Ahead of Lagaan’s 25th anniversary, cinematographer Anil Mehta took a trip down memory lane, recalling that the team behind the period sports drama were “like boy scouts on a camp” navigating unfamiliar territory together.
Directed by Ashutosh Gowariker and produced by Aamir Khan, Lagaan released on June 15, 2001 and became both a critical and commercial success.
“For me, it was a journey of searching, finding out what to do, how to do it and what to say, all that is understood in the process. We were literally like boy scouts on a camp, and everybody was searching for how to get this done right. It was not an easy task. It was not something that was part of the mainstream medium at that time, we were in uncharted territory,” Mehta told PTI.
The FTII graduate said one of the biggest challenges was creating the world of the film from scratch, from finding the right location to developing its visual texture and costumes.
According to Mehta, a visit to Bhuj proved crucial after he realised its arid landscape, where he had previously shot scenes for Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, would provide the ideal backdrop for Lagaan.
“It's like serendipity. Nitin was saying, ‘I can put the temple on this mound,' and I'm saying, 'We can have the final match with the other mound as a backdrop, so the crowd can sit like in stadium seating.' We still had enough plain land to set up the village. It's just that the morning was magical as it all came together.”
Mehta also highlighted the collaborative spirit on set, citing the filming of the song Ghanan Ghanan, where different departments worked together to create the illusion of overcast weather in Bhuj.
“We are not going to get clouds in the middle of Bhuj, we found this solution... how everybody comes together to find solutions to problems, and the problems crop up every day,” he said.
The cinematographer described filming the cricket sequences as particularly challenging because the action had to be captured authentically without relying on visual effects.
“If the character has to hit a four with a square cut, so the ball has to land in a particular place for a batsman to play that. Besides, we are not generating the ball in post (production) in VFX. So, we would go with the flow, and it would take hours to shoot that,” he said.
Looking back, Mehta said the lasting memory of Lagaan was not its success but the shared experience of overcoming challenges together.
“So, everyone was on the find and the great part of that find is that all of us were looking for it together, which included a very hands-on producer in Aamir, he also used to roam around as a boy scout with us,” he added.