Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (2001)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Ashutosh Gowariker

Writers:

Kumar Dave (screenplay)
Sanjay Dayma (screenplay)

Release Date:

8 May 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Musical | Romance

Tagline:

Once upon a time in India

Plot:

The people of a small village in Victorian India stake their future on a game of cricket against their ruthless British rulers...

Plot Keywords:

British | Villager | Land Tax | Rain | 1890s

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 44 wins & 19 nominations

Cast

Aamir Khan	...	Bhuvan
Gracy Singh	...	Gauri
Rachel Shelley	...	Elizabeth Russell
Paul Blackthorne	...	Captain Andrew Russell
Suhasini Mulay	...	Yashodamai
Kulbhushan Kharbanda	...	Rajah Puran Singh
Raghuvir Yadav	...	Bhura (as Raghuveer Yadav)
Rajendra Gupta	...	Mukhiya
Rajesh Vivek	...	Guran
Shri Vallabh Vyas	...	Ishwar (as Sri Vallabh Vyas)
Javed Khan	...	Ram Singh
Rajendranath Zutshi	...	Ismail (as Raj Zutshi)
Akhilendra Mishra	...	Arjan
Daya Shankar Pandey	...	Goli
Yashpal Sharma	...	Lakha

Also Known As:

Lagaan (India: Hindi title) (short title)
Land Tax (International: English title) (informal literal title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for language and some violence.

Runtime:

224 min

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi | English | Awadhi | Urdu

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Canada:F (Ontario) | Canada:G (Québec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia) | Finland:K-11 | Germany:6 | Netherlands:AL | Norway:7 | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of the Grisons) | UK:PG | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Bhuj, Gujarat, India

Company:

Aamir Khan Productions

Trivia:

Model turned actress Sonali Bendre was interested in playing "Gauri" but Aamir Khan rejected her, felt that she looked much like a Westerner.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Kachra takes his first wicket he hits the OFF Stump. Later in the next scene it shows that he hit the MIDDLE stump and the OFF Stump is not at all moved.

Quotes:

[Russell comes back from his meeting with the senior soldiers, where they got mad about the tax cancellation, a soldier salutes and walks by... ]
Capt. Russell: Is that the way a soldier behaves? You're SUPPOSED TO SALUTE when a superior officer passes!
British Soldier: I did, Sir.
Capt. Russell: I didn't see it!
British Soldier: [Salutes]
Capt. Russell: That's better.
Lt. Smith: I imagine your meeting didn't go quite as expected, sir?
Capt. Russell: Damn right it didn't! The senile old hats want to teach me how to run the show. They've lost their sense of adventure with age!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in 50 Films to See Before You Die (2006) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Waltz for a Romance

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')