Lagaan actor Paul Blackthorne didn't know cricket, suffered heat stroke while filming

Paul Blackthorne revisited his Lagaan experience and admitted he was terrible at cricket despite playing Captain Andrew Russell. He also recalled suffering heat stroke on set, underscoring the demanding conditions behind the film.

In Short

• Paul Blackthorne admitted he was terrible at cricket
• Editing and patient crew helped create cricketing illusion in the film
• Blackthorne suffered heat stroke after sleeping in the costume area during shoot

25 years after Lagaan bowled audiences over, actor Paul Blackthorne has a confession to make: unlike the ruthless Captain Andrew Russell he played in Ashutosh Gowariker's Oscar-nominated classic, he was anything but a cricketing expert. In an exclusive conversation with India Today, Blackthorne looked back at his time on the film and revealed that while Captain Russell appeared intimidatingly skilled on screen, his own cricketing abilities were far less impressive.

Asked whether he was as good at cricket as his character, the actor burst out laughing. "No, I am absolutely terrible," he said, adding that when the film's cricket sequences were shot, it was the power of editing and some very patient crew members who helped sell the illusion.

"When we were shooting my stuff, you'd see on the one side this thunderous bowler coming down. And on my side, when we filmed the coverage, someone was actually standing in front of me, throwing the ball softly and going, 'Can you try and hit this one, Paul?' So people had to be very patient with my cricket," he said. Paul added that if it was for his cricketing prowess, he would never have bagged the role.

But struggling with cricket wasn't Blackthorne's only challenge during the shoot. The actor also recalled an incident that left him with a serious case of heat stroke after he accidentally turned a quiet afternoon break into a health scare.

According to Blackthorne, the cricket pavilion seen in the film doubled up as the costume area, wardrobe department and washrooms. Looking for a place to rest during a break in filming, he decided to sneak into the costume section and catch some sleep.

"I thought, 'You know what? I've got a little bit of time here.' I got under some rails and hid myself. I knew I wasn't needed, and I fell asleep for about three hours," he said.

Soon after waking up, Blackthorne was called for a photo shoot on horseback. Determined to carry on, he quickly got ready and mounted the horse, only to realise something was very wrong. "I am galloping along towards the photographer and he's looking at me and saying, 'Paul, are you okay?' And I'm like, 'What? No, I'm fine. I'll be absolutely fine,'" he said.

"I was literally sliding off the horse. I got heat stroke. I had been cooked in the costume department all afternoon. My face had turned bright red and I was pretty sick. I was just pouring water over me. But I did cook myself up, Andrew Russel deserved to be cooked," he said.

Released in 2001, Lagaan remains one of Indian cinema's most beloved films, remembered as much for its nail-biting cricket match as the unforgettable characters who brought it to life. While Aamir Khan played the lead role of Bhuvan, Gracy Singh was cast opposite him as Gauri.

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