‘Lagaan’ turns 25: Rachel Shelley shares unseen BTS pictures with Ashutosh Gowariker, hails him as ‘director extraordinaire’ |

As ‘Lagaan’ completes 25 years, Rachel Shelley, who portrayed Elizabeth Russell in the film, has shared pictures from behind the scenes on set. In her post, she paid tribute to director Ashutosh Gowariker’s dedication, recalling that he carried on with the work despite getting hurt during the lengthy and gruelling shoot.

Rachel Shelley shares ‘Lagaan’ sets pictures with Ashutosh Gowariker

On Monday, Rachel shared a set of behind-the-scenes photos with Ashutosh from the sets of ‘Lagaan’ on Instagram. In one picture, the director can be seen briefing her on a scene, while another shows the two of them with colour smeared across their faces and clothes, apparently after a Holi celebration on set. The last photo has Rachel posing with a cricket bat signed by the cast and crew, which she called a keepsake.Rachel set the post to the ‘Lagaan’ track ‘Chale Chalo’ and used her caption to pay tribute to Gowariker. She wrote, “BTS #Lagaan #lagaan25years #holi #fancydressWith the wonderful @ashutoshgowariker – director extraordinaire who worked through injury and a long, challenging shoot with grace, humour and complete dedication. A reassuring, calm voice and a wonderful human being. And look, there’s my signed cricket bat, handed to me on my very last night of shooting . Ash probably has someone in his ear saying ‘we have to move on…’”.

Fans react to Rachel Shelley’s ‘Lagaan’ BTS pictures

The behind-the-scenes pictures won plenty of love from fans, many of whom took to the comments to share their affection for the film and its cast. One person wrote, “I am absolutely loving these BTS photos! Thank you for sharing! Long live the lovely Elizabeth.” Another commented, “Thank you for giving us this lifetime legendary movie (feels like Indian style Titanic).” A third fan said, “He is our best, and thanks to him we got introduced to you... also one of the best.” One more added, “Dear Rachel, you have acted so well in Lagaan & Ashutosh Gowariker’s direction was above par. He just hit the ball out of the ground.”

‘Lagaan’ plot, director and cast: Aamir Khan, Gracy Singh and Rachel Shelley

Released in 2001, ‘Lagaan’ is a Hindi period sports drama helmed by Ashutosh Gowariker and produced by Aamir Khan. The story unfolds in late 19th-century colonial India, where the villagers of Champaner in Gujarat, struggling through a drought, accept a cricket challenge from British officers to get out of paying the crushing tax known as lagaan. Aamir Khan stars as Bhuvan, who leads the village team despite barely knowing the sport. Gracy Singh plays Gauri, and Rachel Shelley appears as Elizabeth Russell, the sister of Captain Andrew Russell, played by Paul Blackthorne. Elizabeth ends up teaching the villagers how to play the game.