How Lagaan’s Captain Russell helped get relief funds for 2001 Gujarat earthquake

5 min readMumbaiJun 14, 2026 06:05 PM IST

Paul Blackthorne played Captain Russell in Lagaan.

Twenty-five years ago this month, Aamir Khan put Gujarat on the cinematic map by choosing it as the setting of his 2001 seminal period sports drama, Ashutosh Gowariker’s Lagaan. But the same year, on January 26, 2001, five months before the film’s release on June 15, 2001, a massive earthquake shook the state to the core, severely affecting parts of Bhuj, which was located very close to the Kunaria village where Aamir and his team shot for the film.

Captain Russell to the rescue

The earthquake, measured at 7.6 on the Richter Scale, caused massive destruction of life and property across Gujarat. Naturally, Aamir, Ashutosh, and their team returned to Kanuria after the earthquake and around the release of their film to inspect how the land had changed after they shot there extensively to make one of Bollywood’s most enduring period sports dramas.

It wasn’t only the Indian artistes who contributed towards the earthquake relief efforts, but also British actor Paul Blackthorne, who made his film debut with Lagaan as Captain Russel, the chief antagonist and the ruthless British Army officer who leads the forces in demanding teen guna lagaan (three times the taxes) from starved, poverty-stricken villagers of Champaran, the fictitious village that was the chief setting of Lagaan.

As per a 2001 India Today report, Blackthorne went back to Kanuria with Aamir, Ashutosh, and several key cast and crew members of Lagaan. In the scorching heat of over 45 degrees celsius, Blackthorne captured every nook and corner of the setting in his camera and went on to organise ‘Bollywood Packback’, a photography exhibition in his London, proceeds of which were donated for the relief efforts of the 2001 Gujarat Earthquake.

Paul Blackthorne and Aamir Khan in Lagaan.

How Lagaan changed Paul Blackthorne’s career

Paul Blackthorne, 57, born as a son of a British Army soldier, spent most of his childhood in army camps across the UK and Germany. Thus, it’s no surprise that his first major role was playing a British Army officer posted in British India. While he had done theatre, television advertisements, and a couple of small roles in British movies, his breakthrough ironically came only as Captain Russel in a Bollywood movie.

“As preliminary preparation, I was asked to learn Hindi and horse-riding. For three months I did nothing but rehearse my lines in Hindi. They were so tough that at one point I thought of giving up,” said Blackthorne to India Today back in 2001. Ironically, the first Hindi word he cracked in the process was samajh, which translates to understand or decipher in English.

Paul Blackthorne was also a key figure in promoting Lagaan in Los Angeles, California after the film was selected as India’s official entry for the Academy Awards in 2002, and was eventually nominated in the Best Foreign Film category as well. Having moved his base to LA after Lagaan, Blackthorne began getting a host of film and television offers.

Story continues below this ad

While his film roles remained largely fleeting, Blackthorne made his presence felt on television, with recurring roles in Michael Crichton’s medical drama ER and popular spy thriller 24 in 2004. However, his longest stint on TV came as Quentin Lance in DC Comics’ Arrow, where he appeared across seven seasons, from 2012 till 2018.

Paul Blackthorne as Quentin Lance in Arrow.

Paul Blackthorne’s return to India

This week, Paul Blackthorne returned to India to partake in the celebrations of the 25th anniversary of Lagaan’s release in Mumbai. On Wednesday, he took to his Instagram handle to share several pictures from his sightseeing in the city. “Mumbai Day 1,” he wrote in the caption, along with #Lagaan25. On Thursday, he shared more pictures, including one from the gym and another in a chat with Aamir Khan.

Also Read — Aamir Khan was fined for tardiness on Lagaan set, bus left without him: Raghubir Yadav

On Friday, Blackthorne shared pictures from a table-read-cum-reunion with the extended cast of Lagaan. He also shared a couple of his stills as Captain Russell from Lagaan. Unlike that character, the actor is now sporting a bald look in real life. On Saturday evening, he appeared as a guest in an event organized by Aamir to celebrate 25 years of his banner Aamir Khan Productions, which launched with Lagaan on June 15, 2001.