there, relax and try to prepare myself for the next six days. By the time the shoot was over we were probably working seven days a week but every day was amazing,’ said Paul.
Not only heat, insects were also a problem
The shoot started in January and Gujarat’s famous heat arrived a few months later. Paul said that it took him some time to adjust to this heat. Paul said humorously, ‘Slowly you adapt to that weather. It is as if a frog is slowly being boiled in hot water and it is not even realizing it. However, heat was not the only challenge the actors faced, as the shoot was also halted in between due to dust storms and swarms of insects.
Paul said, ‘There used to be dust storms. Once a swarm of locusts had also arrived. People were shouting, ‘Stop the shooting, locusts have come.’ Maybe there were bees too. Flying insects were seen everywhere. These were big challenges especially for the camera department.
‘Special’ curry pasta arrived on the sets of ‘Lagaan’!
But amid all these memories, Paul aamir khan A food story related to this still makes us laugh. He told that after eating curry for several days continuously, Aamir Khan came to him and asked whether the British artist was happy with the food arrangements or not.
Paul said, ‘After about a week or two, Aamir came to me and said, ‘Paul, are all the British happy with the food?’ We used to eat papaya and porridge in the morning and then get curry every day for lunch and dinner. He told Aamir that it would be good if he got something different to eat every now and then, and Aamir agreed.
The next day, when the British artist reached the dining area, he saw covered silver trays. See covered utensils. When the lid of one was removed, everyone was very happy to see penne pasta inside.
Paul said laughingly, ‘Everyone started shouting, ‘The pasta is here.’ We went running, filled the bowls and as soon as we put the first bite in our mouth, we realized – this is curry pasta! There was pasta mixed in the same curry.
Paul, who came to India to celebrate 25 years with the cast and crew of Lagaan, said that even today he feels like India is his home.
When he was asked whether he had received offers for other Indian films after ‘Lagaan’, he replied smilingly, ‘Yes, had received many times. But to be honest, ‘Lagaan’ had set a very high standard for me, so I couldn’t do anything else. But who knows? Let’s see, maybe we can find something interesting in the future. I am always ready to do Indian films.
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