LAGAAN
Reviewed by Harvey Karten Sony Pictures Classics Director: Ashutosh Gowariker Writer: Ashutosh Gowariker Cast: Aamir Khan, Gracy Singh, Rachel Shelley, Paul Blackthorne, Suhasini Mulay, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Raghuvir Yadav, Rajendra Gupta, Rajesh Vivek Screened at: Sony, NYC, 4/9/02
Cross the nationalistic fervor and gorgeous cinematography of "Oklahoma" with the aw-shucks-we-can-do-it spirit of "The Rookie," and you've got "Lagaan." That's a stretch, I guess, because you have to allow for some changes. "Lagaan" is in one of the world's most popular languages, Hindi (though to be honest it's in the three dialects of Awadhi, Bhojpuri and Brijbhasha with English subtitles), it takes place in the village of Bhuj on the Indian subcontinent in 1895 rather than in our own OK state, and the rookies are new to a game that's something like baseball though not all so much that you could understand what the heck is going on.
A blockbuster at 225 minutes (with intermission a flat four hours), "Lagaan" is the longest movie I've ever seen, topping Victor Fleming's "Gone With the Wind" by three minutes and Shinji Aoyama's "Eurek"a by eight. But not to worry because the time flies: that's how accomplished this cinematic marvel is, particularly considering that first-time director Ashutosh Gowariker uses no special effects and the amount that producer and principal performer Aamir Khan had at his disposal could barely cater the cast of "Lord of the Rings."
"Lagaan," which means "land tax" and which was one of the five Academy nominees for Best Foreign Language film of 2001, has as its impetus the well-known fact that Imperial Britain did not always play cricket with its colonial subjects of bygone centuries whom the arrogant officers in charge of the various departments would call "darkies," "wogs," "slaves" and worse. This time, though, the British do indeed play cricket with their Indian subjects, and considering that the colonialists have had quite a bit of time to hone their skills with the sport, the villagers with a scant three months to learn the game, are at a profound disadvantage.
What's so important about the particular game of cricket that serves as the story's payoff? It's almost literally a matter of life and death to the residents of the town, involving one of the most unusual wagers in cinema history. When Captain Andrew Russell (Paul Blackthorne), in charge of the province for the queen, gets into a tiff with the handsome Bhuvan (Aamir Khan), he is determined to penalize an entire district for the young upstart's defiance. He doubles the land tax that the poverty-stricken and drought-ridden villagers must pay to the crown. Impulsively, the two men come to a strange bargain: the Brits will play the Indians in cricket, a sport virtually unknown to the latter. If the colonialists win, the land tax will be tripled. If the Indians win, they will be exempt from all taxes for the next three years. Immediately, everyone from the area's ruling rajah, Puran Singh (Kulbhushan Kharbanda) to the half-crazed fortune teller, Guran (Rajesh Vivek), condemns the foolish young man, and a rebellion of neighboring townspeople, fearful that they will be financially wiped out, are ready to string the poor guy up.
As the local people prepare for the big game against impossible odds, we are introduced to several themes. One is the romantic triangle. Bhuvan is pursued avidly by the lovely Gauri (Gracy Singh) but is pined for by Capt. Russell's veddy proper sister, Elizabeth (Rachel Shelley). The rajah, who is protected from rajahs of other areas by the British, pretends to side with his protectors but secretly prays for a victory by his own people. In another intrigue, an envious member of Bhuvan's own village secretly plans to throw the game because of his hostility to the young man whose sweetheart he secretly adores. The overall, Gunga-Din-like theme, involves nothing less than a peaceful, sporting rebellion by humiliated subjects against the arbitrary and sometimes brutal rule of their British masters.
Though director Ashutosh Gowariker was afflicted during part of the shoot with a slipped disc requiring him to take charge of the picture horizontally, he has done a masterful job of connecting high drama with mellifluous singing, and in one particularly powerful scene contrasts the colorful, high-spirited dancing of the villagers with the uptight steps within a British court ball. A.R. Rahman should have been in line for the Oscar for his stunning, original music, which adds intensity to the fierce conflict between the Europeans and the Asians, but ultimately "Lagaan" is a star vehicle for the dashing Aamir Khan, whose appearance and swashbuckling actions may remind American movie buffs of Tyrone Power.
While "Lagaan" follows the conventions of Bollywood, a name given to the cinema of a nation of 900 million that turns out more than 900 feature films and numerous shorts and documentaries each year, this one stands out high above the rest for the integration of music, song and dance with the story line and a believable dramatic trajectory culled from what would seem to be a silly subject. Compared to Mira Nair's "Monsoon Wedding," one of the most joyous expressions of family love ever to come out of India, "Lagaan" may seem campy, and indeed some in the audience laughed condescendingly at scenes that might have come out of the overwrought American romances of bygone decades. But that's all part of the charm of the genre, one which successfully integrates song, dance, costumes, music, drama, and history into a picture that for nearly four hours gives its audience pleasures of the keenest kind.
Rated PG. Running time: 225 minutes. (C) 2002 by Harvey Karten, film_critic@compuserve.com
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