Ronjita Kulkarni, Sukanya Verma in Mumbai

Even as Aamir Khan and Ashutosh Gowariker, with their respective spouses (Reena Dutt and Sunita), were seated in the Kodak Theatre, Los Angeles, venue of the 74th Academy Awards, the Lagaan team in Mumbai, cheered for the duo at a special get-together at the Aamir Khan Productions office in Santacruz, Mumbai.

Excited spectators anxiously awaited Lagaan's fate. The room was crammed with people seated on the floor on rugs, watching the proceedings on Aamir's home theatre system. Needless to say, the enthusiasm and verbal discussions were infectious.

At the time when the awards were in progress, Pradeep Rawat (Deva), Sri Vallabh Vyas (Ishwar Kaka), Aditya Lakhia (Kachra), Akhilendra Mishra (Arjan), Dayashankar Pandey (Goli), Amin Hajee (Lakha), Yashpal Sharma (Lakha), Raghuvir Yadav (Bhura), Javed Khan (Ram Singh) were present. Gracy Singh (shooting in New Zealand), Raj Zutshi (Ismail) and Rajesh Vivek (Guran) were conspicuous by their absence.

Among the technical crew, Ballu Saluja (Editor); Kumar Dave and Sanjay Dayma (Screenplay); Shakti (Wardrobe Designer) and Satyajit Bhatkal (Production team) were present. As an aside, Bhatkal is the author of the book Spirit Of Lagaan, which will be released soon.

Anticipation was high as Rawat admitted, "I have not slept all night. I was so excited and nervous. It was like watching [cricket whiz] Sachin Tendulkar face the first ball at a crucial match."

"We spent time together preparing ourselves for the tough long day ahead of us," says Amin Hajee. Twin brother Karim, also present was often mistaken for Amin. The two had appeared earlier in Ashutosh Gowariker-directed Pehla Nasha.

When artistes John Travolta and Sharon Stone announced the winner, Bosnia's No Man's Land, waves of disappointment rippled across the room. "Ashutosh had told me that No Man's Land was a great film," says Amin. It may be recalled that Ashutosh, who had seen both No Man's Land and French Amelie, was fulsome with praise for the former.

Rawat says, "Ashu was positive No Man's Land would win."

"The fact that these five films made it to the Best Foreign Film category proves they are excellent. I have seen Amelie and really liked it. They are all winners," says Amin.

"We are extremely proud," says Akhilendra Mishra while Sri Vallabh Vyas adds, "It is great enough to be nominated and we are very happy."

Post the Oscar ceremony, the Lagaan men visited Ashutosh Gowariker's parents in Khar, a northwestern suburb of Mumbai.

Lagaan re-releases in the United States by Sony Pictures' Classics on May 10