As ‘Lagaan’ completes 25 years, several stories from the making of the iconic film are resurfacing. At a special event celebrating 25 years of Aamir Khan Productions, veteran lyricist Javed Akhtar shared a surprising confession — he was convinced that the film would fail when he first heard the script.Today regarded as one of the landmark films in Indian cinema, ‘Lagaan’ went on to earn critical acclaim, become one of the biggest hits of 2001 and even secure an Academy Award nomination. But according to Javed Akhtar, the project seemed risky from every angle when it was first conceived.Recalling his initial reaction to the script, the lyricist said the film challenged several industry assumptions prevalent at the time. Conventional wisdom suggested that audiences no longer connected with heroes dressed in dhotis, period dramas were out of fashion, and cricket was considered too slow-paced to make for compelling cinema.Sharing what he told Aamir Khan back then, Javed Akhtar recalled, “I said, ‘What are you doing? The film you are making is not going to work at all. The script is atrocious.’ In other words, everything that shouldn’t be in a film is in it. People say films where the hero wears a dhoti don’t work anymore; times have changed. We didn’t even let Gabbar Singh wear a dhoti. People say period films don’t work. You are making a period film. People say cricket is not cinematic at all—it’s such a slow game.’” He also remembered being baffled by the song situations in the film, joking that the narrative revolved almost entirely around the uncertainty of rain.“What is the situation for songs in your film? The first situation is that it is about to rain. The second situation is that it may rain. The third situation is—when will it rain? The fourth situation is—what if it doesn’t rain? These are your situations. What am I supposed to write songs for in all this?”, he said.Despite the scepticism around him, Aamir Khan never wavered in his belief that the film would work.“But Aamir was completely unfazed. He said, ‘No, you will see, this film will turn out very good.’ After he left, I told my friend, ‘Look, this film is not going to work.’ But it didn’t matter to me—I had been signed for the songs, I would do my work properly. Let them do whatever they are doing,” said Javed Akhtar.History, however, proved otherwise. Directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, ‘Lagaan’ emerged as a cultural phenomenon and remains one of the most celebrated films in Indian cinema. Its music, composed by A.R. Rahman with lyrics by Javed Akhtar, continues to resonate with audiences. Songs such as ‘O Palanhare’, ‘Ghanan Ghanan’, ‘Mitwa’ and ‘Radha Kaise Na Jale’ remain enduring favourites more than two decades after the film’s release.
