It’s been 20 years since the Indian blockbuster film Lagaan was released. Written and directed by Ashutosh Gowariker and produced by the main actor Aamir Khan himself, the film was a super hit with a box office earning of Rs. 65.97 crore. The film also helped many actors gain popularity in the film industry. It was also the debut film of the well-known actress Gracy Singh. Later, Lagaan was also nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards. This was the third Indian movie to be nominated in this category after Mother India and Salaam Bombay!
Let’s take a look at how much the cast was paid for slaying their roles in the film!
1. Aamir Khan as Bhuvan
The main character of Bhuvan was essayed by the well-known actor Aamir khan. Bhuvan is a village boy who creates his own team to defeat the Britishers in the game of cricket so that they won’t have to face the new tax policies imposed by them.
For the role of Bhuvan, Aamir Khan was paid an amount of Rs. 35 lakhs.
Gauri, played by Gracy Singh, is a girl from the same village as Bhuvan, Champaner. She falls in love with Bhuvan because of his sincerity and caring nature towards everyone in the village. She later finds out that Elizabeth is her love rival.
Gracy Singh was paid Rs. 8 lakhs for portraying the role of Gauri.
The role of Lakha was essayed by Yashpal Sharma. Lakha is a woodcutter who is also from Champaner. He used to like Gauri for her sweet nature but creates a grudge against Bhuvan since Gauri used to like him. He later joins Bhuvan’s cricket team with an utterly distinct motive.
Regarding the fees, Yashpal Sharma was paid Rs. 2 lakhs.
Elizabeth, played by Rachel Shelly, is a British woman who starts liking Bhuvan and secretly helps his cricket team to improvise their game. She later moves back to her native country after they win the game.
Rachel Shelly was paid Rs. 5 lakhs for portraying the role of Elizabeth.
Paul Blackthorne played the role of Captain Russell. Russell is a British official who challenges Bhuvan that if they defeat the British cricket team, then they will remove all taxes and will move back to their country. He is also Elizabeth’s brother.
Raja Puran Singh’s role was essayed by Kulbhushan Kharbanda. Raja was a villager who tried to argue with Captain Russell against the new tax policies to save the villagers of Champaner from following the law.
Kulbhushan was paid an amount of Rs. 3 lakhs for portraying the role.
The character of Ismail was essayed by the actor Raj Zutshi. Ismail was a very good cricketer and played quite well in the final match. He kept on playing even after he was injured badly by the duce ball.
For portraying the role of Ismail, Raj Zutshi was paid an amount of Rs. 2 lakh.
Arjan, played by Akhilendra Mishra, is a villager of Champaner who joins forces with Bhuvan and the other team members to defeat the Britishers in the game.
Akhilendra Mishra earned Rs. 3 lakhs from the movie.
Rajendra Gupta essayed the role of Mukhiya Ji, the village headman of Champaner. He trusted Bhuvan and the other cricket team members that they all will save the villagers from the tax policy.
Ranjendra Gupta was paid Rs. 1.5 lakh for the same.
Bhura, portrayed by Raghubir Yadav, is a village ‘chicken man’ whose experience in catching chickens on his farm helped him in his decision-making skill of catching the ball at the pitch.
Raghubir Yadav was paid an amount of Rs. 2 lakhs for portraying the role of Bhura.
Former sepoy and a fine all-rounder, Deva, played by Pradeep Rawat, was one of the best strategists of the team, and the most experienced, who fell a run shy of a half-century in the most unfortunate of dismissals.
Aditya Lakhia essayed the role of Kachra. Kachra is considered untouchable in the plot and was also disabled. But he had magical crippled hands which helped the team to take three wickets one after the other.