15 years of Lagaan, Gadar: Some interesting facts

While Aamir Khan-starrer Lagaan, an epic sports drama, became the third Indian film to be nominated for the Academy Award, Sunny’s Gadar almost broke the record of Sholay.

On the this day in 2001, two of Indian cinemas biggest blockbusters Lagaan and Gadar – Ek Prem Katha hit the theatres. While Aamir Khan-starrer Lagaan, an epic sports drama, became the third Indian film to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film after Mother India (1957) and Salaam Bombay! (1988), Sunny Deol’s Gadar became a box office phenomenon, almost breaking the record of Sholay in terms of tickets sold. Interestingly, every time Aamir and Sunny’s films released together, they turned out to become blockbsuters. Be it Dil and Ghayal (1990), Raja Hindustani and Ghatak (1996) or Lagaan and Gadar (2001).

# Shah Rukh Khan and not Aamir was the first choice for the role of Bhuwan in Lagaan. But after SRK rejected the film, director Ashutosh Gowariker went to Aamir, who agreed to even produce the film. It took almost five years for the film to hit the theatres.

# Ashutosh suffered from a slipped disc and had to rest for 30 days during the filming of Lagaan. However, the director continued working by having his bed next to the monitor. He used directions lying on his bed.

# Lagaan was the first Indian film to use sync sound (synchronised sound recording), that is, recording sounds at the time of filming. Earlier, the common practice in Bollywood was to ‘dub’ the dialogues at the post-production stage.

# Sonali Bendre, Nandita Das, Rani Mukerji and Ameesha Patel were considered for the role of Gauri. But Ashutosh selected Gracy Singh, who was a then famous for her role as Dinky in TV serial Amanat.

# Bhanu Athaiya, who won Oscar for Gandhi, was the costume designer for the film.

# During shooting, a cricket match was organised between the British actors and their Indian counterparts. British team won the match!

# The 2001 Gujarat earthquake devastated most of the regions in Bhuj where Lagaan was shot. The crew, including the English, contributed to their cause by donating a huge sum. Aamir adopted a village in Bhuj and sent tents for the homeless and also collected funds for relief operations.

# The film won eight National Film Awards and nine Filmfare Awards.

# The film proved to be a turning point in the career of Yashpal Sharma (Lakha), Raghivir Yadav (Bhura), Rajesh Vivek (Gurang), Akhilendra Mishra (Archan), Daya Shankar Pandey (Goli), Prithvi Zutsi (Ismail). Most of these actors bagged many films after the success of Lagaan.

# The story of this film is loosely based on the real life of Boota Singh, a Sikh ex-soldier of the British Army who served at the Burma front during World War II. He rescued a rescued a Muslim girl during the communal riots in the time of partition. Both fell in love and got married. Later, the girl was deported and sent to the newly born Pakistan. Boota illegally entered Pakistan bring her wife back. However, when the girl backed off under the pressure from her family, he commits suicide by jumping before an upcoming train.

# It was Ameesha Patel’s second film after her blockbuster debut in Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai opposite Hrithik Roshan. The success of Gadar made Ameesha the most sought actor at the time. However, none of her subsequent films repeated the same magic.

# Gadar is the highest-grossing film in Sunny’s acting career.

# Gadar was the first movie whose show started from 6 am on audience demand.

# To give the train sequence, at the beginning of the film, an authentic feel, the Amritsar station was given the look of 1940s when the unfortunate incident actually happened.

# The steam engine used for the shooting was hired from the Railway Museum in Delhi and it was all done at a ‘Live’ station with a real crowd and actors.