Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (2001)

• Year: 2001
• Released: 15 Jun 2001
• Country: India, United States, United Kingdom
• Adwords: Nominated for 1 Oscar. 57 wins & 21 nominations total
• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0169102/
• Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/lagaan_once_upon_a_time_in_india
• Metacritics: https://www.metacritic.com/movie/lagaan-once-upon-a-time-in-india
• Available in: 720p, 1080p,
• Language: Hindi, English
• MPA Rating: PG
• Genre: Drama, Musical, Sport
• Runtime: 224 min
• Writer: Ashutosh Gowariker, Kumar Dave, Sanjay Dayma
• Director: Ashutosh Gowariker
• Cast: Aamir Khan, Raghuvir Yadav, Gracy Singh
• Keywords: based on true story, based on a true story, sports, musical, 19th century,

	8.1/10
	84/100
	95% – Critics
	93% – Audience

Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India Storyline

Circa late 1800s, India is ruled and governed by the British. A small rural town is asked to pay it’s annual taxes to a British army captain. The Rajah of this town, Puran Singh, pleads before Captain Andrew Russell to reduce the levy as monsoons had not been adequate and as a result crops had suffered. But the Captain does not agree. Taking advantage of the simple-minded townspeople, he magnanimously makes a offer to play cricket with their team, if they win then there will no taxes levied, but if they lose then they will end up thrice the amount of taxes. The Rajah returns to confer with his subjects. A young man by the name of Bhuvan tells the Rajah that he will make up a team and that the Rajah should accept the Captain’s challenge. The Rajah delightedly does so, much to the glee and amusement of the Captain. Then begins the task of selecting a team. Bhuvan finds this to be a real challenge, as no one has really played cricket, they do not even own a bat or a ball. The selection of the team is marred with problems as to religion and caste, with some men saying that they will never play in the same team with a person of a lower caste. Nevertheless, Bhuvan pushes on, and does manage to come up with eleven men. Then begins the practice, and Bhuvan finds an ally in Elizabeth Russell, Captain Russell’s sister, who agrees to coach them on the sly. The team uses a large stick in place of a bat, and a round stone as a ball. Each player is assigned certain tasks, and the tension reverberates as the day of the actual match draws closer. News get around, and people from miles around flock to watch this match. They are joined by several senior ranking British Officers. This match now has become a prestige issue, and the British High Command makes it known that it not stand to lose face at any cost. Finally, the day arrives. The match begins. Bhuvan and the Rajah hope that they have covered all potholes, and hope for a miracle. But what the two had not banked on was treachery at the hands of one of their very own players, who had accepted a bribe from Captain Russell, to ensure that the Indian team loses.

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Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India Movie Reviews

Fantastic…and despite its length, it never seemed overlong.

“Lagaan” was nominated for the Oscar and lost. There is no shame in this, as all the nominees were exceptional that year…though if I had been voting, I would have selected “Lagaan”. It’s a near-perfect film…and among the best Indian films I have ever seen. The only films I can recall being slightly better are “Kahaahi” and “Three Idiots”. All three films are ample proof that India’s films could be the equal to the best Hollywood was to offer.

The story is set in rural India in the very late 19th century. Their British overlords have a tax (‘lagaan’) they collect from all the locals each year. The previous year’s taxes were reduced by half due to a drought. The drought has continued and instead of once again charging half, the capricious Captain has ordered the tax to be double the usual tax! There is no way the locals can pay the tax and survive…and when they appeal the decision, the Captain responds by tripling it!

Part of the reason for this nastiness is that the monstrous Captain hates Bhuvan (Aamir Khan)…but most of it seems because the Captain loves toying with the locals…like a cat toys with a mouse. However, he does offer them a way out…one so ridiculous that it’s obvious he is just toying with them. If the locals can organize a cricket team that can beat the local British team, the tax won’t be collected for the next three years. But this isn’t so generous…the locals have never even seen a cricket match…let along understand the rules. The loss seems like a foregone conclusion…but Bhuvan isn’t about to give up and organizes a rag-tag team.

I loved this film. The cinematography, sets, acting and music were all spot on…and I appreciate that. My only complaints, and wow are they minor, is that the ending is pretty much predictable since the film IS an Indian film AND the nice British lady learns the local language insanely fast…just too fast to be realistic. Overall, a terrific film. Don’t let its near four-hour running time scare you from watching it.

fine compelling movie

The year is 1893 in a small village in the heart of India. A British Cantonment bordered the village. They protect the local Raja from neighboring Rajas as well as the other Rajas. So they are able to demand Lagaan (tax) from the hard-upon local villagers. There is a drought but the cruel arrogant Captain Andrew Russell (Paul Blackthorne) doesn’t care and doubles the Lagaan. Local villager Bhuvan (Aamir Khan) rallies the villagers to appeal to the Raja. There they witness their first game of cricket played by the British. Russell offers to forgive the Lagaan for the entire province for the next three years if Bhuvan can lead a team to beat the British. If the villagers lose, he will triple the Lagaan. Few villagers believe in the gamble except for Gauri (Gracy Singh) who loves Bhuvan. The captain’s sister Elizabeth (Rachel Shelley) comes to teach the hopeless villagers how to play the foreigner’s game.

Indian movies are not usually my thing but this one works very well. I’m still not a big fan of the Bollywood song and dance. However the story works here. The Captain is a bit of a cartoon who needs to be a better villain. The love story is good but the love triangle needs to hold off its resolution. The game is pretty much a Bad News Bear situation where all the disparate players join together. The game is interesting. They made it compelling and almost understandable.

A Magnificent and Overwhelming Fairytale – An Oscar Deserving

In 1893, India was a colony of England. The starving native farmers had to pay an imposed tax to the British soldiers for the protection of their lands, delivering most of their harvest to the British Queen. In those years, the lands were very dry due to the lack of rain, and the inhabitants of Champaner decide to request to their Rajah Puran Singh (Kulbhushan Kharbanda) to waive the taxes. While waiting for the Rajah, Bhuvan (Aamir Khan), the beloved friend of Gauri (Gracy Singh), comments that the silly game of cricket was a stupid game, comparable to the Indian child game ‘gilli-danda’. The nasty and arrogant Captain Andrew Russell (Paul Blackthorne), who had had a previous discussion with Bhuvan, listens to his comment and challenges Bhuvan to play a match against the British team, imposing the following condition: if the natives win the game, they would not need to pay Lagaan for the next three years. Otherwise, they would triplicate their payment in that year. Bhuvan accepts the bet despite of the opinion of his people. The sister of Captain Russell, Elizabeth Russell (Rachel Shelley), finds the competition unfair to the Indians and decides to help Bhuvan and his friends, teaching them how to play cricket.

This movie is a magnificent and overwhelming fairytale. It really deserved an Oscar nomination! The nice and well-directed story has wonderful songs and interpretations, romance, treason, dispute, drama, beautiful messages, outstanding choreography, being a stunning film indicated as family entertainment. The expensive Brazilian DVD is a shame, showing a total lack of respect of the ‘Columbia Tristar Home Video’ with the Brazilian costumers: the important songs do not have subtitles in Portuguese. I changed the option in the ‘Menu’ to ‘English’, and there were subtitles in English. At least in the opinion of the ridiculous Columbia representatives, Brazilians shall learn English first to understand the wonderful lyrics sang in Hindi. I feel really sorry for those who cannot understand English, since they will miss the meaning of these songs. It is amazing how 225 minutes running time passes so fast when you see such a marvelous movie. My vote is ten.

Title (Brazil): ‘Lagaan – A Coragem de Um Povo’ (‘Lagaan – The Courage of a People’)