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Lagaan star Yashpal Sharma admits liking his role more than Aamir Khan’s Bhuvan; reveals how much he got paid
In a recent interview, Lagaan actor Yashpal Sharma confessed liking his role more than Aamir Khan’s Bhuvan. He further spilled beans on bagging the role and remuneration received for the same.
Aamir Khan starrer Lagaan is one of the most celebrated films in Hindi cinema. Over the years, it has attained a cult status for itself. Directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, the historical period drama was set against the backdrop of the British Raj in the 1800s, and narrates the story of Indian villagers rebelling against high taxes. In a recent interview, Yashpal Sharma, who was seen playing Lakha in the film, talked about his character and spilled beans on the remuneration received for his role.
Yashpal Sharma on bagging the role of Lakha in Aamir Khan's Lagaan
Yashpal Sharma who is one of the exceptional actors in the industry was seen playing Lakha in Aamir Khan starrer Lagaan. The actor was recently in conversation with Rajshri Unplugged while he recalled bagging the role in Ashutosh Gowariker’s directorial. According to him, his role was the best as it had all kinds of variations.
He stated, “I got Lakha’s role in Lagaan, and I was salivating at the thought of it because I found Lakha’s role the best in the film. In fact, I loved Lakha’s role more than Aamir Khan’s lead role because it had a lot of variations. Negative, positive, love angle, jealousy – he had all those emotions.”
“I was told that I would have to audition for the role, and I readily agreed. Right after giving the audition at Aamir Khan’s house in Mumbai, I got a text saying ‘You are selected for the role.’ To star in Lakha’s role with Aamir Khan was a big thing for me. I was so happy,” he further added.
Yashpal Sharma reveals the amount he was paid for the role
He further spilled beans on delving into negotiations with the producer and Aamir Khan’s then-wife, Reena Dutta. The actor recalled how he went to meet Reena the next day who was one of the producers while he was thinking about how much he should quote for the film.
“I came from a poor background, but I said to myself, ‘don’t agree for less than one lakh.’ But at the same time, I was scared that they might take somebody else, so I thought maybe I should ask for Rs 50,000. I was in such a condition that I would have taken up the job even if they would have given me Rs 20,000. However, when I reached the office of Reena ji, she told me that they don’t have much budget and that they are giving Rs 1.5 lakh to everybody I said, ‘No madam, at least you should give Rs 2 lakh,” further adding that he doesn’t even realize what happened to him at that moment.
He stated that Reena agreed, and I signed the contract stating that he wondered if he would’ve asked for Rs. 5–10 lakh, even then she would’ve agreed.
When Ashutosh Gowariker revealed Lagaan was originally set in 1885
Last year, during an event held by Jio MAMI in Mumbai, Lagaan director Ashutosh Gowariker talking about his iconic directorial had revealed, “Originally, the year was 1885. I chose 1885 as that was the year when the Indian National Congress (INC) was formed. I felt it would be nice to have the birth of the INC and the rise of Bhuvan as a hero."
However, he was suggested by the costume designer of the film, Bhanu Athiya to change the period as it was the period when Queen Victoria was in mourning. Lauding the designer’s wisdom, he stated that he was informed that it was the time when the entire wardrobe was changed from black and gray and became colorful.
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