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Amin Hajee and Charlotte Whitby-Cole Recount Lagaan Romance
Amin Hajee and Charlotte Whitby-Cole met while making the movie Lagaan.
Charlotte was already dating someone else at the time.
She later ended that relationship and began a relationship with Amin.
Amin said Charlotte helped him believe more in himself.
Some friends worried that their different backgrounds would make life together difficult.
Charlotte left a comfortable life to live with Amin in India.
The couple stayed together and have now been together for 26 years.
They decided not to give their two daughters a formal religion.
Instead, they want their children to think of themselves as human beings.
Amin Hajee and Charlotte Whitby-Cole said they fell in love while working on Lagaan in Bhuj.
Charlotte was in another relationship when she joined the film, but later ended it after meeting Hajee.
Hajee said Charlotte helped him overcome professional and personal self-doubt during a difficult period.
Friends including Ronit Roy and Javed Jaffrey questioned whether their cross-cultural relationship could work in India.
The couple said their two daughters were raised without a formal religion and are encouraged to identify simply as human beings.
- Who
- Actor Amin Hajee and Charlotte Whitby-Cole, his wife and former Lagaan co-actor.
- What
- The couple discussed their relationship, cultural challenges, marriage, and decision to raise their daughters without a formal religion.
- Where
- They met on the Lagaan set in Bhuj, India, and later lived together in Bandra.
- When
- They met during the filming of Lagaan in 2000; they have been together for 26 years.
- Why
- They chose to remain together despite concerns about cultural differences and decided jointly not to assign their daughters a formal religion.
Cultural Concerns
The Couple’s Choice
Cross-cultural relationship
Cultural Concerns
Friends, including Ronit Roy and Javed Jaffrey, worried that differences in background and lifestyle could make the relationship difficult to sustain in India.
The Couple’s Choice
Hajee and Charlotte continued their relationship, and Hajee said Charlotte left a comfortable life to build a life with him in India.
Religious identity for children
Cultural Concerns
The couple described religion, culture, and tradition as influences that might have kept them apart.
The Couple’s Choice
Hajee said he and Charlotte jointly decided that their daughters would have no formal religion and would be raised as human beings.
Key facts
- Film connection
- Amin Hajee played Bagha in Ashutosh Gowariker’s Lagaan (2001).
- Meeting place
- Hajee and Charlotte met on the film’s set in Bhuj.
- Relationship length
- Hajee said they have been together for 26 years.
- Age difference
- Charlotte is eight years younger than Hajee.
- Friends’ concerns
- Ronit Roy and Javed Jaffrey questioned whether Charlotte could adapt to life in India.
- Children
- The couple has two daughters.
- Religious upbringing
- They said their daughters have no formal religion and are not being raised as Hindu or Muslim.
Quotes
Amin Hajee
Actor who played Bagha in Lagaan and husband of Charlotte Whitby-Cole
“They don’t have any religion, no formal religion. The names come from the sky, from nature. Our kids are human beings. Our kids aren’t Hindu, aren’t Muslim. They won’t become Hindu or Muslim. They’re children of humans. They’ll be human. We decided that together.”
indianexpress.com
“They told me, ‘Amin, you fell in love with a fair-skinned girl in 2000. How are you going to keep her in India? Do you know those people drink Bisleri water? Do you know how much a bottle of Bisleri costs?’ ‘The bird and the fish can never be friends.’”
indianexpress.com
Charlotte Whitby-Cole
British actor and Amin Hajee’s wife, quoted by him in the interview
“Maybe you’re giving too much negative attention, and that same negativity is coming back to you.”
indianexpress.com
Sources
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