India's most expensive film was rejected by Shah Rukh Khan, producers backed out, clashed with Sunny Deol movie, still became blockbuster, earned Rs...

The 2001 epic sports drama film Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India was written and directed by Ashutosh Gowariker. Set in 1893, the film was based on how the villagers, led by Aamir Khan's Bhuvan, defeat the ruthless British rulers in a game of cricket to throw them out of their fictitious village Champaner. Since Lagaan was an epic drama set around a cricket match and required a huge budget, several producers backed out of the film. When Aamir Khan heard the entire narration from Ashutosh Gowariker, he found it amazing and decided to become a producer himself. Thus, Lagaan became the first film to be made under the Aamir Khan Productions.

But before Aamir came on board, Ashutosh had offered Lagaan to Shah Rukh Khan, who rejected the film. In an interview with Rediff, when the director was asked if Shah Rukh would have suited the role of Bhuvan, he said, "Yes. But he would have made a different kind of Bhuvan. See Bhuvan's definitions change - as does the script. It's like a paradigm shift. Every actor imparts his personality to a character - the moment he does something, the character undergoes a bit of change. And when he does it, everything around him changes. So obviously Shah Rukh would have played it differently."

Apart from Aamir, Lagaan starred a terrific ensemble cast comprising of Gracy Singh, Suhasini Mulay, Rachel Shelley, Paul Blackthorne, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Raghubir Yadav, AK Hangal, Akhilendra Mishra, Pradeep Rawat, Raj Zutshi, and Rajesh Vivek among others. Amitabh Bachchan acted as the narrator of the film.

After almost an year of planning, Gowariker took the entire cast and crew in a village in Bhuj to shoot the film. When Lagaan was finally completed, it became the most expensive Indian film at the time of its release with its massive budget of Rs 25 crore. It was released on June 15, 2001, and clashed at the box office with Sunny Deol's Gadar: Ek Prem Katha. Despite the clash, both the films became blockbusters. While Gadar minted around Rs 130 crore, Lagaan also earned Rs 65 crore at the global box office. While Sunny Deol outdid Aamir Khan at the box office, Lagaan has now become a cult classic over the years.

Lagaan also became the third and as of now, the last Indian film to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, now called the Best International Feature Film, after Mother India (1957) and Salaam Bombay! (1988). The film was screened at multiple international film festivals, where it won numerous awards.

The Ashutosh Gowariker directorial also created another record, which still hasn't been beaten in the last 24 years. Lagaan received a total of eight National Awards, which is still the most number of awards won by an Indian film till date. It won the National Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment, Best Music Direction to AR Rahman, Best Lyricist to Javed Akhtar for Radha Kaise Na Jale and Ghanan Ghanan, Best Playback Singer - Male to Udit Narayan for Mitwa, Best Audiography to H Sridhar and Nakul Kamte, Best Costume Design to Bhanu Athaiya (who is also the first Indian to win an Academy Award for the 1982 film Gandhi), Best Art Direction to Nitin Chandrakant Desai, and Best Choreography to Raju Khan.

Lagaan has currently been re-released in the theatres as part of Cinema Ka Jaadugar: The Aamir Khan Film Festival, which is being organised as the superstar celebrated its 60th birthday on March 14. The other Aamir Khan classics, which have also re-released, include Rang De Basanti, Dil Chahta Hai, Dangal, Ghajini, Talaash, 3 Idiots, PK, Sarfarosh, and others.