Aamir Khan’s Oscar-nominated period drama Lagaan completed 25 years of its release on Monday. Celebrating the milestone, composer AR Rahman, who scored the film’s music, said the intention behind the music of Lagaan was to create something that would stand the test of time.

“From my first movie, my intention was that my music should go out into the world. One of the reasons we worked hard on sound production, lyrics, presentation, credits, storage, and mastering was so that it would endure into the future,” Rahman said in an interview.

“I even had to turn down movies because of that approach. I wanted Indian music to be cool so that the whole world could enjoy it,” the Oscar-winning composer told PTI.

He added that Lagaan played a key role in bringing Indian film music to a global audience and led to several international opportunities for him, such as the Chinese production Warriors of Heaven and Earth and international films like Elizabeth: The Golden Age.

Rahman was first approached by Gowariker without a fixed musical brief, and the soundscape evolved organically, marking the start of a collaboration that later produced films like Swades, Jodhaa Akbar and Mohenjo Daro.

Rahman worked on the Lagaan soundtrack alongside lyricist Javed Akhtar and singers Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Alka Yagnik and Udit Narayan.

Rahman revealed that some of Lagaan’s most popular tracks, including Mitwa and O Rey Chhori, were not originally written for the film but were adapted from earlier compositions.

Set in colonial India, Lagaan revolves around a high-stakes cricket match between a group of untrained villagers and their British rulers. It was nominated in the Best Foreign Language category at the 74th Academy Awards. It also went on to win eight awards, including the Best Popular Film award at the 49th National Film Awards.

The film featured an ensemble cast including Gracy Singh, British actors Rachel Shelley and Paul Blackthorne, Suhasini Mulay, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, and Rajendra Gupta, among others.

Lagaan was re-released in the Indian theatres on June 12.