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The Movie Book (Big Ideas Simply Explained) (2016)

RG

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IN CONTEXT

GENRE

Musical drama

DIRECTOR

Ashutosh Gowariker

WRITERS

K. P. Saxena (Hindi dialogue), Ashutosh Gowariker (English dialogue)

STARS

Aamir Khan, Gracy Singh, Rachel Shelley, Paul Blackthorne; narrated by Amitabh Bachchan

BEFORE

1957 Mehboob Khan’s melodrama Mother India is the first Indian movie to be nominated for the Best Foreign Language Movie Oscar.

AFTER

2004 Gowariker’s acclaimed follow-up to Lagaan, Swades, tells the story of a NASA scientist who returns to his native Indian village.

A story about a village cricket match in India under the British Raj in the 1890s, Ashutosh Gowariker’s Lagaan, Once Upon a Time in India (to give it its full title) is one of the few Indian movies to have achieved audience and critical acclaim both within India and far beyond.

The scenario is a simple one. At a time when the remote village of Champaner in Gujarat is suffering from a drought, one of the villagers, Bhuvan (Aamir Khan), goes to the local British officer, Captain Andrew Russell (Paul Blackthorne), to plead for relief from the lagaan, or crop tax. Russell dismisses his plea, but before Bhuvan leaves, he sees the British playing cricket and mocks the game. Incensed, Russell offers to cancel the villagers’ taxes for three years if they can beat his men in a game—but if they lose, they will have to pay triple. To the horror of the villagers, Bhuvan accepts the challenge. The match occupies the entire second half of the movie, right up to the final, crucial ball.

"The movie is not just a story. It is an experience. An experience of watching something that puts life into you, that puts a cheer on your face, however depressed you might be."

Sudish Kamath
The Hindu

Crowd-pleasing story

Lagaan’s success at the box office was partly due to its sheer entertainment value. It is a stirring, old-fashioned adventure in which plucky underdogs get together to take on the bullies, and it has everything you’d expect from such a classic story. There is a romantic triangle, as Captain Russell’s sister Elizabeth (Rachel Shelley) falls for Bhuvan, who is already pledged to local girl Gauri (Gracy Singh). There is a jealous lover, Lakha, who, spurned by Gauri, helps the British. There are comic characters galore, and even the poor outsider who turns out to be a hero.

But this is much more than just an entertaining romp. The movie carries a Gandhian message of redemption and unity, as the fight against the oppressor is undertaken entirely without violence or bitterness. The team’s inclusiveness is Gandhian, too: the players include Hindus, a Sikh, a Muslim, and even a Dalit, a member of the untouchable caste. Bhuvan has to fight to persuade the other villagers to accept Kachra, the Dalit, but Kachra’s maimed hand, the physical symbol of his social handicap, turns out to be his trump card, as his misshapen fingers give him a remarkable ability to spin the ball. Lagaan is a feel-good movie, but that is also where its political message lies: feeling good, feeling valued, is essential to healing the wounds that divide people.

Above all, Lagaan is a celebration of India. It is a beautiful movie that captures the rich and exuberant colors of the landscape, with its ambers, browns, and yellows. Added to this is the acclaimed soundtrack of A. R. Rahman, that punctuates the movie with captivating songs and music.

RG

Bhuvan (Aamir Khan) dances with Gauri (Gracy Singh) as the rest of the village looks on in one of the movie’s set-piece musical numbers.

“He who has truth and courage in his heart shall win in the end.”

Bhuvan / Lagaan

ASHUTOSH GOWARIKER Director

Ashutosh Gowariker is renowned for beautifully shot, well-crafted stories. He was born in Mumbai, India, in 1964. After earning a degree in chemistry, he pursued a career in movies as an actor. It wasn’t until he was in his 30s that he directed his first movie, Pehla Nasha (First Love, 1993). His big breakthrough came with Lagaan, followed by Swades. Romantic comedy What’s Your Raashee? (2009) was a change of direction, but his period drama Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey, about the Chittagong uprising, put him back on familiar territory.

Key movies

2001 Lagaan

2004 Swades

2010 Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey

What else to watch: The Pride of the Yankees (1942) ✵ Mother India (1957) ✵ Playing Away (1987) ✵ Salaam Bombay (1988) ✵ Jodhaa Akbar (2008)