It is considered a game-changer in Hindi cinema and even went on to earn an Oscar nomination but Aamir Khan revealed that he rejected the initial idea of Lagaan as he thought the story was "bizarre". Directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, the 2001 sports drama was a critical and commercial success and was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards.

"When I heard 'Lagaan', in five minutes of its narration, I rejected it.. I was like it is a story of people who are not able to pay 'Lagaan' as there are no rains and they play cricket with British people! I was like 'What a bizarre thought is this? I told Ashutosh, 'This is a strange (ajeeb) story. I told him to get me a different story," Aamir said on the sidelines of the second edition of Indian Scriptwriters Association.