Kiran revealed that her entry into Bollywood was through a call from Reema Kagti, which led her to work on Lagaan, marking her first collaboration with Aamir Khan.Reflecting on this experience, she expressed awe at the risk Aamir took with Lagaan, a sports film set a century ago in Awadhi dialect. She described the meticulous process of costume design for the film as a valuable learning experience, akin to attending a film school.
The shoot for Lagaan, initially planned for three months, extended to six due to its cricket-centric storyline. Kiran recalled the challenges posed by the shooting schedule, which involved breaks to avoid shooting in the scorching heat of May.
Kiran Rao at KASHISH Pride Film Festival: LGBTQIA+ members, disabled persons, caste minorities should be represented well and cast in movies
Following her stint with Lagaan and other projects like Monsoon Wedding, Kiran found the opportunity to pursue her dream of writing during Aamir’s shoot for Rang De Basanti. She shared how accompanying Aamir during his shoot allowed her to pen down the script for Dhobi Ghat.
“When I was working on Swades, I reconnected with Aamir. During that time, he was shooting for Mangal Pandey. That’s when we started dating. After Swades was over, Aamir had started Rang De Basanti. And when he was shooting for Rang De Basanti, because he was travelling for two-three months, I thought let me just travel with him and write. I actually wrote my film Dhobi Ghat when Aamir was shooting for his film,” Kiran shared.
During this period, Kiran and Aamir’s relationship blossomed, leading to discussions about her screenplay. Despite her initial apprehensions, Aamir’s support and encouragement propelled Kiran towards realizing her directorial vision.
