Lagaan was one of the most expensive Indian films when it released in 2001. The Aamir Khan film was the actor’s first production and was shot in Bhuj over many months and the actor’s team made special arrangements for the crew so the film could be shot in the middle of nowhere, which included setting up residential towers and taking care of the needs of all the crew members. Recently, actor Akhilendra Mishra shared that the crew was served food from around the globe and was mandated to drink mineral water at all times. So much so that they were asked to wash their hair with mineral water as well.
Recalling the exceptional arrangement done by the team, actor Akhilendra Mishra, who played the role of Arjan in the film told Friday Talkies, “The production management was exceptionally good. The film wouldn’t have been a success without it. They had all kinds of food, any cuisine you want, any juice you want, you name it, you have it. Even the foreign artists were eating Indian food. For them, there was a huge continental food set up, but they all flocked to the Indian section.”
He added, “The arrangements were so great, the standards were of international level. As soon as we woke up in the morning and stepped out of our buses, they would set up all kinds of breakfast. You eat as much as you want and drink as much as you want, nobody stopped you.” Akhilendra said this is never the case with other production houses. “They will keep an eye on even things as small as Bisleri water bottles. They are paranoid whether someone is using Bisleri water to wash their hands.”
“On the other hand, on the sets of Lagaan, things were reverse. Here, people were making sure that nobody is drinking the local water. Everyone has to drink Bisleri water. They were very careful about people’s health. After all, it would halt the entire shoot. People were washing their hair using Bisleri there.”
Akhilendra shared that production personnel on other films would sit in their air conditioned rooms but that wasn’t the case on the set of Lagaan as producer Reena Dutta, who was then married to Aamir Khan, would stand in 44 degrees heat with them. He shared that when the shoot was extended, everyone was given a new contract with additional pay. “Aamir set up a meeting. He told us that the shoot would not complete as decided in May, it will get extended until June. Not a single person objected to it. Everybody’s contract was extended”, said Akhilendra Mishra.
The veteran actor even recalled how Aamir Khan, despite being a star would always be around them. “He would sit down on the floor with us, talk with us, and eat with us.”
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Lagaan was one of the biggest hits of the year and was nominated at the Oscars.
