Aamir Khan is preparing to mark a major milestone as one of his most celebrated films, Lagaan, is clocking 25 years. While he is set to host a grand celebration reuniting the cast and crew, the makers and musicians sat down for a candid chat and recalled fond memories from the film. Lyricist Javed Akhtar revealed that O Paalanhaare remains the most challenging song he has ever written.

Javed Akhtar on O Paalanhaare

The team sat down for a session hosted by Meiyang Chang, during which Akhtar revisited the soundtrack and revealed, “When people ask me which is the one song I found a challenge to write, I always say it’s ‘O Paalanhaare’,” he said. Akhtar explained that Rahman’s composition possessed such a universal sense of devotion that anyone could immediately identify its spiritual nature. “Even as an atheist, I had to find innocence and surrender in my heart. You can’t write such songs with tact and craft; it can only be done with purity and simplicity.” Rahman said, “I wanted to make the music timeless, and luckily it has become that.”