Adarsh Gourav reveals Australian co-star on Alien Earth was obsessed with Aamir Khan's Lagaan, kept humming O Rey Chhori

Superboys of Malegaon was premiered at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival last year. Talking about this huge positive shift, Adarsh says, "20-25 years ago, if an Indian film made it to the film festivals, nobody was talking about it. But now, with the advent of marketing, that is happening. You need the bigger filmmakers to endorse smaller films. Only when that happens will there be an ecosystem where such films will be promoted more."

The actor agrees that there is greater consumption of Indian cinemas at the international level, both mainstream and independent films. Recalling one experience, he adds, "I was working on Alien: Earth this year, a lot of people knew a lot more about Indian films. My co-actor, Essie Davis, is an Australian legend. She loves Lagaan. She wouldn't stop talking about Lagaan. Every time she would meet me, and we had a few scenes together, she would ask me so many questions about Lagaan as if I worked on Lagaan."

Adarsh adds with a laugh, "She phonetically knew the songs so she kept humming O Ri Chhori and Ghanan Ghanan. It was so funny seeing an Australian woman doing all this. But it's incredible. I feel there has been a massive shift in how people perceive." Directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, Lagaan was released in 2001 and starred Aamir Khan alongside Gracy Singh, Elizabeth Shelley, and Paul Blackthorne. It remains one of the few Indian mainstream films to get noticed in the West as it secured an Oscar nomination in the Best Foreign Film category.