Sonali Joshi Pitale (MID-DAY; October 24, 2015)

The industry grapevine is abuzz with rumours about Aamir Khan contemplating taking forward the story of his 2001 epic sports drama, Lagaan with a new director and actress on board. The Ashutosh Gowariker- directed film had not only proved to be a huge hit of that year and received critical acclaim at film festivals, it was also nominated for the Oscars in the Best Foreign Language Film category.

A source says, “Aamir is planning a sequel and has also met a few people for collaboration. The sequel, like the original film, will be based on the land tax (lagaan) system, but with a contemporary backdrop to it. The script is still being developed and pre-production work is yet to start.” Aamir is currently shooting in Punjab for Nitesh Tiwari’s Dangal where he plays a wrestling coach. A source close to the project confirms the buzz and says, “ It is likely that another director might helm Lagaan 2. But Prachi Desai has already been finalised to play Aamir’s leading lady. Her role, though, will be relatively shorter than Gracy’s in the original.”

While Prachi remained unavailable for comment, the spokesperson of Aamir’s production house denies the buzz saying, “He is busy shooting for Dangal, which will continue till mid-2016. He will not sign any film till then.”