It's
been
20
years
of
Lagaan
and
more
than
37
years
of
the
man
in
the
industry.
But
Aamir
Khan
is
humble
-
as
usual.
In
an
exclusive
interaction
with
the
media
while
reminiscing
about
Lagaan,
the
actor-filmmaker
was
in
a
relaxed
mood
on
a
Sunday
afternoon,
cheerful
and
up
for
some
casual
banter.
He
was
taking
the
film's
success
and
landmark
year
so
coolly.
After
all,
Lagaan
-
the
first
film
of
Aamir
Khan
Productions
Limited
and
the
actor's
first
film
to
be
nominated
at
the
Oscar
Awards
-
is
something
he
holds
dearly
to
his
heart.
But
Aamir,
as
always,
wore
his
heart
on
his
sleeve
while
talking
about
it,
chatting
us
up
and
playfully
asking
if
his
smoking
pipe
bothered
us
(in
online
mode!).
Excerpts
from
the
chat
about
20
years
of
Lagaan
with
Aamir
Khan,
which
Filmibeat
was
a
part
of.
The
actor-filmmaker
talks
about
the
making
of
Lagaan,
the
Oscars
loss
which
is
actually
a
gain,
and
the
cult
status
achieved
by
the
film.
Aamir
also
appreciated
his
ex-wife
Reena
Dutta
and
his
director
Ashutosh
Gowariker
for
the
making
of
the
film.
On
What
About
Lagaan
Has
Stayed
With
Him
Aamir
Khan
gave
full
credit
to
his
ex-wife
Reena
Dutta
in
how
she
handled
the
production
of
Lagaan,
even
as
a
first-time
producer.
He
said
that
he
requested
for
her
help
in
the
making
of
the
film,
as
he
couldn't
handle
everything
alone.
On
being
asked
the
one
thing
about
Lagaan
that
has
stayed
with
him,
Aamir
Khan
said
that
"almost
everything
has
stayed
with
me.
The
one
thing
that
remains
with
me
is
the
way
Reena
handled
the
film.
She
had
no
understanding
of
cinema
until
then.
Though
she
was
married
to
me
for
a
number
of
years,
she
was
not
interested
in
films
and
didn't
know
anything
about
filmmaking."
So
how
did
Reena
join
in
as
a
producer?
"So
when
I
requested
her
for
help,
as
someone
who
I
can
trust
completely
and
depend
on,
she
was
very
sporting
and
she
said,
'Theek
hai,
I'll
learn'.
Usne
I'll
learn
kya
bola
ke
usne
pura
hee
sikh
liya.
(She
learnt
everything!)
She
went
and
met
Subhash
Ghai,
she
met
Manmohan
Shetty
and
asked
him
to
show
how
a
sound
negative
looks,
what
is
processing
and
printing,
etc.
She
met
producers,
directors,
technicians,
and
learnt
what
is
filmmaking.
I
had
told
her,
'I'm
not
gonna
tell
you
anything.
You
learn
on
your
own'.
So
she
learnt
on
her
own,
cracked
it
and
produced
a
film.
Now
that
is
something
that
I'll
remember
all
my
life.
How
for
one
person
who's
completely
from
another
field
to
enter
films
and
take
control
at
such
a
level,
it
was
very
remarkable.
That's
one
of
my
big
memories.
I
still
wonder
how
she
has
done
that."
Three
Production
Processes
Aamir
Khan
Brought
Back
With
Lagaan
Aamir
Khan
caused
a
revolution
in
how
films
are
made
in
India,
with
the
three
processes
he
began
or
brought
back
with
Lagaan.
These
processes
have
now
become
the
norm,
but
it
was
difficult
for
Aamir
to
implement
them
at
first.
He
revealed
that
his
close
friends
and
filmmakers
Karan
Johar
and
Aditya
Chopra
had
advised
him
against
these
three
things,
since
they
knew
Lagaan
was
the
first
film
of
Aamir
Khan
Productions
and
a
very
ambitious
one
at
that.
But
Aamir
went
ahead
anyway.
In
fact,
he'd
been
wanting
to
introduce
these
processes
five
years
before
Lagaan,
he
explained,
but
that
his
directors
refused
his
request.
The
three
processes
are:
1.
Sync
sound,
which
was
used
in
classic
cinema,
so
that
the
hassle
of
recreating
an
amazing
scene
in
dubbing
is
removed.
2.
Shooting
a
film
in
a
single
schedule,
much
like
smaller
films
are
short
films
are
made.
3.
First
AD
(assistant
director)
system
on
set,
which
made
the
process
of
shooting
smoother
and
more
organised.
"Shooting
in
sync
sound
and
in
one
schedule
has
dramatically
changed
my
life
as
an
actor.
I
can
now
work
on
my
character.
Being
a
producer
has
helped
me
as
an
actor
because
of
the
processes
I
brought
in,"
revealed
Aamir.
Lagaan
At
The
Oscars
-
Was
It
Disappointing
Not
To
Win?
Lagaan
was
nominated
at
the
Oscar
Awards
and
managed
to
reach
the
Top
5
in
the
Best
Foreign
Language
Film
category.
Was
it
disappointing
that
it
didn't
win
the
Academy
Award
that
year?
Getting
thoughtful,
Aamir
patiently
explained
how
it
was
disappointing
but
to
reach
the
Top
5
itself
was
a
big
achievement.
"Of
course,
it
was
disappointing.
We
would
have
liked
to
win.
A
lot
of
people
have
asked
me
what
could
we
have
done
differently
in
Lagaan
for
it
to
win
at
the
Oscars
-
'Was
it
because
it
had
songs?
Or
it
was
so
long?',
etc.
But
what
people
need
to
understand
is
that
at
the
Oscars,
it
is
such
a
difficult
process
to
get
nominated.
If
you
are
nominated,
it
means
that
people
a
huge
percentage
of
the
jury
members
have
loved
your
film
and
loved
it
so
much
that
you
are
in
the
top
5."
"In
LA,
they
consider
that
if
you
are
a
nominee,
you
are
all
at
the
finish
line.
All
are
equally
good
and
then
one
person
is
told
that
you
can
take
a
step
ahead
-
who
becomes
the
winner...so
what
we
failed
to
appreciate
is
that
the
members
in
the
Foreign
Language
committee
actually
loved
our
film.
That
means
there
was
nothing
wrong
with
Lagaan.
All
aspects
were
loved
and
only
then
you
got
nominated.
The
film
was
highly
appreciated,"
he
explained.
On
Award
Ceremonies
And
Not
Taking
Awards
Seriously
Having
said
that,
Aamir
Khan
went
on
to
reiterate
his
stance
on
award
ceremonies.
"The
other
thing
that
I
want
to
say
is
about
award
ceremonies
-
I
think
y'all
know
my
stance
on
it.
Let
me
elaborate
a
li'l
bit.
You
cannot
compare
films.
How
can
you
compare
Lagaan
and,
let's
say,
Dangal?
So,
don't
take
awards
so
seriously.
This
is
what
my
rule
has
been
in
life.
Both
Dangal
and
Lagaan
are
good,
and
if
they
had
been
made
in
the
same
year,
only
one
would've
won.
That
doesn't
mean
the
other
film
is
less.
It
just
means
that
this
jury
found
this
one
better.
In
sports
awards,
there
is
no
subjectivity
-
either
you
jump
the
highest
or
not.
It
is
not
the
same
in
cinema.
No
two
people
like
the
same
thing.
In
sports,
the
winner
is
actually
the
winner."
So
then
why
give
so
much
importance
to
the
Oscars?
Team
Lagaan
was
in
LA
for
the
lobbying
before
the
ceremony.
"One,
it's
because
of
the
processes
they
follow.
And
two,
it's
because
of
the
window
of
opportunity
it
gives
to
your
market.
Because
Lagaan
was
nominated,
so
many
people
around
the
world
wanted
to
watch
it.
It
gives
an
opportunity
to
increase
your
audience.
That's
how
I
look
at
it.
Winning
or
losing
at
awards
is
not
as
important
as
whether
the
audience
likes
your
film
or
not.
Isse
bada
award
koi
nahin
hain
(No
bigger
award
than
the
audience
liking
your
film)."
We
agree!
On
Lagaan's
Cult
Status
Everyone
is
curious
to
know
if
Aamir
Khan
had
an
intuition
that
Lagaan
would
attain
a
cult
status.
To
which,
Aamir
said,
"When
we
were
making
it,
we
had
no
idea.
We
all
loved
the
script
by
Ashutosh
Gowariker
and
we
were
emotionally
invested
in
it.
So,
we
were
just
trying
our
level
best
to
do
it
right.
Humko
koi
idea
nahin
tha
ke
ye
acchi
banegi
aur
bahot
popular
hogi.
Aaj
bees
saal
baad
bhi
hum
uske
baare
mein
baat
kar
rahe
hai,
lekin
voh
humko
kahaan
pata
tha.
(We
had
no
idea
that
it
will
be
a
good
film
and
become
so
popular.
Today
we're
still
talking
about
it,
20
years
later)."
Aamir
Khan
went
on
to
say
something
insightful
about
making
films.
He
shared,
"My
uncle
Nasir
Hussain
Sa'ab
(the
producer)
used
to
say,
"Ek
acchi
film,
voh
hum
banatey
nahin
hai,
voh
ban
jaati
hai.
(We
don't
make
a
good
film,
the
film
makes
itself.)
Aap
koi
bole
dubaara
banao
toh
aap
shaayad
khud
nahin
bana
paaoge.
(You
won't
be
able
to
make
it
again.)
He
had
a
very
nice
way
of
putting
it
that
y'know,
sometimes
things
happen.
So,
we
always
try
our
best
and
sometimes
things
happen
and
they
go
well."
"I
think
Lagaan
was
once
such
film
where
things
felt
in
the
right
place.
All
of
us
were
very
excited
when
we
made
the
film.
I
can
tell
you
this
with
all
honesty
that
everyone
involved
in
the
film
was
emotionally
invested
in
it.
That
I
can
say
with
full
confidence.
So,
sometimes
that
emotion
springs
up
and
kuch
ban
jaata
hai
usse.
But
of
course,
the
big
credit
of
how
the
film
has
turned
out
goes
to
Ashutosh.
He
was
the
lead
writer
along
with
two
other
writers,
and
he
also
directed
it.
And
I
think
he
did
a
really
wonderful
job."