20 Years of Lagaan EXCLUSIVE: Aamir Khan on Oscars’ loss – “The film was highly appreciated, so you don't look at it negatively”

Aamir Khan starrer Lagaan set numerous records from the number of awards it earned to the business it did overseas and of course the fact to become the third Indian film — after Mother India (1957) and Salaam Bombay! (1988) — to be nominated at the Academy Awards. The film has completed 20 years today. The film had talented performances by Aamir Khan, along with debutant Gracy Singh and British actors Rachel Shelley and Paul Blackthorne in supporting roles. The film also had Aamir Khan turning into a producer for the first time.

Khan spoke to media recently about the film and explained how he felt about the loss at the Oscars and the disappointment that followed. He said, "A lot of people have asked me this question and they ask 'How disappointed were you when Lagaan didn't win?'. Of course, I was disappointed and we would have wanted to win. A lot of people have asked me, 'What could you have done differently in Lagaan?' So that it could have won. Was it because it had songs? Was it because it was too long? And I've been telling people over the years which I don't think people have got yet, so maybe y'all can explain it to them.”

He also talked about the process of selection at the Oscars and the difficulty and complexity of getting nominated for an award by a foreign language committee. “At the Oscars, it is such a difficult process to even get nominated; it's so difficult. If you are nominated, the members of the foreign language committee, 80%-90% or a huge percentage of them, out of all the films that came out that year, have loved your film. They have loved it so much that you are in the Top Five. In Los Angeles, they believe that if you are a nominee, you are coming and standing at the finish line. So, all are equally good. One is told to come and take a step ahead and they become the winner but the other four are just one step behind. So, what we failed to appreciate is that the members and everyone in the foreign language committee actually loved our film. Because, if they wouldn't have loved our film, we wouldn't have reached the Top Five."

He also said that everyone keeps talking about the improvements that could have been made in order to win but he doesn't back it. Continuing the same, he further added, “So, that means there was nothing wrong in the film – the songs, the length, the musical aspect of it, the cricket aspect of it – all that was loved by the members and only then it got nominated. So, you have to understand that the film was highly appreciated, so you don't look at it negatively, look at it positively. The fact that you reached the Top Five is a very big thing.”

Lagaan revolved around the British Raj when a farmer named Bhuvan accepts the challenge of Captain Andrew Russell to beat his team in a game of cricket and enable his village to not pay taxes for the next three years.

Also Read: EXCLUSIVE: Gracy Singh gives a RARE interview on 20 Years Of Lagaan; praises Aamir Khan’s dedication and says “I wish that even I could have also played cricket in the film”

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