When I was in business school, we were taught not just to do the right thing but to do the thing right. With Lagaan Aamir has done both.

His effort started much before the Oscar was anywhere on the horizon. Aamir had decided to make the film the way he wanted to, following not industry tradition, but his own instinct starting with a bound script, shooting sync sound, shooting the whole film at a stretch (and a long stretch), a great team and a lighting crew that had international experience.

I'm sure this must have meant trading off date bound actors and actresses with fresh but more available talent. But as I said, the proof was in the eating. There was visible homogeneity of design, landscape and colour in each frame. The look and feel of Lagaan was international. Add to this, A.R. Rahman and you have Oscar potential material. Yes.

He bent some of the rules of Hindi cinema, but followed the international norms except for one - length - and that is my one worry. Do Academy members who are mostly retired industry technicians have the stamina to watch and concentrate on a film twice as long as the usual? As for the release of the film and the campaign for the Oscar, I think it was handled well. Even the Indian release looked international. The most important thing in the international campaign was that it was allowed to grow organically rather than be thrust with a bang.

Aamir started off with saying that he would not tout his film; it must stand on its own. It was a good move because it underlined his confidence in his work.

Finally, when the need arose, I'm sure he and his team pushed hard to promote the film in Los Angeles. I've been there and I know exactly how much effort it is to get members just to see your film, a pre-requisite for nominating it.

It's not campaigning in the traditional sense, it's just getting people to come to the screenings. The fact that Sony was involved in the international release was a lucky decision and must have proved to be his biggest asset, for you need a support base in L.A. The fact is that the entire team has created a buzz and a buzz is an essential pre-requisite. Having got the nomination is a great achievement, but Aamir is still on the case and no detail is too small.

I know, because Anil Mehta (Lagaan's director of photography) just spent a week in the US (having found a gap in my film, which he is shooting at the moment), to check each release print. This is the stuff that makes award winning films.

Whether Lagaan wins or not, it has already earned its place in our annals and our hearts.