Ashutosh Gowariker is an Indian film director, actor, screenwriter and producer who works in Hindi cinema. He is known for directing films "set on a huge canvas while boasting of an opulent treatment".

Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India, or simply Lagaan, is a 2001 Indian Hindi-language epic period musical sports drama film written and directed by Ashutosh Gowariker. The film was produced by Aamir Khan, who stars alongside debutant Gracy Singh and British actors Rachel Shelley and Paul Blackthorne. Set in 1893, during the late Victorian period of British colonial rule in India, the film follows the inhabitants of a village in Central India, who, burdened by high taxes and several years of drought, are challenged by an arrogant British Indian Army officer to a game of cricket as a wager to avoid paying the taxes they owe. The villagers face the arduous task of learning a game that is alien to them and play for a victory.