While actors often speak about how box-office flops can affect their careers, Amin Hajee has revealed that, in his case, it was a blockbuster that left him struggling to find work. The Lagaan actor recently recalled how starring in the acclaimed 2001 film made it difficult for him to accept other roles, as he felt the scripts that came his way failed to match the experience of working on Ashutosh Gowariker’s classic.
Amin Hajee says Lagaan destroyed his career
Amin Hajee revealed that his wife, Charlotte Whitby-Coles, was upset with him for stopping signing films after Lagaan. According to him, the roles that were offered to him were either “mute characters” or other insignificant parts. The actor and writer said the scripts simply failed to entice him. His wife told him, “After Lagaan, whenever a role came, he would say, ‘This role is rubbish,’ or ‘That’s no good,’ and so on. So I told him, ‘What are we going to do? You have to work. You have to take up some work.”
Amin added, “To be honest, Lagaan was a unique script. It was a once-in-a-lifetime thing. I was fortunate enough to get Lagaan, but whatever offers or narrations I received after that were zero compared to it. So I was destroyed after Lagaan, because I simply couldn’t work after that. Actually, you can say that they gave me a Taj Mahal like Lagaan; they gave me an opportunity like Swades to write. They gave me a friend like Aamir Khan. What could I have done after that?”
Helmed by Ashutosh Gowariker, Lagaan is a sports drama starring Aamir Khan, Gracy Singh, Rachel Shelley, Paul Blackthorne, and Suhasini Joshi in key roles. In the film, Amin Hajee played Bagha, the mute drummer. Set in colonial India, the film follows Bhuvan (Aamir Khan), a young farmer from the village of Champaner, who challenges the British to a game of cricket after they impose an oppressive tax, or lagaan, on the villagers.
Lagaan emerged as a major critical and commercial success following its release in 2001. It received widespread acclaim and became only the third Indian film to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. It also won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment.
About Amin Hajee
Amin Hajee is an Indian actor and writer best known for his work in Hindi cinema. Apart from gaining widespread recognition for Lagaan, he has also been part of films such as Mangal Pandey, My Friend Pinto, Aankahee and Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena. Alongside acting, he has worked as a screenwriter and assistant director. He collaborated with Gowariker on films including Swades and Jodhaa Akbar.
Hajee later stepped into filmmaking as a director with Koi Jaane Na (2021), a psychological thriller starring Kunal Kapoor and Amyra Dastur. His association with Lagaan, however, remains one of the most recognisable highlights of his career.