15 Years of Lagaan: This is How the Actors Look Now!

It's been 15 years since the release of iconic film Lagaan. The film broke several records at the box-office. 

It even went on to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Ashutosh Gowariker directed magnum opus won eight National Film Awards and nine Filmfare Awards. 

The beautiful soundtrack and background score by A.R. Rahman boosted the story and the screenplay of the movie.

The main highlight of the movie was the most interesting cricket match ever between the villagers of Champaner and Britishers. The ensemble cast included Aamir Khan who even produced the film, debutant Gracy Singh, amazingly talented actors likes Raghubir Yadav, Raj Zutshi, Pradeep Rawat, Yashpal Sharma and many more. British actors like Rachel Shelley who played the role of Elizabeth Russell and Paul Blackthorne as Captain Andrew Russell blended the perfect star cast of the film.

Let's look at how these actors look right now after 15 years.

Aamir Khan

Let's start with Aamir who played the role of Bhuvan in the film. Mr. Perfectionist is a chameleon who changes his look with every movie he does. He donned the look of a village simpleton in Lagaan, then immediately changed to urban cool guy for youth-centric film Dil Chahta Hai. Lagaan was just a start, he experimented with his looks in Mangal Pandey - The Rising, Rang De Basanti, Ghajini, PK and the latest being Dangal. In the wrestler centric movie, the actor will be seen in three different looks for which he was working out vigorously. Now, Aamir has a beefed up look for the biopic.

Gracy Singh

Gracy made her Bollywood debut with Lagaan. She started off her career with the television serial Amanat. But, with Lagaan she impressed everyone with her role as Gauri, who is head-over-heels in love with Bhuvan and can't hide her insecurities when someone gets near to him. After Lagaan, Gracy went on to star in another blockbuster film Munnabhai M.B.B.S with Sanjay Dutt. She even acted alongside Kamaal R. Khan (KRK) in his iconic debut film Deshdhrohi. LOL! Now, Gracy is seen in the role of a goddess Jai Santoshi Ma in the television serial Santoshi Maa.

Rachel Shelley

The beautiful actress played the role of Elizabeth Russell who falls in love with Aamir's character and becomes his Radha for the lifetime. The British actress after Lagaan went on to star in English TV shows like The L Word, Ghost Whisperer, Episodes, Casualty, Once Upon a Time, Rogue and much more.

Paul Blackthorne

Paul played the role of Captain Andrew Russell, the Britisher who challenged Bhuvan over a cricket match. Paul's acting was thoroughly impressive and people loved to hate his character in the film. After Lagaan, like Rachel, even Paul went on do several English TV shows like 24, Monk, CSI: Miami, White Collar, Arrow, The Flash and much more. Paul is even a philanthropist and started a campaign Save The Rhino.  Aamir even supported the cause by tweeting about it and wearing the t-shirt gifted by Paul to him.

Pradeep Rawat

Pradeep Rawat played the role of Sikh sepoy whose only aim was to throw out Britishers out of India. Pradeep went on to star in several South Indian films. His another fantastic performance was in the film Ghajini where he kills the character of Asin and brutally attacking Aamir Khan resulting into Short Term Memory Loss.

Raghubir Yadav

 Much before Lagaan Raghubir Yadav was famous in the TV show Mullah Nasiruddin and Mungerilal Ke Haseen Sapne. He was last seen in Piku, where he played the role of Amitabh Bachchan's doctor Dr. Srivastava.

Yashpal Sharma

Yashpal played the role of Lakha, who was in love with Gauri but she loved Bhuvan. This love triangle made him betray his own team during the match. But after realising his mistake, he helps the team towards the win. Yashpal has played both negative and positive role onscreen. He was seen in films like Gangaajal, Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi, Aaja Nachle, Singh Is Kinng, Rowdy Rathore. He even went on to act in a television serial titled Neeli Chhatri Waale.

Akhilendra Mishra

Akhilendra Mishra played the role of Arjan in Lagaan. He was insulted by Captain Rusell which makes him hell angry. He was even provoked during the match which makes him get bowled out. After Lagaan, Mishra was seen in movies like The Legend of Bhagat Singh,Gangaajal, Veer-Zaara, Shootout at Lokhandwala, Delhi-6, Ready and much more. He even played Ravana in the television adaptation ofRamayan.

There were several other fantastic actors in the film. Some of the actors like AK Hangal and Rajesh Vivek passed away.

Which actor was your favourite from the Lagaan squad?