Yashpal Sharma Says Lakha’s Role Was Better Than Aamir Khan’s Bhuvan In Lagaan

Lagaan, directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, has etched a permanent place for itself in the annals of Hindi cinema, as a cult classic. India's official entry to the Oscars in 2002, Lagaan poignantly blended the country's passion for cricket in equal measure with its zest for patriotism. Yahspal Sharma, who essayed the role of Lakha in Lagaan, recently revisited the film, sharing his reflections on the same.

Yashpal Sharma believes Lakha was a more well-rounded character than Bhuvan

For the unversed, Yashpal Sharma essayed the role of Lakha in Lagaan while Aamir Khan essayed the main role of Bhuvan in the film. In a conversation with Rajshri Unplugged, Sharma reflected how in his opinion, the character of Lakha was the "best" in the film as it allowed him to display a range of emotions.

He said, "I got Lakha’s role in Lagaan, and I was salivating at the thought of it because I found Lakha’s role the best in the film. In fact, I loved Lakha’s role more than Aamir Khan’s lead role because it had a lot of variations. Negative, positive, love angle, jealousy - he had all those emotions." Further sharing how he got selected for the role, Sharma shared, "I was told that I would have to audition for the role, and I readily agreed. Right after giving the audition at Aamir Khan’s house in Mumbai, I got a text saying ‘You are selected for the role.’ To star in Lakha’s role with Aamir Khan was a big thing for me. I was so happy."

Yashpal Sharma reveals how he negotiated his salary for Lagaan

Sharma shared how coming from a poor background and being in search of work, meant he would have agreed to star in Lagaan, irrespective of however much they offered him. He also revealed how he was scared that if he quoted a price too high, they might end up replacing him. While he went with the hopes of securing a paycheck of ₹1 lakh, on being offered ₹1.5 lakhs, he took his chances and negotiated a final renumeration of ₹2 lakhs. 

He said, "I came from a poor background, but I said to myself, ‘don’t agree for less than one lakh.’ But at the same time, I was scared that they might take somebody else, so I thought maybe I should ask for Rs 50,000. I was in such a condition that I would have taken up the job even if they would have given me Rs 20,000. However, when I reached the office of Reena ji, she told me that they don’t have much budget and that they are giving Rs 1.5 lakh to everybody I said, ‘No madam, at least you should give Rs 2 lakh."