"I had seen my father struggle and his problems as a producer and had never wanted me to be one. But, Ashutosh`s script was so good that I could not desist myself from not taking the plunge," Aamir said last night at a celebration party to mark the completion of a decade of the landmark film and the 10th anniversary of his banner Aamir Khan Productions.
Aamir said film financer Jhamu Sughand always told him to produce movies. "Ever since we worked together on `Rangeela`, he would say that. I always said no. But, when I finally decided to turn producer, my father gave me courage to go ahead," he recalled.
He admitted that he did not have the guts to say `yes` to Ashutosh for a long time. Aamir said he considers himself fortunate that `magical scripts` came his way like `Taare Zameen Par`, `Peepli Live`, `Dhobi Ghat`, `Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na` for his home banner and `Sarfarosh`, `Rang De Basanti` as an actor.
"But, you should give me credit for selecting them which later went on to be landmark films of my career. I was fortunate enough to work on amazing scripts and great directors which helped me to grow as a person and a filmmaker," he said.
Appreciating former wife Reena who was the executive producer of `Lagaan`, Aamir said Reena was never connected to films during their married life. "It was amazing how she grasped the reins of the film. She held the film together and was one of the key members of the production team," he recalled.
The celebration party was attended by the cast and crew of Lagaan, stars of Aamir`s other productions. Amitabh Bachchan, who was the narrator of `Lagaan` came over for a short while.