Lagaan actor Amin Hajee reveals that he met his wife Charlotte on the sets of the film; jokes, ‘Wo abhi tak bechari 3 guna Lagaan bhar rahi hai’ |

Like Ashutosh GowarikerThe legendary film Lagaan celebrated 25 years recently, the actor Amin Hajee he took a trip down memory lane and recalled how the film changed not only his career but his life.The actor, who played Bagga, a temple drummer in the 2001 drama, attended the film’s anniversary celebrations organized by Aamir Khan Productions in Mumbai with his wife, Charlotte Whitby-Coles, and their daughters. Reflecting on the incident, Amin revealed that he first met Charlotte on the sets of Lagaan, where an unlikely connection blossomed into a lifelong partnership.

How Amin Hajee met his wife on the sets of Lagaan

Speaking recently, Amin shared that his wife’s brother, Jamie Whitby-Coles, played a big role in bringing Charlotte to the movie set.“My brother-in-law today, Jamie, was playing county cricket at the time. They tried him and he liked him. He’s 6’5”. So they told him, ‘You’re walking,’” Amin recalled.The makers of Lagaan also wanted some British extras to show the viewers the cricket at its peak. Jamie was asked to bring the women of his family for a public appearance.“They said, ‘We will pay for their tickets, we will even give them money. We want them to stay for the two weeks in the stadium with parasols and clothes of that time, like the wives and relatives of the English team,'” Amin told PTI.Charlotte, who was 23 at the time and had just graduated from anthropology, was impressed by her experience in Bhuj, Gujarat, where the film was shot.Recalling their first meeting and his funny jokes, Amin said, “He saw me and thought, ‘Yeah, he’s strange. Ye specimen ko mujhe research karna hai thoda.’ Aur ispe jo research ho raha hai, 26 saal ho gaye aur aaj wo abhi tak bechari 3 guna Lagaan bhar rahi hai.” (“This is odd. I have to do research on this example. And this research has been going on for 26 years now, and the poor are still paying three times Lagaan.)

Charlotte played a major role during a difficult time in her career

After dating and getting married, Charlotte moved to India. The couple now live in the mountains with their daughters, Summer and Sky, who are homeschooled.Amin also credited his wife for helping him navigate through a difficult time in his career following the huge success of Lagaan. Surprisingly, the actor revealed that the success of the film made it difficult for him to accept other roles after that.“I didn’t even want to act. I was getting offers, but neither the script nor my character was even a kilometer close to Lagaan. At one point, Ashutosh and my wife Charlotte asked me, ‘So what are you going to do from now on?’ So I said, ‘Tell me,’ because I didn’t want to do this,” he revealed.The actor explained that he does not want to accept projects that do not match his favorite film.“I didn’t want to spoil the respect I got. Also, I’m not a great actor. I was able to give a good performance because of the script of Lagaan, the director, and the team. They all helped me,” he added.

How Ashutosh Gowariker helped Amin Hajee make a comeback

Seeing Amin struggling to find direction after Lagaan, filmmaker Ashutosh Gowariker stepped in and encouraged him to explore writing.Considering her future and family responsibilities, Gowariker offered her a role in his 2004 film Swades.“If you want to start a family, you have to find one,” Gowariker allegedly told him.This opportunity changed Amin’s career. She went on to co-write Vikram Bhatt’s horror films Haunted 3D (2011) and Dangerous Ishq (2012) before making her debut with the psychological thriller Koi Jaane Na in 2021, starring Kunal Kapoor and Amyra Dastur.