Kiran Rao reminisces about working on Lagaan as assistant director, says her job was to co-ordinate with all actors, reveals it was a 'logistical nightmare'

Kiran Rao has been in the industry for decades, starting out as an assistant director, and one of her early projects was Ashutosh Gowariker's Lagaan (2001), that starred, and was produced by Aamir Khan. In a recent interaction, Kiran recalled working in the movie and said that it was a far cry from a director's job, rather, her main task was to ferry actors from the makeup room to the sets, and even getting breakfast prepared!


While talking to The Lallantop, Kiran said that her main responsibility was to coordinate all the actors, from makeup and hair to wardrobe, and get them onto the set. She added that during 'Lagaan,' they had two cricket teams, with everyone sporting beards and the women wearing dresses, and that was a logistical nightmare. She added that even before even arriving on set at 4-4:30 am, she would be on her walkie-talkie instructing the team to prepare the toaster. The actor portraying Elizabeth (Rachel Shelley) insisted on having toast first thing in the morning.



She further added that she would sit in the makeup room, pondering what she was doing with her Master's in Mass Communication. Yet, everyone has to put in their time in various roles, she added, and said that you hope that one day you'll move from the makeup room to a spot near the monitor. She further said that unfortunately, she didn't get to witness much of the shoot, and spent most of her time in the makeup room.


Lagaan is considered to be a cult movie of Indian cinema, and was a huge blockbuster at the Box Office. Along with Aamir and Shelly, it starred Gracy Singh, Raj Zutshi, Raghubir Yadav, Yashpal Sharma, Suhasini Mulay and many others. Set in the pre-independence era, the movie was about a group of villagers who accept a challenge from the British to beat them at a game of cricket, and earn a chance to not pay their taxes (lagaan) for 3 years!