Lagaan - Movie Review
Published: February 1, 2011
Starring Aamir Khan, Gracy Singh, Rachel Shelley, Paul Blackthorne
Many Indian films these days try to cater to Western sensibilities in order to gain critical acclaim abroad and boost foreign box office—and these attempts usually fail. Why, then, did an unabashedly Bollywood film like Lagaan—with its effusive melodrama, six musical numbers, and nearly four-hour running time—successfully capture the attention of the West and even snag an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film?
Many Americans, including this reviewer, had never even heard of Bollywood until Lagaan came along. It's only the third Hindi-language film in history to get an Oscar nod—Mother India (1957) and Salaam Bombay (1988) being the other two. Lagaan was helmed by the talented Ashutosh Gowariker, who later directed the award-winning Swades (2004) and Jodhaa Akbar (2008), but Lagaan is known as Aamir Khan's baby. The Bollywood superstar, whose acting career dates back to the mid-1980s, starred in it and produced it. It was the debut film of Aamir Khan Productions, which has since developed a reputation for selectivity, producing such well-regarded films as Peepli Live (2010).
One of the reasons Lagaan was appreciated in the West is—Hindi filmmakers listen up—it simply did what Bollywood does best. It is a flawlessly executed, extremely entertaining, unapologetic Bollywood-style film. However, certain factors helped make it accessible to Americans. It's set in colonial India—the period of Indian history with which Americans are most familiar. The film's theme of challenging British authority over unfair taxes is reminiscent of America's own colonial history. It takes place in a quaint rural village and its tight-knit community life smacks of small-town Americana. There are Western characters in the film, who speak lots of English, including one sympathetic British woman who acts as a kind of insert-self-here, Western-audience surrogate. But perhaps the biggest reason Lagaan made a splash in the U.S. is because it's a sports-underdog story, and that is one of the few film genres in which Americans not only accept melodrama but also expect it. While sports movies are common and beloved in the U.S., they're very rare in India, making it a unique film, and it’s one that sets the stakes much higher than its Hollywood counterparts—the heroes here are playing for their literal survival.
The word "lagaan" means "land tax"—although the movie is nothing as boringly political as the title suggests. It takes place in 1893 in a village somewhere in the interior of India. A British cantonment nearby, commanded by Captain Russell (Paul Blackthorne), demands what amounts to protection money from the local rajas, who in turn charge villagers a land tax, or a cut of their crops, in order to pay off the British. The wicked Captain Russell capriciously decides to double the lagaan in a year of prolonged drought. When Bhuvan (Khan)—a villager who provokes British soldiers whenever possible—makes fun of the game of cricket, Russell challenges him to a bet: if he and the other villagers beat the soldiers at cricket, he'll cancel the lagaan for three years, but if the soldiers win, then the villagers must pay triple the amount. The villagers are furious with Bhuvan for accepting the bet, but if he hadn't, they would have been ruined by the double lagaan anyway. Bhuvan has three months to rally them to play, learn the game, and train for it. Russell's sister Elizabeth (Rachel Shelley) is outraged by her brother's actions, falls in love with the studly Bhuvan, and teaches the villagers the rules of cricket on the sly. A local girl, Gauri (Gracy Singh), is also in love with Bhuvan, but another villager, Lakha, loves Gauri and tries to undermine Bhuvan's efforts to win. While preparing for the game, the villagers' pride is awakened as Bhuvan dares them to dream of freedom from enslavement to the grinding burden of lagaan.
While most moviegoers in the U.S. aren't familiar with cricket, it isn't at all difficult to follow what happens in the dramatic David-and-Goliath showdown—and there isn't a red-blooded American who wouldn't get choked up over it.
Lagaan is rated Must See.
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