Choreographer Raju Khan, son of the legendary Saroj Khan, has opened up about his experiences during the making of the iconic song 'Ghanan Ghanan' from Aamir Khan's 2001 film 'Lagaan'. He described the shoot as one of the most demanding of his career, recalling the immense pressure and tight timelines.
Recalling the stressful shoot
Speaking on 'India's Best Dancer' Season 5, Raju Khan detailed the challenges faced during the song's production. He revealed that the team had minimal preparation time, with the shoot scheduled just a day after he first saw the set. The scale of the set and the number of actors involved added to the stress.
Khan said, "Kaafi stressful tha woh shoot. Jab pehli baar main set dekha, uske agle din hum gaana shoot kar rahe the. First day muhurat hua tha. Woh shot liya gaya tha jahan Yashoda maa, Aamir ki mom hai, woh kuaan se paani nikal rahi hai aur paani khatam ho chuka hai. Aur woh aasman ki taraf dekh ke, baarish aayi." (Those were very stressful days. When I first saw the set, we were already scheduled to shoot the very next day. The muhurat shot had taken place on the first day. The shot was of Yashoda, Aamir's mother, drawing water from a well when the water had run out. She then looks up at the sky, and it starts raining.)
Overnight planning and technical hurdles
The choreographer explained that the team had to adapt quickly upon seeing the massive set and understanding the number of actors involved. Coordination of so many performers required rapid planning and on-the-spot decision-making. He added, "That was the first shot taken of the Lagaan film. Aur uss hi din mujhe kaha gaya ki bahot bada set hai, jaake dekh lo set. Saare actors ke saath mila, extra primary cast. Aur phir woh gaana suna maine set par. Overnight humne planning kiya how it happened, even I don't know. Approximately it took 8 days to film that song kyunki challenges toh baad mein aaye ki jab second half ke gaane mein jab baadal chhaate hai. Ab actual mein toh baadal nahi chhaate. Itne bade set ko cover karna impossible tha and you can't show shadows because it's overcast." (That was the first shot taken for the film Lagaan. And on the same day, I was told to go and see the huge set. I met all the actors and the extra cast. Then I heard the song on the set. We planned everything overnight, even I don't really know how it happened. It took around 8 days to shoot that song because the challenges came later when, in the second half of the song, clouds were supposed to appear. But in reality, there were no clouds. Covering such a huge set was impossible, and you can't show shadows because it was overcast.)
Creative shot composition
Raju Khan noted that technical limitations made execution even more complicated. He had to carefully plan shot composition to overcome these challenges. Camera placement and framing played a key role in managing the large number of actors on screen. He continued, "Toh phir mujhe jo shots design karne pade, woh limited areas mein the, without showing the feet of the actresses. Aur plus mera plan yeh tha ki jitna maximum one-by-one shot le sakun, utna zyada interesting laga gaana because itne saare actors hai, Unko saath mein laao, achha lagta hai. Alag-alag cut karke kuch matlab nahi hai. That was the challenge." (Then I had to design the shots in limited spaces, without showing the actresses' feet. My idea was also to take as many one-by-one shots as possible, because with so many actors, bringing them together in frame looks nice. Cutting it into separate fragments wouldn't have made much sense. That was the challenge.)
Sunset constraints
The choreographer further revealed that the final portion of the song had to be completed under strict time constraints, relying heavily on natural lighting conditions during sunset hours. He added, "Toh second half ka gaana aap dekhenge toh it is nearly during sunset when we have taken the shots, when the sun is gone and we have only about 45 minutes left for shoot. That is the time we could put the white, when there were no shadows. So it was quite a challenging job." (Then, if you look at the second half of the song, it was shot almost during sunset. We had only about 45 minutes of shooting time left after the sun went down. That was the only window when we could film without shadows. So it was quite a challenging task.)
'Lagaan', directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, remains one of Indian cinema's most celebrated films. The period sports drama featured Aamir Khan, Gracy Singh, Rachel Shelley, and Paul Blackthorne in key roles. The song 'Ghanan Ghanan' continues to be a fan favorite, with its vibrant choreography and memorable visuals.
