Lata Khubchandani

Aamir Khan Productions in Santacruz, Mumbai, was a mela on Monday, March 25.

The cast, crew and members of the press were present bright and early, at the star's office for firsthand reactions from all the cast and crew members who had gathered to watch the Oscars ceremony telecast live from the Kodak Theatre, Los Angeles.

Their hopes were pinned on the Ashutosh Gowariker-directed Lagaan, which won an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. The announcement was in favour of No Man's Land.

The crew then made their way to Ashutosh Gowariker's residence, met his parents over a despondent cup of tea and left, determined to celebrate the journey to the Oscar nomination.

The office attendant, left alone after everyone filed out, says "We were all hoping we could make it. After the announcement, there was absolute silence. Everyone has left now."

Meanwhile, here are reactions from Aamir's father Tahir Hussain, brother Faisal Khan and some of the cast and crew of Lagaan:

Tahir Hussain [Aamir's father]: I am not disappointed [at Lagaan not winning the Oscar]. It is all part of the game -- some get more; some get fewer votes. What is important is to keep doing one's work with integrity, which my son does.

The five films which were nominated were very good. We couldn't all win. So if it went to No Man's Land (Bosnia), the film must have greater merit. Lagaan deserves the award, too. That is why it was nominated. Everyone appreciated Lagaan. Aamir should be happy that he has made a film that is better than the others made recently. And it is just his first film as producer.

He has reached such heights with his first effort. How many people can reach where he has? So many producers vie for this [achievement].

Allah has given him [Aamir] so much intelligence and sincerity. His habit of giving complete attention to everything he does has paid dividends. Everyone can see the result of his hard work. He will be more seasoned in his next film. I have every faith that he will make good films.

Allah has already given him a lot. He should not lose faith; I know he wont. He is very balanced.

Faisal Khan [Aamir's brother]: We watched awards at home -- the whole family, my two sisters, their husbands, along with Reena's parents. We were all hopeful -- we hoped we would get the Oscar.

The high point was when the Foreign Film category was announced, and Lagaan came on [the nominees list]. As soon as the announcement was made, there was silence in the room.

But I don't think we should be sorry -- this whole exercise has opened new avenues, new doors for the industry -- it gives you an impetus to work harder. We must appreciate Aamir and Ashutosh's efforts. They managed to carry the film so far. They have done us proud; they have done India proud.

Now that the initial disappointment is over, I am realising how much this whole thing means to all of us. I don't think we should be disappointed.

Ballu Saluja [Editor]: We have spent an anxious night. Then we got together early morning at Aamir's office to watch the Oscars function [live from the Kodak Theatre, Los Angeles]. Five films were nominated; four had to lose. We are sad we didn't win. We're happy we were nominated. One film had to win.

Now, other filmmakers will be inspired by this to make good films and go for the Oscars. So I think Lagaan will be an inspiration to make better films and make India proud.

We all wished we were there [at LA] as we watched the awards together [at A K Productions]. Even now, we are together -- all of us. If we have lost it, it doesn't mean anything. We're still celebrating -- it's a victory all the way.

We are now at Ashutosh's parents' house. They are fine, a little disappointed, like all of us but they -- like us -- believe that one film must make it and No Man's Land did.

But Lagaan and its nomination is a very big achievement. The whole country has trained its attention on the film. We just got a call from people in Bhuj [in Gujarat, where Lagaan was shot], saying, "We might have lost, but we are proud and happy to have reached here [win an Oscar nomination]."

When I saw the initial rushes of Lagaan, there were 65 hours of film! I edited it to three hours and 42 minutes, which you all have seen at the theatre. It was a tough job. I had to break many norms of editing. It took me 11 months to edit the film and five to cut the climax. The climax was one hour 20 minutes long. It took me that long to cut it.

Dayashankar Pandey [Goli]: We have been on an anxious high since last night. We have hardly slept with the tension of the Awards ceremony.

We are disappointed. We spoke to Ashutosh yesterday, and he said, "It's a great thing that we have reached here. But if another film has more votes, it will definitely win. Aamir said earlier that if No Man's Land wins, he would not be surprised or disappointed. It is a film with substance."

Ashu told us that we shouldn't be disappointed because all the films nominated were very good.

Now, other filmmakers will benefit from Lagaan making it to the Oscar. I'm sure [Sanjay Leela Bhansali's] Devdas will go for the Oscars next year. Aamir has paved the way for making other entrants' life easier. Ashu told us it was all impartial. They are happy with the way things were done there [Hollywood].

Here [in India], people stop us on the road and tell us they are happy for us. That is heartening. Friends have been calling me from Delhi and Bangalore, to offer their support.

Looking back, every moment of making this film has been memorable. Yesterday, at Novelty [a Mumbai cinema hall], there was a special goodwill show of Lagaan. We felt we were attending the premiere of the film.

Ashu and Aamir said, 'Let's enjoy every moment of it. Let's attend the function'. We envied them the fact that they were there with Sidney Poitier [who won an Honorary Oscar] and the like. When they return, we will ask them for all the details.

Yashpal Sharma [Lakha]: Since last night, our hearts have been beating faster. Now, they have stopped beating completely!

The flight we had fancied didn't happen. We are sad. But not so sad as to not enjoy Lagaan's achievement. Whatever this film has given us has been pure success. We just didn't get the [Oscar] statuette. But it gives us the impetus to make a better film next time.

We have already received the Oscar from millions of people. If we didn't get the Hollywood one, we accept it.

Sri Vallabh Vyas [Ishwar Kaka]: We are a little low. We are human, after all. But we are good players. A good player gives a good shot.

Since the Lagaan team is made up of good players, we accept No Man's Land.