Amitabh Bachchan warned Aamir Khan that Lagaan would flop if he was hired to narrate it: ‘He said films don’t work when I’m the narrator’

Aamir Khan, who will celebrate his 60th birthday next week, recently spoke about the big milestones of his career, and discussed his film Lagaan at an event. Aamir said that lyric writer Javed Akhtar warned him that the film wouldn’t work, and at one point, even Amitabh Bachchan told him the same thing. Aamir recalled that until then, any film that featured Amitabh as the narrator would somehow flop at the box office.

In a chat with India Today, Aamir shared that Lagaan was a “very scary” film to make. His worries multiplied when Javed Akhtar called him and asked, “Why are you making this film? This will not work.” Javed went on to make a list about everything that would go against Lagaan. “He said sports film never work, cricket films never work. You are talking in Awadhi, who will even understand what you are saying? Everyone is wearing DKNY outfits and shooting in Switzerland and you are shooting in a village in a dhoti. One of his points was you have gotten Amitabh Bachchan to narrate the film. So apparently, whichever film Mr Bachchan has given a voiceover for, has flopped,” he recalled.

Aamir said that even Amitabh said the same thing when he approached the veteran star with the proposal. “In fact, Mr Bachchan told me the same thing. When I went to him and said ‘Sir, please become the narrator’. He said, ‘I will do it. I don’t mind but whichever film I have been a narrator in, none of those films work. So you please note that. Rest, I will do it’,” he recalled. Javed said that since Aamir’s film had all the elements that could go against it, and he had even hired Bachchan, Javed said, “Now it is confirmed, your film won’t work.”

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The Aamir Khan-starrer Lagaan was directed by Ashutosh Gowariker and was nominated in the at the 74th Academy Awards in the category of Best Foreign Language Film. The film was a huge success in India as well despite the duration of 3 hours and 42 minutes. The film released in the same year as Aamir’s Dil Chahta Hai, which was directed by Farhan Akhtar.