‘Lagaan’ actor Amin Hajee opens up on career struggles after the film and how it ‘destroyed’ him: ‘Whatever offers I received after that were zero’ | Hindi Movie News
Actor-writer Amin Hajee, best known for playing Bagha in Ashutosh Gowariker’s 2001 classic ‘Lagaan’, has opened up about the unexpected challenges that followed the film’s massive success. In a candid conversation, Hajee revealed that the experience of working on a landmark film of that scale made it difficult for him to accept the acting opportunities that came his way later. His decision to turn down roles also brought years of financial uncertainty, putting considerable pressure on both his professional and personal life.
Amin Hajee says his wife was frustrated with him for rejecting work
Speaking with Siddharth Kanan, Amin Hajee recalled that his wife, Charlotte Whitby-Coles, was often frustrated by his reluctance to take up acting assignments after ‘Lagaan’. According to the actor, most of the roles being offered to him were either insignificant parts or characters with little to do.“She was angry with me because I wasn’t signing any more work after Lagaan,” he said, explaining that he was frequently offered “a mute character or some other insignificant roles” that did not live up to the experience he had just had with ‘Lagaan’.Charlotte, who met Hajee during the making of the film, remembered how he would routinely dismiss the roles being offered to him.“After Lagaan, whenever a role came, he would say, ‘This role is rubbish,’ or ‘That’s no good,’ and so on. So I told him, ‘What are we going to do? You have to work. You have to take up some work.'”
Why Amin Hajee says ‘Lagaan’ ‘destroyed’ him
Hajee has previously described ‘Lagaan’ as a film that “destroyed” him professionally, and he explained that the statement came from the difficulty of finding anything that could match the opportunity he had been given.“To be honest, Lagaan was a unique script. It was a once-in-a-lifetime thing. I was fortunate enough to get Lagaan, but whatever offers or narrations I received after that were zero compared to it.”He added, “So I was destroyed after ‘Lagaan’, because I simply couldn’t work after that. Actually, you can say that they gave me a Taj Mahal like ‘Lagaan’; they gave me an opportunity like ‘Swades’ to write. They gave me a friend like Aamir Khan. What could I have done after that?”For Hajee, the film was not simply another acting credit. It gave him the chance to be part of an ambitious project, collaborate with Aamir Khan and subsequently contribute as a writer to ‘Swades’ — experiences he felt were extremely difficult to replicate.
Amin Hajee opens up about financial struggles in Mumbai
The professional standstill also came with a financial cost. Hajee spoke candidly about the realities of maintaining a household in an expensive city while having an inconsistent income.“Everything here costs money,” he said, describing the everyday expenses associated with urban life, including clothes, grooming and household costs. He recalled moments when he struggled even with basic personal expenses, saying he “didn’t have money to buy a good shirt and pants.”“Upkeep in big cities is too much. You won’t have enough money for household expenses, but you still want a big car. That’s the kind of lifestyle you see in cities.”Charlotte, however, said their relatively simple lifestyle helped them navigate those difficult years.“We are also quite simple in the way we think. I’m not someone who loves diamonds or jewellery, and he is not someone who likes Gucci or anything like that.”
‘There is a lot of pressure on men’, says Amin Hajee
Hajee eventually found greater financial stability through his writing work with filmmaker Vikram Bhatt. He collaborated with Bhatt on projects including ‘Haunted 3D’ and ‘1920: The Evil Returns’, but later chose to step away to pursue a story of his own.“When I was writing with Vikram Bhatt, I was earning well. I did quite a lot of work with him. I am a husband, and my culture tells me that I have to earn. There is a lot of pressure on men, actually. I am a failure as a man because I never really had money. I was never able to earn consistently. I have seen some very difficult days,” he admitted.That decision eventually led to his directorial debut, ‘Koi Jaane Na’. Hajee spent eight years developing the psychological thriller, which starred Kunal Kapoor and Amyra Dastur and released in 2021.Amin Hajee calls Charlotte his ‘rock’The long journey towards ‘Koi Jaane Na’ was not without moments of regret. Hajee recalled one such instance when he questioned his decision to leave his financially stable work with Vikram Bhatt.“I had written my own story, ‘Koi Jaane Na’. I spent eight years making it. One day, I told her, ‘I made a mistake by leaving Vikram’s work. We don’t even have money right now.'”According to Hajee, Charlotte remained supportive and encouraged him to continue pursuing his creative ambitions.“Don’t worry about how much we have or don’t have. We are managing with whatever we have. You work. You have to fulfil your dream, so focus on that.”Charlotte also reminded him that he did not have to shoulder the responsibility of supporting the family alone. Hajee recalled her telling him, “Why do you think you are the only provider for me? Why are you putting that pressure on yourself to be the provider? I am with you too. If you don’t bring money home today, I will do something. I will earn it”.Reflecting on her support, Hajee said, “Charlotte stood by me like a rock, through the bad times and the good times.”Amin Hajee and Charlotte Whitby-Coles currently live in Panchgani, Maharashtra, with their two daughters.
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