Javed Akhtar reveals he advised Aamir Khan to not do Lagaan and Rang De Basanti: ‘Made a list of what was wrong with the script’

Aamir Khan is celebrating Cinema Ka Jadugar, a film festival themed after him as a tribute to his years in cinema.

Javed Akhtar reveals he advised Aamir Khan to not do Lagaan and Rang De Basanti

If there is one name in the contemporary Hindi film industry, aka Bollywood, that has taken the most number of risks in his choices, it has to be Aamir Khan. Over the past many years, the actor has given India some of its most precious movies, and his filmography is a testament to great art and talent. Two of his most celebrated movies ever are Lagaan and Rang De Basanti. One directed by Ashutosh Gowariker and the other by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, both movies are considered gems today. But what if we tell you that Javed Akhtar had initially advised the star against doing these movies? Read on to know everything you should about the same.

Javed Akhtar On Lagaan

This morning, Aamir Khan and Javed Akhtar launched the Aamir Khan: Cinema Ka Jadugar film festival in the city. At the event, they indulged in an interesting conversation where they spoke about their movies, what they felt about them, and how they viewed Aamir’s career. It was here that Javed Akhtar revealed that he was initially against the idea of Aamir doing Lagaan and Rang De Basanti. He even gave him a list of problems with the Lagaan script.

He said at the event, "I know I’m putting my neck on the line, but I’ve done this before and been proven right. I was the one who said Aamir would be a superstar, even when Amitabh Bachchan faced a series of flops. I predicted that he would become a superstar. Today, I’m predicting that the film which will connect with everyone is being made by Aamir, and that film will be a super hit. Manmohan, Salim-Javed, Yash Chopra all gave hits, but they all gave hits in one genre. They never gave hits in varied genres. Aamir’s magic is that he puts his money on unconventional films."

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It was at this point that Javed Akhtar spoke about not wanting Aamir Khan to do Lagaan initially. “I asked him not to do Lagaan. I tried convincing him a lot. I made a list of what was wrong with the script,” Akhtar recalled. “A village hero, a hero wearing a dhoti, cricket in the movie, and songs only talking about whether it will rain or not. I gave up eventually. I realized that the film had to be Aamir’s, and when I saw the first cut, I was blown away.”

Praising Aamir Khan for his film choices, he added, “People don’t make Taare Zameen Par. People don’t work in Dangal. He was the actor in Rang De Basanti who was sitting in a corner, letting other actors take center stage. Only Aamir could have believed in these characters and stories.”

Lagaan is streaming on Amazon Prime Video, and Rang De Basanti is available on Netflix. Stay tuned to OTTplay for more information on this and everything else from the world of streaming and films.

ALSO READ: Mahabharat: Aamir Khan still keen on making the magnum opus, calls it his dream project; says, ‘Let’s see if I’ll have a role in it to play’

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