PIX: Aamir celebrates 10 years of Lagaan

Ten years ago, Lagaan swept the nation by storm when it released on June 15. It made its lead actor Aamir Khan reach a new level of stardom, director Ashutosh Gowariker earned a new kind of respect, and the rest of the cast got a new lease of life in their careers.

Last night, Aamir threw a special bash celebrating the film, and his production house Aamir Khan Productions, which completed 10 years on June 15.

Held at Taj Land's End in Bandra, a western Mumbai suburb, it was attended by all the people who contributed to AKP's success.

Aamir invited his former wife Reena Datta as well, who helped produce Lagaan. In an earlier interview, Aamir had mentioned that if it hadn't been for Reena, Lagaan wouldn't have been made.

The evening kickstarted with Aamir Khan and Ashutosh Gowariker playing hosts, and welcoming the guests and congratulating everyone associated with Lagaan and AKP.

The documentary Madness in the Desert, which documents the making of Lagaan, was screened for everyone to re-live the experience.

Amitabh Bachchan, who played the narrator in Lagaan, made a quick dash at the party. Aamir shared an anecdote with the media: "I remember Ashuotsh asked me to get Amitabh Bachchan as the film's narrator.

Back then, I was a little scared to speak to him. But I approached him and to my surprise, even without reading the script, he gave a nod. I was relieved. But two weeks later, I got a shock when Ashutosh said he didn't want Amitabh, as he found his voice very recognizable. I somehow gathered some courage and told Amitji that my director thought that your voice didn't suit the movie.

"Amitji was relieved as whenever he had lent his voice to any movie, the movie would bomb at the box office," Aamir laughed.

"But after a month, Ashutosh told me he needed Amitabh! I told him he had gone mad. I called Amitji and fixed a meeting again. For the second time, he agreed to do the film without any hesitation," Aamir said.