Aamir Khan and Reena Dutta played bride's parents at a real wedding on the Lagaan set, reveals co-star Amin Hajee
As Lagaan completes 25 years of release, the cast and crew recalled best moments
Twenty-five years later, and Aamir Khan’s Lagaan is still the gift that keeps on giving. Every year on its anniversary, new details and stories emerge about the film that scripted history in the 2000s.
Actor Amin Hajee, who plays the role of Baghaa, the silent, temple-drumming star of the village cricket team in the film, shares some nostalgic anecdotes, revealing that the Lagaan set wasn't just about cricket and high stakes. It was also a massive matchmaker. Not only did Amin meet his future wife on set, but a proper wedding went down mid-shoot.
How a chance encounter led to a lifelong partnership
Speaking to PTI, Hajee recalled how director Ashutosh Gowariker had recruited English county cricketers for the film's British team. The production also invited family members of the players to join as extras in crowd scenes.
Among them was Charlotte, the sister of British cricketer Jamie, who had recently completed her studies in anthropology and decided to accompany her brother to Bhuj, where much of the film was shot.
Recalling their first meeting, Hajee said: "My wife Charlotte had just finished anthropology, so she wanted to come and see the most great specimens. She came with her brother and saw me and thought, 'He is the odd one. I have to research this specimen.' Now it has been 25–26 years since she has been paying three times Lagaan."
A wedding on the Lagaan set
The film's set also became the venue for another real-life love story. According to Hajee, Charlotte's brother Jamie decided to marry his girlfriend Catherine during the production.
The ceremony took place at the same temple featured in the film, where Baghaa's character lived and performed as the village drummer.
"My wife's brother Jamie got married to his girlfriend. We used to call her Catkin, but her name was Catherine. So, she and Jamie married on our set in the same mandir my character Baghaa lives as the temple drummer. Reena Dutta and Aamir Khan were the mother and father who gave the bride away, and the entire baraat was the Lagaan cast and crew. We have gotten some great moments and memories. It was magical," Hajee said.
The wedding became one of the many cherished memories forged during the making of the film, with cast and crew members coming together to celebrate the occasion.
Celebrating 25 years of a landmark film
The reflections come as Lagaan marks its 25th anniversary. To commemorate the milestone, producer and star Aamir Khan recently hosted a reunion attended by several members of the film fraternity, including Salman Khan and Kareena Kapoor Khan.
Directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, Lagaan earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film and went on to win multiple honours at the 47th Filmfare Awards, cementing its place as one of the defining films of modern Hindi cinema.
For Hajee, however, some of the film's most enduring legacies were created away from the camera — in the friendships, relationships and memories that continue to resonate a quarter of a century later.
