‘I ran naked into the ocean’: Lagaan star Paul Blackthorne’s wild Bhuj memory | Bollywood News
Twenty-five years after Lagaan changed the face of Indian cinema, one of its most memorable faces has returned to India. Actor Paul Blackthorne, who played the ruthless Captain Andrew Russell (often remembered as Captain Miller by fans), recently visited the country to celebrate the film’s landmark anniversary and took a trip down memory lane. In a candid conversation with SCREEN, Blackthorne recalled everything from nearly turning down the film and discovering Aamir Khan’s stardom to surviving dust storms in Bhuj and having one of the most surreal experiences of his life while running naked on a beach in Gujarat. Back in 1999, Blackthorne had little idea what Bollywood was. “My agent called me in London and said, ‘There’s a Bollywood film they’re going to audition you for.’ I was like, ‘Bollywood film? That’s unusual.’” Curiosity got the better of him and he attended the audition, eventually landing the role. Yet accepting the offer wasn’t an easy decision. “I remember thinking, ‘Gosh, what am I doing here?’ I was just starting to get things going in …
