Rachel kisses and makes up with Aamir!

Shyam Bhatia
India Abroad correspondent in London

English actress Rachel Shelley says she has kissed and made up with Aamir Khan, after a legendary squabble on the Lagaan set, which led to her being "sanctimonously reprimanded" by the actor-producer.

In an exclusive interview with India Abroad, Shelley, who plays one of the female leads in Lagaan, said she regretted her "tantrum" and now has nothing but praise for producer and actor Khan.

Describing her tantrum and the subsequent confrontation with Khan, she says, "He dealt with it very well. That, for me, was quite difficult. I shouldn't have made a fuss, I put that down to a million things -- being abroad being on malaria tablets, all sorts of things. But, it didn't sour our relationship."

"He's very dedicated. As a producer and actor this project was a major one. He's a perfectionist, that's good. It's much better than someone who isn't."

"It was quite strange for all the Brits. We knew Aamir was an enormous star in India and I tried to watch some of his films in advance. But, what was great was that there was no hierarchy of stardom. We all lived in the same place, ate and travelled together. There was no special treatment, which made all of us feel like a team."

Shelley was one of 30 English actors, actresses and background artistes who spent 'four months of disease, tears and passion' during the filming of Lagaan in Bhuj.

Chosen at auditions in London organised by director Ashutosh Gowariker and Khan's wife, Rina, Shelley says the audition was no different from any other, except for the song and dance routines which were out of her experience.

Her 'insider' account of how she and the rest of the cast resided in the only seven-storey building in the whole of Bhuj, Sahajanand Towers, her difficulty with memorising Hindi sentences and her bouts with "low-grade gastroenteritis" are worthy of a separate film, even a book, perhaps.

The Khan reprimand followed weeks of problems Shelley had dressing up in the 19th century period costumes, hats and corsets that had to be fastened from the back.

"The wardrobe staff are all older men and wouldn't help even if I wanted them to", she wrote in her diary.

Matters reached the point of no return on the day she was supposed to be doing her biggest Hindi scene. In the changing room, she discovered her undergarments had been washed but were still wet, her shoes were missing and the period leather laces hadn't been cut.

Shelley recalls the event, "No one even attempted to apologise, placate or accept responsibility, so when I found the temporarily appointed wardrobe man, Sanjay, I demanded answers."

"OK - I shouted at him. Not for more than about 30 seconds, and then I immediately apologised, but I shouted."

When she was summoned to Khan's private quarters later that night for a telling off, she burst into tears after he told her, "Everyone was shocked because they all thought you were such a nice reasonable girl."

Her morale suffered another further blow when he added, "That sort of behaviour just doesn't happen on my film sets."

But it was not all bad. She says she has happy memories of the rest of the cast, both Indian and English, and relationships off the set were extremely good. She had previously met English actor Paul Blackthorne, who plays her brother in the film, and developed close ties with Indian actress Gracie Singh whom she describes as "lovely and gorgeous."

Romance was lurking around on the set , during the shoot. She recalls the day spent playing Holi when she was doused in a bucket of pink paint by Assistant Director Apoo. Shelley describes Apoo as "probably the most attractive man on the entire film" who sent her rose petals and invited her to long langorous lunches.

On being questioned about their relationship, Shelley replies, "I would rather not go into that." But it is clear from her responses that Apoo is not the only reason she would like to return to India. She is in love with India, wants to work here and is waiting for other producers to come up with roles for her.

Despite the heat and dust and memories of illness, she says, "It's something I love, I love the culture, I love being there. I've been on holiday before and travelled around. I felt very comfortable there."

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