The period epic was directed by Ashutosh Gowarikar and Aamir Khan’snow-estranged wife Kiran Rao was the assistant director of the movie — it is perhaps particularly bittersweet that as the seminal film hit the two decade milestone, merely a couple of weeks later the power couple of Khan and Rao announced they were separating after 15 years of marriage.

But even that unfortunate note cannot take the moment away from Lagaan itself. The film, whose acclaimed soundtrack was composed by AR Rahman, also introduced the entirely unknown Gracy Singh to audiences. As significant was the fact that Lagaan marked Aamir Khan’s first foray into film production, and in keeping with the actor’s acuity, he went on to create a film as admired by critics as adored by fans. Lagaan also became the third film to receive an Oscarnomination for Best Foreign LanguageFilm in the history of India. And even after 20 years of its release, the cult obsession around this film is astounding. The crew of the film reunited after 20 years to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the most phenomenal movie of the decade. Because of Covid-19 the celebration took place virtually, but the who’s who were present: fromAamir Khan, Ashutosh Gowarikarand AR Rahman to British actors Paul Blackthorn and Rachel Shelly. Also present were the absolutely stellar supporting cast including Pradeep Rawat, Akhilendra Mishra, Suhasini Mulay, and Yashpal Sharma. Later on, AR Rahman shared the screenshot of the virtual celebration on his Instagram handle with an emotional message. Furthermore, the full video of their interaction was posted on the official YouTube channel of NetflixIndia. Something that drew everyone’s attention was the absence of the film’s lead actress, Gracy Singh from the virtual reunion of the cast and crew of Lagaan.

Since then, Twitter has been flooded with various tweets on #20 Years of Lagaan. Delhi Capitals tweeted- “#20YearsOfLagaan, an audacious legacy lives on..” Syed tweeted- “It is extremely difficult to convince #AamirKhan to do a film, but once he commits, that is the greatest moment for the Director. And I can’t thank him enough. Lagaan has been the most cherished and fulfilling experience for me.” Wrote Ashutosh Gowarikar.

Lagaan shaped the careers of many who were involved in the film, from its actors to the director Ashutosh Gowarikar. In fact, Aamir Khan, acquired his image of “Mr. Perfectionist” through this film only. Even the actress of the film, Gracy got a flying start in her acting career through Lagaan and later on got the chance to get featured in Munna Bhai MBBS with Sanjay Dutt. However, later she became the victim of bad projects.

Lagaan was a musical sports drama, set in the pre-independence era. In an interview, the director of the film revealed that many actors were unwilling to give Lagaan a chance — safe to say that when Lagaan went on to create history at the box office, a lot of humble pie must have been eaten in a lot of A-list homes. Lagaan became one of the most iconic movies of all time and won the hearts of all Indians. While known for his reticence, in one of his exceptionally insightful and engaging interviews — with journalist and editor Tarun Tejpal at his celebrated conclave THiNK fest in the year 2011 — the actor opened up about his journey as well as the incredible experience of working on Lagaan. It was in this interview, in fact, that Aamir Khan also mentioned that doing Lagaan was one of the biggest decisions that he had made in his career up to that point because it was a huge risk for its unconventional setting and genre. But it was his love for stories that drew him to this career, he told Tarun Tejpal — whose own books have been widely acclaimed and awarded — which is why, clearly, he spotted the stunning potential of Lagaan where others only saw risk. The rest, as they say, is history. Aamir’s interview with the journalist Tarun J Tejpal on this movie a decade ago shows that how critically acclaimed this movie has been. Tarun J Tejpal, himself being a writer was able to understand the importance of a story in Aamir Khan’ life, better than any other interviewer.

Although everyone knows about the undeniable success of Lagaan but, here is an interesting fact about the climax of the movie that not many are aware of. The climax of the movie was the cricket match between the villagers and the British. The makers of the film involved 10,000 people from neighboring towns and cities to shoot the crowded scenes of the movie. Involving and handling such a big crowd of real people — not actors — was not an easy job to do, but the makers of Lagaan pulled it off, in the meanwhile lending a gritty and authentic note to the scene. Dressing and feeding 10,000 people was exhausting and a logistical nightmare, but the team pulled it off with spectacular success. That we’re still here talking about the movie 20 years later shows just how much.