The masterpiece, that is Lagaan, is celebrating 25 years since it’s release! In fact, the incredible film is once again playing on the big screen. Directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, this period drama featured Aamir Khan in a battle against the British government, but not on the battlefield, but on a makeshift cricket pitch. It is an epic, iconic film that was nominated for an Academy Award and is considered one of the greatest Hindi films to this day.
Along with the brilliant performances, the music was a stand-out and outstanding. On a very special evening with Spotify, AR Rahman, Javed Akhtar, Aamir Khan, and Ashutosh Gowariker went behind the beats of Lagaan. In a fascinating conversation, four of the Goats of Hindi cinema revisit the making of an album that is still celebrated, played, and replayed today.
Talking about the songs, Rahman said, “I could see that the movie had such an ambitious vision, and I wanted to make the music timeless, and luckily it has become that.”
Ashutosh Gowariker revealed, “Rahman’s process is unlike anyone else’s. Instead of presenting us with a tune or a melody, he presented us with almost three hours’ worth of music and asked us to choose the parts that we liked.”
Javed Akhtar added, “I believe that if you can write a coherent song on Mr. Rahman’s tune, then you can do anything in life. Because he is not regular. Most music directors at that time had one structure: one tune for the mukhda, another for the antara. Once you got the groove, you knew where it was headed. But with Rahman sir, you never know. You never know how long or how short the next line will be. Every line has a different meter. Every single line.”
The OST featured some of the greatest singers ever known, and the track list is still on our playlist, and we bet your, ‘Favorites of All Time’ playlists:
‘Ghanan Ghanan’ – Udit Narayan, Sukhwinder Singh, Alka Yagnik, Ahir, Shankar Mahadevan, Shaan, Chorus
‘Mitwa’ – Udit Narayan, Sukhwinder Singh, Alka Yagnik, Srinivas
‘Radha Kaise Na Jale’ – Asha Bhosle, Udit Narayan, Vaishali Samant, Chorus
‘O Rey Chhori’ – Udit Narayan, Alka Yagnik, Vasundhara Das
‘Chale Chalo’ – A. R. Rahman, Srinivas
‘Waltz for a Romance’ – Instrumental
‘O Paalanhaare’ – Lata Mangeshkar, Udit Narayan, Sadhana Sargam, Chorus
‘Lagaan…Once Upon a Time in India’ – Anuradha Sriram
Check out the full conversation here; it is not to be missed!
