New Delhi, Mar 8 (PTI) Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan, known for taking risks when it comes to his films, says making his 2001 period drama "Lagaan" was scary as people around him, including script writer Javed Akhtar, warned him that it could be a box office failure. The period drama revolves around a villager who assembles a ragtag team of people. They have to defeat the Britishers in a game of cricket or pay triple the tax. The movie went on to earn an Oscar nomination. Also Read | Tamil Superstar, TVK Founder Vijay Hosts Iftar Party During Holy Month of Ramzan in Chennai (See Pics and Video). Speaking at India Today Conclave on Friday, the actor recalled the time he was approached for the film by director Ashutosh Gowarikar. “It was a very scary film to make. Everyone was scared. Javed sir said the film won't work even for a day,” he said. Also Read | Shah Rukh Khan Touches Down in Jaipur Ahead of IIFA Awards 2025, Greets Fans With Waves and Kisses (See Pics and Video). Akhtar, who wrote the many hit songs of the movie, pointed out to Aamir that films on sports did not do well and "Lagaan" has a long cricket sequence. And the film featured the voice over by mega star Amitabh Bachchan. Akhtar said films featuring a voice over by Bachchan didn't do well at the box office, a fact that even the mega star pointed out to Aamir. “Mr Bachchan told me that. He said 'Okay, Aamir, I will become the narrator but in whichever films I have given the narration, those films never worked',” quipped Aamir recalling his conversation with Bachchan. But to everyone's surprise the 2001 not just outperformed itself at the box office but even got ‘Best Film Audience' award at the Locarno Film Festival and later got into the top five films at the Academy Awards nominations where "No Man's Land" won the top prize. Aamir said he and Gowarikar had a running joke between them, a line actually inspired by one of the dialogues in the movie. In that scene, his character, overcome with doubt in a temple, says 'humne kono galti toh nahi ki' (Did I make a mistake). "Ashu and I, we would exchange that line every time," Aamir said, adding that the first cut of the movie was of seven and half hours. The final cut was over three hours long. "The whole journey of 'Lagaan' was very exciting because I always believed in the story... But I remember before saying yes to the film, I was very scared. You all think I take the risk and I am a very brave person. I take the risk but I am equally scared and I make that fear my guide." Aamir said he is someone who cannot sleep at night before the release of his films. "I become sleepless and I start bothering people around me. I don't let anyone sleep. I need company at that time. Before the release I am very stressed. In fact, the more excited I am about the film, the more stressed I become." The actor also spoke about "Andaz Apna Apna", a comedy that has acquired the status of cult over the years. The film featured Aamir, Salman Khan, Karisma Kapoor and Raveena Tandon. The actor said Raveena and Karisma did not get on well during the shooting of the Rajkumar Santoshi directed movie. "I don't know whether I should say this but something was going on between Raveena and Karisma at the time so when Raveena would come, Karisma would leave and when Karishma would come, Raveena would leave... The film was completed with a lot of difficulty but I always believed in that film." Aamir said though both he and Salman were very popular at the time, the film did not do well in theatres. "And then suddenly over time I realised in home entertainment, everyone is watching it. I believe it is the number one home entertainment film. Every generation has seen it, every generation wants to show it to the next generation." Aamir, who is a father of three, was asked about his parenting style to which he responded the main factor for him is that his children go after their goals rather than competing in the race of becoming the first. “I have always wanted my child to be happy...I feel we all are blessed with multiple intelligences and unfortunately we measure intelligence essentially through treading and writing." His another hit movie, “3 Idiots”, which was directed by Rajkumar Hirani, was also the project he thought he won't agree for. Aamir said that he liked the script of the film instantly but thought he was old to portray an 18 year old college going student when he was over 40 in reality. But it was Hirani's vision which eventually made Aamir agree to take on the film. “He kept giving me one reason, he said ‘you (Aamir) have lived the entire theme‘. His theme was 'Don't chase success, chase excellence'.” The actor said he drew inspiration for his character in the film from two individuals -- A. R. Murugadoss, the director of his film “Ghajini”, whom he described as “filterless person” and his nephew, who would never remain static. Aamir will next star in "Sitaare Zameen Par" which is a sequel to his 2007 movie "Taare Zameen Par”, that marked his directorial debut and received critical acclaim. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)