Aamir Khan open to Lagaan remake as he is not 'possessive', wants to see who will do Bhuvan 'better than' him

Actor Aamir Khan has said that Lagaan can potentially be remade, expressing his curiosity on who will essay the role of Bhuvan 'better than' him in the movie. On the 20th anniversary of Lagaan on June 15, Aamir spoke to reporters in a special media interaction where he also said that if the film is remade, the filmmaker will have 'their own perspective' and it will be a 'different film'.

Directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, the film earned critical acclaim upon its release on June 15, 2001. Lagaan follows the story of Bhuvan, a villager from Gujarat's Champaner, who is challenged by a British officer, played by Paul Blackthorne, to a game of cricket, as a wager to avoid paying the taxes they owe.

When asked about the remake of Lagaan, Aamir Khan was quoted by Indian Express as saying, "It can be done. But I don’t want to make it because Ashutosh (director Ashutosh Gowariker) and I have already made it once. It’ll be boring for us to make the same film again. But if another filmmaker wants to make Lagaan, Ashutosh and I will be happy to give him or her the rights. They’ll have their own perspective."

He added, “I don’t believe in being possessive about my films. I would like to see who will do Bhuvan better than me. I would learn something from it. It’ll be a different film, I’d like to see that, it’ll be charming."

In a video posted on the official Instagram page of Aamir Khan Productions, Aamir said that the film was so challenging to shoot that it ensured it recovered "full Lagaan (tax)" from the cast and crew.

Also Read | Kamya Panjabi slams Vikas Gupta for claiming he dated late Pratyusha Banerjee: 'Does he want fame?'

An ensemble drama, Lagaan also featured Gracy Singh, Raj Zutshi, Kulbhushan Kharbanda and Raghubir Yadav. The movie represented India in the best foreign-language film category at the 74th Academy Awards. It was the third film from the country to be nominated in the category after Mother India (1957) and Salaam Bombay! (1988).