'Lagaan' keeps a date with Delhi

By Lakshmi Balakrishnana

``Once upon a time in India'', film makers dared to make films that did not follow the hit formulae of ten good songs and colourful locales. And now, the team of two A's -- Aamir Khan and Ashutosh Gowariker -- would like us to believe that those good old days are back. At least, as far as the attempts at making good films.

``I realised that all of us kept talking about the good old times.'' Of the kind of films that Bimal Roy and Guru Dutt made. But when it comes to making one, most people prefer to stick to the formula. It took me time to decide on whether I wanted to do ``Lagaan'', but once the decision was made there was no stopping,'' is how Khan -- who has earned a reputation for being a perfectionist -- explains why he finally took the plunge into production.

Slated for a June 15 release, ``Lagaan'' is not just Aamir Khan's first film as a producer, but one of the first of a series of period films that Bollywood promises in the coming days.

While Sunny Deol's ``Gadar -- Ek Prem Katha'' -- which revolves around Partition -- shares the release date with ``Lagaan'', the coming months will see period films like ``Ashoka the Great'' and ``Devdas''. And whether the deprived audience will actually swoop on the offer of change that Bollywood is presenting is something that should be worth watching and waiting for.

For writer-director Ashutosh Gowariker, this will be his third and most expensive gamble. His first two attempts ``Pehla Nasha'' and ``Baazi'' -- sank without a trace at the box office. Both were experimental projects, the later with Aamir Khan.

But Gowariker appears unperturbed when asked if the release of another historical film on the same date can mean trouble.

``We are already racing against time as far as the release goes. The original date was June 1, which had to be postponed for some reason. We are well aware of the fact that the audience will get split. Some might want to see ``Gadar'' because it has Sunny Deol while others might want to see Aamir's film, but then never did we think of changing the release date for this reason,'' says Gowariker, who has been involved with the project for more than five years now.

The first of Aamir's two releases this year -- the second being Farhan Akhtar's ``Dil Chahta Hai'' -- ``Lagaan'' will see him portraying a different character as usual. ``It is a feel good film, which speaks of triumph of the good spirit. I just went with my heart,'' says Khan.

Addressing a Press conference here, Khan looks a far cry from Bhuvan, the revolutionary hero of ``Lagaan''. Sporting a sleek haircut and a goatee, the new look that he is sporting for his ``Dil Chahta Hai'', to be released in August, Aamir does not quite hide the chemistry that he shares with Gowariker, who had tried to give him a change from his chocolate boy image with ``Baazi'', though without success.

Being the producer had its disadvantages for this method actor. ``I had wanted to live the life of a villager for two months to prepare for my role. But all my plans took a backseat due to pre- production. In the end, it was just four hours of home work that I got to do,'' the actor confesses.

Made on a whopping budget of Rs. 25 crores, ``Lagaan'' was shot on a single schedule of five-and-a-half months, with the entire crew of 350 people weathering the difficult conditions of Bhuj. As for the debutant leading lady of the film -- Delhi girl Gracy Singh -- it has been just the break that she was waiting for. ``I guess I was lucky,'' was all she said at the Press conference, but the lady's eventual tester would be the film.

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