Aamir Khan and Ashutosh Gowarikar's Lagaan was a box-office sensation in 2001. Although it was trumped by Sunny Deol's Gadar at the box office, it remains a classic featuring outstanding performances and a world-class soundtrack by AR Rahman.
The actor-director duo is now reuniting for another cricket-based movie. Twenty-five years after the release of Lagaan, they are all set to announce a film based on the 1952–53 India-Pakistan Test series, which is considered a major landmark in cricket history for several reasons. Aamir will be essaying Lala Amarnath, the legendary cricketer.
The series was Pakistan's debut Test series after gaining full Test status in 1952 (just five years after Partition in 1947). It kicked off one of the most intense and passionate sporting rivalries in the world. Since it was the first official cricket encounter between the two nations post-Partition, it carried "huge emotional, cultural, and national significance".
In today's context, anything that has to do with Pakistan will have to be portrayed in a certain way in Indian cinema. The blockbuster success of films like Uri and the Dhurandhar duology has established the fact that Pakistan can't be portrayed as a well-meaning nation in our cinema. Back in 1952, sports and politics were not too intermingled. Later on, as the Kashmir insurgency intensified, the cricket matches between India and Pakistan turned all the more hysterical.
