Aamir Khan hired Ronit Roy’s security team for Lagaan as budget soared with 1,000 extras, says 'We had 150 security guards'

Determined to professionalise film sets, Aamir even brought in proper security. “I remember there never used to be security on set and junior artistes would be asked to man the set. But during the making of Lagaan, I called Ronit Roy for the security of the film set. We had 150 security guards during filming of Lagaan. Because I was the producer, I could do things that I believed in.”

He shared one moment of chaos on set when director Ashutosh Gowariker asked for 1,000 more extras on top of the 2,000 already arranged. When filming could not continue, they were forced to pay all 2,000 despite the cameras not rolling.

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His then-wife Reena Dutta asked what they should do with the wasted time. Aamir simply told her, “Let’s play cricket.” He even tried to salvage the day with another scene, but half the shoot was still lost.

For Aamir, producing Lagaan wasn’t about control but protection. He feared that another producer might compromise Gowariker’s vision, so he took the responsibility himself. “I would work how I always wanted to work. I brought the assistant director system in Hindi films with Lagaan. Walkie-talkies weren’t used on the sets of Hindi films at that time. But we used them in our film. We brought the communication system. We shot the film in one schedule and we got sync sound which was never used in mainstream cinema before.”