‘Maybe it was Aamir Khan’s strategy to keep Lagaan cast away from women and booze’: Yashpal Sharma recalls on-set anecdotes

Yashpal Sharma recounted stories from the sets of Lagaan, where the entire cast would get together every evening and play cards.

By: Entertainment Desk
New Delhi | August 24, 2024 06:40 PM IST

Yashpal Sharma and Aamir Khan on the sets of Lagaan. (Photo: Express Archive).

Actor Yashpal Sharma, who played a key supporting role in the Oscar-nominated film Lagaan, spoke about working with star Aamir Khan. He said in an interview that Aamir made sure to include every cast member in nightly card parties, which could have been a ploy to keep everybody away from other distractions, such as women and booze. Yashpal said that Aamir organises a reunion for the Lagaan cast every Diwali to this day.

Appearing on the Friday Talkies YouTube channel, he said that when the call came in for the film, he was expecting the worst. “I thought Aamir would be arrogant, because that’s what my experiences with stars had taught me. In fact, some NSD graduates would also think of themselves as stars… But Aamir is a wonderful human being, first and foremost,” he said.

Also read – ‘Walked up to Aamir Khan and told him this is not how it’s going to work’: Lagaan cinematographer Anil Mehta recalls ‘exhausting’ 30-day climax shoot

Recalling his experiences on the film’s sets in Bhuj, he continued, “He would sit in the dirt and drink tea out of a paper cup. He organised a cards club; we would get together every evening and play cards. Maybe it was Aamir’s strategy to keep everybody away from women and booze, and from getting into random fights. Everybody was together on that set, and we maintained it for over five months. The passion, the late nights, the camaraderie all translated onto the screen.”

Yashpal said that such was the bond that the crew formed, Aamir hosts card parties every Diwali to this day. “We would have golgappas together, we went to watch a movie together, we played cricket together, we would rehearse together. But look at Aamir’s humility, he invites us to his house for card parties every Diwali,” Yashpal said.

Also starring Gracy Singh, Raghubir Yadav, Raj Zutshi, Rachel Kelley, Paul Blackthorne, and several others, Lagaan was directed by Ashutosh Gowariker. The movie was released in theatres in 2001, and remains the last Indian title to be nominated in the Oscars category formerly known as Best Foreign Language Film.

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