{"id":274954,"date":"2025-04-05T17:49:04","date_gmt":"2025-04-05T17:49:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/05\/not-aamir-khan-not-ashutosh-gowariker-lagaan-actor-reveals-the-key-behind-the-scenes-force-behind-films-success\/"},"modified":"2025-04-05T17:49:05","modified_gmt":"2025-04-05T17:49:05","slug":"not-aamir-khan-not-ashutosh-gowariker-lagaan-actor-reveals-the-key-behind-the-scenes-force-behind-films-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/05\/not-aamir-khan-not-ashutosh-gowariker-lagaan-actor-reveals-the-key-behind-the-scenes-force-behind-films-success\/","title":{"rendered":"Not Aamir Khan, not Ashutosh Gowariker; Lagaan actor reveals the key behind-the-scenes force behind film\u2019s success"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Lagaan was famously shot on location in the deserts of Gujarat, amid severe weather conditions and other obstacles. Plus, the filmmakers had a humongous cast and crew to take care of. It was the responsibility of one man to keep the train on track, and actor Akhilendra Mishra didn\u2019t hold back on showering him with praise. In an interview, he said that Lagaan wouldn\u2019t be the film that it is without the contribution of Apoorva Lakhia, who worked as an assistant to director Ashutosh Gowariker on the film. Apoorva put his Hollywood filmmaking knowledge to good use on the production, and enforced concepts such as call sheets.<\/p>\n

Appearing on the Friday Talkies YouTube channel, Akhilendra Mishra said, \u201cApoorva Lakhia is a huge reason behind the success of that six-month schedule. Ashutosh Gowariker made the movie, he wrote the script. But Apoorva Lakhia\u2019s level of control on the set was a sight to behold. I was there. He was incredible. That man kept 10,000 people on their toes. I saw it myself. Enough can\u2019t be said about him. I was so impressed with him, I asked him his background, and he told me he\u2019d assisted in Hollywood.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Also read \u2013 \u2018Amitabh Bachchan\u2019s dialogues by Salim-Javed inspired people during Emergency,\u2019 Akhilendra Mishra recalls noticing \u2018visible change\u2019 in youngsters<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Akhilendra said that the entire unit would get detailed call sheets, which even mentioned what every person would eat, and where they would need to be stationed until they were required on set. \u201cYou couldn\u2019t move a muscle without being told. Even senior actors like Kulbhushan Kharbanda were told strictly, \u2018Be here\u2019. You couldn\u2019t even take a stroll without permission. Cars would come and ferry us from makeup to the set. It was an incredible system,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In an interview with Friday Talkies, Apoorva recalled the strict rules that he introduced and enforced on the sets of Lagaan<\/a><\/strong>. \u201cThere were clear instructions that the bus would leave at a fixed time, with only a three-minute grace period for anyone running late. On the third day, Aamir was late. Ronit Roy was handling security, and everyone was already seated on the bus, waiting for him. Everyone was looking at me, wondering what I would do. I was nervous, but I knew I had to set an example,\u201d Lakhia recalled. \u201cI told the driver to leave Aamir behind, but he refused. Ronit was standing at the door of the bus, waiting for Aamir. At one point, I just kicked Ronit. He fell out, and I grabbed the driver by the neck and told him, \u2018I will break your neck if you don\u2019t start driving.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Recalling why the shoot was extended by 220 days<\/a><\/strong>, Apoorva had said, \u201cWe made a schedule of 80 days, and went on to shoot for 300. There were many reasons for it, including financial ones. Aamir had to intervene and arrange for the funds. And then, an animal died on the set, and Maneka Gandhi<\/a>\u2019s crew came to stop the shoot. We started filming during freezing cold temperatures, and continued to shoot in frightfully hot temperatures too.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n