lagaan movie review essay

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"Lagaan" is an enormously entertaining movie, like nothing we've ever seen before, and yet completely familiar. Set in India in 1893, it combines sports with political intrigue, romance with evil scheming, musical numbers with low comedy and high drama, and is therefore soundly in the tradition of the entertainments produced by the Bombay film industry, "Bollywood," which is the world's largest.

I have seen only five or six Bollywood movies, one of them in Hyderabad, India, in 1999, where I climbed to the highest balcony and shivered in arctic air conditioning while watching a movie that was well over three hours long and included something for everyone. The most charming aspect of most Bollywood movies is their cheerful willingness to break into song and dance at the slightest pretext; the film I saw was about a romance between a rich boy and a poor girl, whose poverty did not prevent her from producing back-up dancers whenever she needed them.

"Lagaan" is said to be the most ambitious, expensive and successful Bollywood film ever made, and has been a box-office hit all over the world. Starring Aamir Khan , who is one of the top Indian heartthrobs, it was made with an eye to overseas audiences: If " Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon " could break out of the martial-arts ghetto and gross $150 million, then why not a Bollywood movie for non-Indians? It has succeeded in jumping its genre; it won an Academy Award nomination this year as best foreign film, and has been rolling up amazing per-screen averages in North American theaters.

All of which evades the possibility that most readers of this review have never seen a Bollywood movie and don't want to start now. That will be their loss. This film is like nothing they've seen before, with its startling landscapes, architecture and locations, its exuberant colors, its sudden and joyous musical numbers right in the middle of dramatic scenes, and its melodramatic acting (teeth gnash, tears well, lips tremble, bosoms heave, fists clench). At the same time, it's a memory of the films we all grew up on, with clearly defined villains and heroes, a romantic triangle, and even a comic character who saves the day. "Lagaan" is a well-crafted, hugely entertaining epic that has the spice of a foreign culture.

The story takes place at the height of the Raj, England's government of occupation in India. In a remote province, the local British commander is Capt. Russell ( Paul Blackthorne ), a lip-curling rotter with a racist streak, who insults the local maharajah to his face and thinks nothing of whipping a Hindu upstart. Even his fellow officers think he's over the top. He administers "lagaan," which is the annual tax the farmers must pay to their maharajah, and he to the British. It is a time of drought and hunger, and the farmers cannot pay.

Enter Bhuvan (Aamir Khan), a leader among his people, who confronts Russell and finds his weak point: The captain is obsessed by cricket, and believes it's a game that can never be mastered by Indians. Bhuvan says it is much like an ancient Indian game, and that Indians could excel at it. Russell makes Bhuvan a bet: The Brits and a village team will play a cricket match. If the Indians win, there will be no lagaan for three years. If the Brits win, lagaan will be tripled. The villagers think Bhuvan is insane, since a triple tax would destroy them, but he points out that since they cannot pay the current tax, they have nothing to lose.

Bhuvan assembles and starts to coach a local team. Elizabeth Russell ( Rachel Shelley ), the evil captain's sister, believes her brother's deal is unfair, and secretly sneaks out to the village to provide pointers on cricket. Her closeness to Bhuvan disturbs Gauri ( Gracy Singh ), a local woman who has believed since childhood that she and Bhuvan are fated to marry. There's another coil of the plot with the two-faced Lakha (Yashpal Sharma), who wants Gauri for himself, and acts as a spy for Russell because he feels that if Bhuvan loses face, he'll have a better chance with her.

We meet the members of the village team, an oddly assorted group that includes a low-caste fortune-teller named Guran ( Rajesh Vivek ), whose crippled arm allows him to throw a wicked curve ball. There also is Deva (Pradeep Rawat), whose service in the British army has fueled his contempt for his former masters. As training proceeds in the village and the British sneer from their regimental headquarters, the action is punctuated by much music.

The British hold dances, at which single young women who have come out from home hope to find an eligible young officer. (Elizabeth, dreaming about Bhuvan, is not much interested in the candidate selected for her.) And in the village music wells up spontaneously, most memorably when storm clouds promise an end to the long drought. In keeping with Bollywood tradition, the singing voices in these sequences are always dubbed (the voice-over artists are stars in their own right), as the camera plunges into joyous choreography with dancers, singers and swirls of beautifully colored saris. Such dance sequences would be too contrived and illogical for sensible modern Hollywood, but we feel like we're getting away with something as we enjoy them.

"Lagaan" somehow succeeds in being suspenseful at the same time it's frivolous and obvious. The final cricket match (which we can follow even if we don't understand the game) is in the time-honored tradition of all sports movies, and yet the underlying issues are serious. And there is the intriguing question of whether the hero will end up with his childhood sweetheart, or cross color lines with the Victorian woman (this is hard to predict, since both women are seen in entirely positive terms).

As a backdrop to the action, there is India itself. It is a long time since I praised a movie for its landscapes; I recall "Dr. Zhivago" (1965) or " Lawrence of Arabia " (1962), and indeed like David Lean , director Ashutosh Gowariker is not shy about lingering on ancient forts and palaces, vast plains, and the birthday-cake architecture of the British Raj, so out of place and yet so serenely confident.

Watching the film, we feel familiarity with the characters and the show-down, but the setting and the production style is fresh and exciting. Bollywood has always struck a bargain with its audience members, many of them poor: You get your money's worth. Leaving the film, I did not feel unsatisfied or vaguely short-changed, as after many Hollywood films, but satisfied: I had seen a movie.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (2002)

225 minutes

Aamir Khan as Bhuvan

Gracy Singh as Gauri

Rachel Shelley as Elizabeth Russell

Paul Blackthorne as Capt. Russell

Suhasini Mulay as Yashodamai

Directed by

• Ashutosh Gowariker
• Sanjay Dayma
• K.P. Saxena

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Home — Essay Samples — Literature — Once Upon a Time — Critical Analysis Of Lagan – Once Upon A Time In India

Critical Analysis of Lagan - once Upon a Time in India

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Words: 1032 |

Published: Aug 6, 2021

Words: 1032 | Pages: 2 | 6 min read

References 

• Chavda, A., Saikia, G., & Sharma, B. (2020, February 17). david1992. Retrieved from https:// scholarblogs.emory.edu/postcolonialstudies/2014/06/21/mimicry-ambivalence-and-hybridity
• Madan, T. (1984). Book reviews : ASHIS NANDY, The Intimate Enemy: Loss and Recovery of Self under Colonialism , Delhi, Oxford University Press, 1983. The Indian Economic & Social History Review, 21(2), 256–258. doi: 10.1177/001946468402100209 
• Mannathukkaren, N. (2001, December). Subalterns, Cricket and the 'Nation': The Silences of 'Lagaan'. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/4411449.pdf? refreqid=excelsior:b6ebd8294298d17b03c1ee6ec89195d6
• Rushdie. (n.d.). Cultural Connections: Lagaan and its audience responses. 

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In-depth asian movie reviews. bridging the gap between asian film and western audience, lagaan: once upon a time in india.

Lagaan : Once Upon a Time in India

Director : Ashutosh Gowariker

Written : Ashutosh Gowariker

Country : India

Year : 2001

Lagaan began as a dream, as nebulous dream, dreamt (…) by a man called Ashutosh Gowariker…

We get this introduction to the movie by Aamir Khan, and it was an endearing dream indeed. Almost four hours in length, it is a historical drama based at the end of the 19 th century, and is a sports movie about cricket of all things! Seeing this resume, not many people might think of it as a good time investment. Fortunately, some other dreamers saw beyond this, and believed in the vision of the director. As a result, they created an internationally acclaimed film, and only the third movie in Indian history to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. This prestigious recognition popularized Bollywood cinema and music for wide audiences around the world, and is an epic of epic proportion. “Lagaan” for me is not just one of the best Indian films I have ever seen, but I also consider it one of the best films I have seen in general.

The story is set in “Champane, a small village in the heart of India.” It is the year 1893, and India is under Colonial British control. Captain Andrew Russell, a very ego driven local commanding officer, imposes a double tax “lagaan” (tax that a village has to pay in crops to the local ruler) for the region. Raja Puran Singh, the local official feudal ruler, tries to reason with captain by explaining that there has been a prolonged drought, and the villagers can hardly survive. But captain is set to collect the fees to compensate for previous tax reductions. We can see that it is not just an administrative necessity, but also a power play of his. He suggests meat to Raja, saying that if he eats, the tax will not be doubled. But being a true Hindu, Raja decides to follow his dharma, and does not accept the offer. Villagers, upon hearing the news, beg Raja to help them, but they only get into more trouble. A village youth, Bhuvan (Aamir Khan) gets in a fight with the British, and even worse, he insults cricket. Captain Russell challenges Bhuvan to play a game of cricket. If he wins, the whole region will have no lagaan for 3 years, but if they lose, triple lagaan. Bhuvan accepts the challenge, against the will of his fellow villagers. Doing this, he enrages not only his village, but also all other villages in the region who are affected by this. However, one by one, Bhuvan manages to convert villagers to his cause, and forms a team. The peak of his recruitment comes when he acquires Kachra, a person from the untouchable cast, to the team. Due to centuries of prejudice against the untouchables, other villagers oppose this initially. Bhuvan scolds them for this, and implies that they need the unity of all people of India to fight against the British. Kachra becomes their secret weapon because his limp hand can throw the ball spinning. Another advantage that villagers gain is the support of Captain Russell’s sister Elizabeth, who secretly teaches them the rules of cricket. Of course, we cannot have a Bollywood film without a love story. Elizabeth falls in love with Bhuvan, but Bhuvan has always been in the heart of Gauri (Gracy Singh) from his village. She becomes very jealous of Elizabeth until Bhuvan finally admits his love for Gauri. To make it even more complex, Lakha, another villager, has his eyes set for Gauri. He becomes so enraged that she loves Bhuvan that he offers his services to Captain Russell in order to humiliate Bhuvan. During the cricket game that occupies 1/3 of the movie, Lakha sabotages the game, pretending not to catch the ball, and giving points to the British. Eventually the villagers discover this outrageous betrayal. But instead of killing Lakha, and it came close to it, Bhuvan offers him a chance to redeem himself, and to play for their side from then on. They go back and strike the British with full power, but it is not an easy fight. I never thought cricket could be so intense and exciting!

The movie has a lot packed in it. It is a historical drama, but it is not trying to depict any events very accurately. Some ideas, like integrating the untouchable into the society, are way ahead of their time. More than anything, it is a monument for traditional India, and the fight against British colonialism. They took Gandhi’s utopian village where all different ethnic groups, Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs, live together in harmony. The movie showed that integrity of traditional community can be a superior force to modernized society’s individualism. Even feudalism was shown in a positive light. The local Raja was a very compassionate and good willing lord, but helpless in this difficult situation with the colonizers. This part is also a historical mismatch, as:

Most princely rulers were no less exploitative than their colonial overlords, with whom they worked comfortably and closely. Most were meat-eaters as well, and much addicted to hunting, for which many kept their own well-stocked reserves, strictly off-limits to their subjects (and which, in some parts of the country, were later plundered in an orgy of post-Independence animal-slaughter and tree cutting by real-life Bhuvans)” (Source: The University of Iowa ).

Of course, this ideal Raja works for the utopian, patriotic attitude of “Lagaan.” It shows Indian people as self-sufficient, and in no need of modern technologies or political systems from the West (also, no need for Western women, as Bhuvan has chosen Gauri. He never even though of Elizabeth). It is a patriotic and nostalgic film. It idealizes the India before the nation-state, and before the separation of Pakistan. It is patriotic not for the nation of India, but for the traditional.

“Cricket is an Indian game accidentally discovered by the English,” wrote cultural theorist Ashis Nandy (Source: T he University of Iowa ).

I do not know the rules of the game, so I must have missed out on a few things there. But even without this knowledge, the movie is a pure joy to see. I think Marshal McLuhan, a media theorist, would have liked “Lagaan” for a few reasons. First, because this movie showed the situation and the history of India and the British Empire through the model of a sports game. Marshall McLuhan talked about sports as an expression of violence under controlled circumstances. Through sports games, they could show the fight for independence without showing any actual fighting or violence. Second, the movie is not just about the collision of India and the British Empire, it is also a collision of different modes of thought – the rational (modern) and the traditional. The great Victorian British times were the age of reason, steam engines and mechanical wonders. This is a huge contrast to rural India, with manual labor using instruments that have not changed in centuries, traditions, folk beliefs and religion. Again, the movie gives priority to the traditional thought, which is more community based and closer to nature. I think the most beautiful and evident contrast between these two modes of thought was shown through dance. The villagers’ dance is their means of communication, their unity, and their sense of community. It is often spontaneous and chaotic. In one scene just after this spontaneous dance, they show the British dancing classic waltz, which according to McLuhan, is a depiction of how a mechanical clock works. It is controlled, specific, and seems very cold compared to what the villagers do. I do not know if this meaning was the intent of the director, but it certainly is a nice touch.

In Bollywood films it is typical to have dance-singing scores as a halt of the action, a kind of amusing break. But “Lagaan” is different, and its superb soundtrack composed by A. R. Rahman is fully integrated into the story and action. It enhances the film experience just as a good soundtrack should. In the end, with all the buildup, and all the action, you yourself want to burst into dance and sing along, whether you know the language or not.

For me it is not only a wonderful movie, it is also an example of how people can make their dreams reality, despite the odds. Thanks to Ashutosh Gowariker’s dream and determination that made it possible, and also thanks to Aamir Khan, and his belief in the vision. Aamir not only agreed to act in the lead role, but also to produce the film after they could not find a suitable producer. He did this to give the director “the creative freedom he needed,” as some other producers they approached wanted to make changes in the script. In the end, due to their collective effort in the difficult journey to make this dream happen, we have a beautiful masterpiece to enjoy.

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8 February 2001 12:52AM

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Lagaan: once upon a time in india, common sense media reviewers.

Colonial India sports drama has racism, prejudice, violence.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Teamwork, truth, courage, and determination are al

Bhuvan stands up for himself courageously and gath

The film has Indian and White British characters.

Characters threaten to beat each other. A joke is

There is some flirting, romance, and heartbreak in

Language includes: "Pests," "darn," "moron," "get

Parents need to know that Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India is an epic sports drama set during the British colonial rule of the country in 1893. The film follows Bhuvan (Aamir Khan), a simple Indian farmer, who prepares his team for a cricket match after accepting a challenge posed by the British commander,…

Positive Messages

Teamwork, truth, courage, and determination are all needed to overthrow oppression and exploitation. No matter how slim the chance, taking risks are a significant part of achieving a huge goal. Racism and casteism are dangerous ideologies.

Positive Role Models

Bhuvan stands up for himself courageously and gathers his team for a cricket match against the colonial British with grit and determination. Gauri, his love interest, supports his endeavors throughout and trusts him completely. Elizabeth helps the Indian team in training for the match despite her racist brother's attempts to stop her.

Diverse Representations

The film has Indian and White British characters. A character has a paralyzed hand and another one is mute but they are not reduced to their disability. The film actively critiques and problematizes practices of casteism and racism. The few female characters are not given much agency, reduced largely love interests or mothers, sisters, and daughters.

Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update.

Violence & Scariness

Characters threaten to beat each other. A joke is made where someone mentions molestation. Sequences where animals are hunted with rifles and repeatedly shot. People are held at gunpoint. There are intense brawls between characters; individuals are smacked, kicked, chased by mobs, beaten with whips, and slapped. During a cricket match, players are severely injured multiple times with the ball; some blood and gore.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

There is some flirting, romance, and heartbreak in the film.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Language includes: "Pests," "darn," "moron," "get lost," "wretch," "scumbag," "crazy," "lunatic," "demon," "stupid," "hell," "witch," "idiot," "bloody," "slaves," "fool," "shut up," and "vulture." "God" is used as an exclamation.

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Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India is an epic sports drama set during the British colonial rule of the country in 1893. The film follows Bhuvan ( Aamir Khan ), a simple Indian farmer, who prepares his team for a cricket match after accepting a challenge posed by the British commander, Captain Russell ( Paul Blackthorne ), where the stakes involve abolishing tax for the Indians if they win. Set during the British rule of India, the film shows the casteism and racism of the time, showing the injustices of both. What's handled less well is the portrayal of women who are generally reduced to love interests or female relatives. Violent threats are made and there is a mention of molestation. There are multiple scenes that involve animal hunting. Guns are pointed at individuals. Physical fights take place, people are kicked, slapped, and whipped. Mobs armed with sticks chase individuals. During the game of cricket, characters are hurt on numerous occasions and blood-covered wounds are visible. In Bollywood tradition, there are music and dance sequences that involve romance and flirting, while a character is left heartbroken. Language includes "moron," "lunatic," "hell," etc. The film is in Hindi-infused Awadhi with English subtitles. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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What's the Story?

LAGAAN: ONCE UPON A TIME IN INDIA takes place during British colonial rule in India in 1893, where an egotistical and arrogant British commander, Captain Russell ( Paul Blackthorne ), challenges an ordinary Indian farmer, Bhuvan ( Aamir Khan ), to a game of cricket. But this is no ordinary game. If Bhuvan and his inexperienced team win, then the extremely high and unfair taxes that have been placed on their village will be abolished.

Is It Any Good?

This thrilling sports drama is an unforgettable classic gem in Indian cinema. In Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India , director Ashutosh Gowariker superbly brings together Khan's mesmeric turn as Bhuvan, a simple farmer turned hero, with A. R. Rahman's magical tunes and Javed Akhtar's heartwarming lyrics. Deviating starkly from Bollywood's usual production of romantic dramas that reigned dominant during the 2000s, this period piece is a landmark film in Indian cinema that captivates with epic storytelling, electric dialogue, and intense action. The film is predominately male led and it's a shame the few female characters are reduced to either romantic interests or mothers, sisters, and daughters. They exist only in their relationship to men in the world of the film. But in an elaborate catalog of competing masculinities, the men are at least varied and layered. The film also deserves kudos for dealing with and actively condemning themes of racism and casteism.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India 's messages of courage , perseverance , and teamwork . Why are they such important character strengths to have? Can you think of times you've demonstrated these traits?

Talk about the racism and prejudice seen in the movie. The movie is set during Britain's colonial rule of India. What do you know about this period? Why is it important to look back on the past? What can we learn from it?

Talk about the film's violence . How did it make you feel? Did it add to the story? Do some types of media violence have different impact than others?

Discuss the female characters in the film. What roles did they tend to take? Did you find it problematic? How can I find positive gender representations in movies and on TV?

Movie Details

• In theaters : June 15, 2001
• On DVD or streaming : January 22, 2002
• Cast : Aamir Khan , Paul Blackthorne , Gracy Singh
• Director : Ashutosh Gowariker
• Inclusion Information : Indian/South Asian actors, Female actors
• Studio : Sony Pictures Classics
• Genre : Drama
• Topics : Sports and Martial Arts , History , Music and Sing-Along
• Character Strengths : Courage , Perseverance , Teamwork
• Run time : 224 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG
• MPAA explanation : language and some violence
• Last updated : October 19, 2023

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India Reviews

Deviating starkly from Bollywood's usual production of romantic dramas that reigned dominant during the 2000s, this period piece is a landmark film in Indian cinema that captivates with epic storytelling, electric dialogue, and intense action.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Oct 26, 2023

The movie is a must-watch for the very fact that it covers a period of time not often seen in films, and — albeit in a roundabout way — addresses the inequality of colonial rule in India.

Full Review | Oct 4, 2022

A bunch of rag-tag villagers beat the English in a game of cricket in Ashutosh Gowariker's sprawling epic which changed the way Hindi movies were made.

Full Review | Aug 17, 2021

One of Hindi cinema's greatest underdog tales, a powerful script, impressive execution and an unforgettable soundtrack from A R Rahman...

Full Review | Oct 27, 2020

Will be the film all others in Bollywood are judged against, in terms of both creativity and success.

Full Review | Aug 3, 2008

An involving, easily digestible hunk of pure entertainment that could be the trigger for Bollywood's long-awaited crossover to non-ethnic markets.

Full Review | Jul 24, 2008

Few recent American musicals are this fluid or engaging.

Full Review | Mar 26, 2007

With an equally stunning soundtrack, this rollicking yarn is a must for all film lovers.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Dec 30, 2006

The film's got a big scope and a big heart, even taking time to decry class, social, and racial discrimination.

Full Review | Original Score: 8/10 | Jul 22, 2004

A great big Bollywood musical, complete with song and dance and doomed love triangles and elegantly photographed men playing cricket. And it's terrific fun, in a way that only great big musical fantasies can be.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Dec 31, 2003

A great introduction to the joys of Indian popular cinema.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 21, 2003

This is a lavish production that will remain a favourite for years to come.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Oct 30, 2002

If you're in the mood for a Bollywood film, here's one for you.

Full Review | Oct 21, 2002

A skillfully made, good-natured movie.

Full Review | Original Score: B+ | Sep 18, 2002

A good example of the 'masala' type of Indian filmmaking, where politics, romance, class consciousness and long musical numbers are stirred together in an entertaining stew.

Full Review | Sep 13, 2002

So fascinating, you may not notice how much time has passed when the credits finally roll.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Sep 13, 2002

There's no denying that when this film is good, it's very good.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Aug 2, 2002

Even during the climactic hourlong cricket match, boredom never takes hold.

Full Review | Jul 26, 2002

After having seen this Cinemascope extravaganza in a theater, on DVD and video, I still think the big screen experience is worth it.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Jul 20, 2002

The most deliriously entertaining movie of the summer.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/4 | Jul 19, 2002

Jotted Lines

A Collection Of Essays

Lagaan (2001): A landmark Bollywood film that gracefully combines art and entertainment

The Bollywood film chosen for analysis in this essay is Lagaan, released in 2001.  The film, directed by Ashutosh Gowariker stars Amir Khan and Gracy Singh in lead roles.  The movie combines popular formulaic elements within the time-tested format of sports movies, making it a unique production to have come out of Bollywood in many years.  Not only was the movie make a lot of money at the box-office (both in India and abroad), but it also attracted positive reaction from the critics.  This is evident from the fact that it was one of the movies nominated for Best Picture under Foreign Language Movie category in the following year at the Academy Awards.  It is hoped that reasons such as these make Lagaan an appropriate choice for discussion in this essay.

Before getting the detailed analysis of the film, a brief summary of the story is called for.  Lagaan is a fictional story set in nineteenth century India, when the country was still under the rule of British Empire.  A group of villagers from a remote village in the arid central India “take up a British officer’s challenge to play cricket in order to get a reprieve from a crippling tax imposed by the colonial government” (Kasbekar, 2007, p. 366) If the villagers beat their colonial rulers, their taxes are waived off for three subsequent years.  In the eventuality they lose they will be compelled to pay thrice the usual taxes   Moreover,

“The fact that the villagers have never played cricket and do not know the first thing about the game establishes the foundation of the film’s narrative and dramatic structure. The British officer’s sister takes pity on the villagers and secretly teaches them the game so that they have a fighting chance. The cricket match takes up the final hour of this nearly four-hour long film and is marked by moments of comedy, drama, and suspense.” (Ganti, 2004, p.25)

Lagaan has proven to be a watershed event in mainstream Indian film industry.  This view is supported by the fact that in the years since its release, no other movie had attained such overwhelming popular and critical acclaim.  At the time when Lagaan was released, Bollywood was going through a crisis of sorts.  Most films released by the film studios of Mumbai (which is where Bollywood is headquartered) were failing badly at the box-office.  There were multiple reasons behind this decline, but the foremost among them is the lack of creativity and novelty in the scripts.  Even regular movie-goers got fed up with the bland, repetitive and unimaginative story lines of a majority of films at the time.  It is in this context that Lagaan should be studied and evaluated, for it then lucidly illustrates the uniqueness of Lagaan (Vasudevan, 2005, p.135).

Bollywood is differentiated from the Independent/Art House film industry in India.  The former is generally considered as a money making industry with importance given only to “entertainment”.  This is in direct contrast to the Art House film industry, which adopts its ethos based on “artistic merit”.  While Lagaan, without doubt, is a mainstream Bollywood production, it stands out for its artistic merit as well, as will be illustrated below.  Firstly, given the lengthy four hour duration of the film, pacing the film becomes a challenging task for the director.  Ashutosh Gowariker, the director, does a commendable job in this department as he employs ‘song and dance’ sequences at appropriate junctures to keep the audience engaged to the narrative.  The background score given by A.R.Rahman also deserves mention here, as it is one of his masterly works.  The task of finding a resonant blend in combining classical Hindustani music with classical Western is never easy.  Rahman overcomes these challenges without a hitch and in the process delivers a unique musical work.  Again, such ground-breaking works are not usually associated with Bollywood in general, which further goes to emphasize the enduring significance of Lagaan to the mainstream Indian film industry.  Equally competent is the choreographic sequences in the film.  Gracy Singh, who plays the role of the jealous village-girl in love with Bhuvan (played by Amir Khan) is particularly graceful in the dance sequences.  Being a trained classical dancer, she carries off the role with great ease.  The chemistry between the lead pair, especially in moments of romance, is another area where the movie scores (Kasbekar, 2007, p.378).

Through a well thought-out interlay of drama, romance and song-and-dance, Gowariker balances the various imperatives of Bollywood entertainers.  It is apt to bring to light at this point that Bollywood and Cricket have been two major sources of entertainment for the Indian public.  In many ways, Cricket precedes Bollywood in finding a place in the collective Indian public consciousness, for the sport in India is as old as the British Raj.  Bollywood, on the other hand, would have to wait for the advent of film and sound technology to grow into a large commercial enterprise that it is today.  Lagaan benefits no end by bringing Cricket to the realm of Bollywood and thereby creating a risk-free approach to commercial success (Ganti, 2004, p.232).  The employment of the game of Cricket as a metaphor for larger and real struggles in life is a brilliant conception on part of the director.  Not surprisingly then, the Cricket match agreed to by the villagers and their British administrators comprises the central sequence in the film, the detailed discussion of which is as follows (Tripathi, 2002, p.38).

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Lagaan Knocked It Out of the Park!

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**SPOILERS ALERT**

It’s 1893 in the small village of Champaner, India. The villagers are feeling crushed by the lagaan (tax) they must pay on their harvest. The British Commander of their region is an arrogant racist named Andrew Russell. Russell declares that there will be a double tax this year to make up for the half amount paid last year because of the drought.

Our protagonist is a young man of the village, Bhuvan Latha, who has already come under the notice of Commander Russell when he intentionally spoiled Russell’s hunting excursion. 

When the villagers come to beg for leniency, the British troops are playing cricket. Bhuvan adds insult to injury by criticizing the ‘stupid game’ the officers are playing – to him it looks like the grown men are playing the children’s game of gilli danda . 

Singling out Bhuvan for his insolence, Russell challenges him to a sucker’s bet: he will completely forgive the tax if the villagers beat the Brits in a game of cricket. If they lose, however, they’ll be charged a triple tax. Of course, Bhuvan accepts the challenge, and the game is on!

The men of Champaner have three months to learn how to play cricket, form a team, and train for the game. Their livelihoods depend on it.

What Attracted Me to Lagaan ?

I found out about this movie because of baseball. In 2016, after a dry spell of over a hundred years, the Chicago Cubs won the World Series. That fall, I lost track of how many times I ended up explaining the rules of baseball to taxicab drivers who grew up playing cricket and were absolutely stymied by the rules of the ‘stupid game’ of baseball. Conversely, I knew nothing about cricket, so couldn’t really compare and contrast the two games.

A good friend of mine is a bonafide cricket nut. Born and raised in India, that was his game, and he still played in a city league in the park near me. So as baseball fever took over Chicago, I did my best to help him understand baseball and he tried to explain cricket to me. I still didn’t get it until a friend from England suggested I check out Lagaan . She claimed it gave a simple understanding of the game and she was right. 

But Lagaan offers much more than rudimentary cricket lessons. The main story line is engaging, following the men as they try to master cricket, and inevitable subplots involving romance and treachery are woven in. 

Although the story is fiction, its colonial India setting makes a strong statement against the prevalent racism. In fact, one reason for its wild success has got to be the commentary it makes on the British hold over India. 

However, the social commentary is not only directed at the British. One of my favorite subplots sharply criticizes the Indian caste system. 

Another strength is how the entire village comes together, singing songs about strength and righteousness, and imploring help from the gods. Although they are initially enraged with Bhuvan for putting them into this untenable predicament, as the movie progresses, so does the strength of their joint resolve and support for the team. 

Finally, it’s virtually impossible not to get caught up in the highs and lows of the emotional roller coaster ride that is the climactic three-day cricket match.

Lagaan checks a lot of boxes for me. It’s a great script with great acting, and a period piece set in a brilliantly true-to-period location. I completely identified with the underdogs, Bhuvan and the villagers of Champaner, and was desperate for them to triumph. The social commentary is completely relevant twenty years later. Plus it’s Bollywood, so it’s even got great song and dance numbers!

Lagaan was an enormous success in India and worldwide, and received an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. And no matter how you feel about the ending, it is well worth the whopping 3.5 hours of running time. But you’ve got to act quickly to catch it on Netflix – a notice just posted saying it will leave that platform on February 23rd.

Helpful Information

Director: Ashutosh Gowariker

Cast: Aamir Khan, Gracy Singh, Rachel Shelley, Paul Blackthorne, Kulbhushan Kharbanda

Originally watched: 2016

Rewatched: January 28, 2021

Available on: Netflix

My rating: 4.5 stars

Released 2001

A Little Trivia: 

• The British occupation of India was not instigated by the government but by the East India Company , greedy to profit from India’s wealth of spices and tea. They formed outposts, then a private militia, comprised primarily of Indian nationals. For 100 years, the corporation effectively ruled the Indian subcontinent.
• The English word “ loot ” is derived from the Hindi word “lut” which refers to spoils of war pillaged from an enemy.
• There was an actual Major General named Andrew Russell who served for a short time in India. While it is tempting to think the film character could be based on the historical person, their histories vary enough to assume the name alone was borrowed by the writer.

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Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India

• The people of a small village in Victorian India stake their future on a game of cricket against their ruthless British rulers.
• This is the story about the resilience shown by the Indians when they were under the British Rule. They are already taxed to the bone by the British and their cronies, but when Jack Russell announces that he will double the Lagaan (tax) from all villagers, they decide to oppose it. Leading the villagers is a handsome young man named Bhuvan, who challenges them to a game of cricket, a game that is to be played by veteran British cricket players, versus villagers, including Bhuvan himself, who have never played this game before, and do not even know a bat from a piece of wood. As the challenge is accepted, the interest grows and attracts Indians from all over the region, as well as the British from all over the country - as everyone gathers to see the 'fair play' that the British will display against their counter-parts, who are aided by none other than the sister, Elizabeth, of Captain Rusell. — Sumitra (corrected by Sonia)
• Sometime during latter half of the 19th century, a small village in North India is facing drought conditions. Captain Andrew Russell, the British captain of the nearby cantonment, demands double of the usual land tax (lagaan) from the villagers. When the villagers' representatives go to meet Captain Russell to discuss the situation, Capt. Russell challenges them to a game of cricket with his team after three months. A young villager Bhuvan accepts the challenge and starts to build his team of villagers for the showdown with their colonial rulers. — Soumitra
• Set in India in the late-1800s, the local British rulers are imposing excessively high taxes on the local population. One of the local villagers has a run-in with the senior British officer, resulting in a cricket match between the British and the villagers. If the villagers win, they don't have to pay taxes for three years. If they lose, they have to pay three times their usual taxes. — grantss
• The rains have failed, and the people of a small Indian village in Victorian India hope that they will be excused from paying the crippling land tax that their British rulers have imposed. Instead, the capricious British officer in charge challenges them to a game of cricket, a game totally alien and unknown to them. If they win, they get their wish; if they lose, however, the increased tax burden will destroy their lives. The people are terrified, but one man thinks the challenge is worth staking their entire future on. Will he convince the villagers to give it their best shot? — sd268
• Lagaan takes place in the town of Champaner, now in the State of Gujarat, in western India during the height of the British Empire in India in 1893. Captain Andrew Russell (Paul Blackthorne), the commanding officer of the Champaner cantonment, has imposed high taxes ("lagaan") on people from the local villages which they are unable to pay due to a prolonged drought. Led by Bhuvan (Aamir Khan), the villagers beg Raja Puran Singh (Kulbhushan Kharbanda) to help them. He tells them that much to his regret, he is also bound by British law. It is after their visit to the Raja that the people of the village first witness a cricket match. Bhuvan mocks the game and gets into a fight with one of the British officers. Taking an instant dislike to Bhuvan, Russell offers to cancel the taxes of the whole province for three years if the villagers can beat his men in a game of cricket. If the villagers lose, however, they will have to pay three times the amount of their normal taxes. Bhuvan accepts this wager on the behalf of all villages without their consent. When the other villagers find out about the bet, they are furious with Bhuvan. He argues that it is important for everyone to fight against British rule. Bhuvan thus begins to prepare the villagers for the match. He initially finds only five people willing to join the team. He is aided in his efforts by Russell's sister Elizabeth (Rachel Shelley) who feels that her brother has mistreated the people in the villages. As she teaches them the rules of the game, she falls in love with Bhuvan, much to the anguish of Gauri (Gracy Singh) who is also in love with him. After Bhuvan reassures Gauri of his feelings for her, the woodcutter Lakha (Yashpal Sharma) becomes enraged as he is also in love with Gauri. In an attempt to discredit Bhuvan, Lakha offers himself as a spy for Russell and joins the villager's team in order to destroy it. Eventually, as the villagers realize that winning equals freedom, and as a few of them are insulted by the Britishers, they join the team. Still short one player, Bhuvan also invites an untouchable, Kachra (Aditya Lakhia), who can bowl leg spin. The villagers, conditioned by long-term prejudice against untouchables, refuse to play if Kachra joins the team. Bhuvan chastises the villagers, leading them to accept Kachra. The second half of the film focuses on the match itself. On the first day, Russell wins the toss and elects to bat, giving the British officers a strong start. Bhuvan brings Kachra into the match only to find that Kachra has lost his ability to spin the ball. In addition, as part of his agreement with Russell, Lakha deliberately drops many catches. During the evening, however, Elizabeth sees Lakha meeting with her brother. She races to the village and informs Bhuvan of Lakha's deception. Rather than allow the villagers to kill him, Bhuvan offers Lakha the chance to redeem himself. The next day as part of his promise to Bhuvan, Lakha takes a diving one-handed catch. However the British score almost 300 runs, losing only three wickets by the lunch break. Kachra is brought back to bowl and takes a hat trick which sparks the British batting collapse. The villagers soon start their innings. Bhuvan and Deva (a Sikh, who has played cricket earlier when he was a British Sepoy) give their team a solid start. Deva misses out on his half-century when a straight-drive from Bhuvan ricochets off the bowler's hand onto the stumps at the non-striker's end, while Deva was backing up too far. When Lakha comes on to bat, he is hit by a bouncer on his head, and he falls on to his stumps. Other batsmen get out trying to score a boundary off each delivery. Ismail (Raj Zutshi), a good batsman, retires hurt as he is hit on his leg. The villager's team ends the day with 5 batsmen out of action with less than half of the required runs on board. On the third and final day, Bhuvan passes his century, while most of the later wickets fall. Ismail returns to bat with the help of a runner and reduces the required runs to an attainable total. The game comes down to the last over with Kachra on strike. With one ball remaining and the team down 5 runs, Kachra knocks the ball a short distance, managing only a single. However, the umpire signals no ball and Bhuvan returns to bat, and swings extremely hard at the next ball. Captain Russell backpedals and catches the ball, leading him to believe the British team has won. However, Russell caught the ball beyond the boundary which gives 6 runs, and the win, to Bhuvan's team. At that moment, the drought ends as a rainstorm erupts. Bhuvan's defeat of the British team leads to the disbanding of the humiliated cantonment. In addition, Russell is forced to pay the taxes for the whole province and is transferred to Central Africa. After realizing that Bhuvan loves Gauri, Elizabeth returns to London. Heartbroken, she remains unmarried for the rest of her life. Bhuvan marries Gauri.

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Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India – The Portrayal of British Colonialism in India Cinema

29 Oct Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India – The Portrayal of British Colonialism in India Cinema

[ Mohd Imran is a Lecturer at Faculty of Shariah and Law, Villa College Maldives. He teaches International Law in LLB and LLM programs offered by the University of the West of England, Bristol at Villa College (Twitter: @imranmohd288).]

Introduction

Recently, the S.S. Rajamouli-directed film RRR became a subject of intense discussion because of its portrayal of the British enemy. Among other things, RRR has been applauded by Indian and other postcolonial audiences for showing the valor of freedom fighters against the British. British colonialism has been one of the major themes of Indian cinema. From Mother India and Naya Daur to Shaheed Bhagat Singh , Mangal Pandey , and Gandhi , Indian cinema has vividly portrayed the struggle for swadhinata (independence) and swaraj (self-rule). These movies, however, have captured only limited aspects of British colonialism such as violence, maladministration, culture, and struggle for freedom. Indian movies based on colonialism expose colonialism and racism as structures which promote what Edward Said defines as “the difference between the familiar ‘us’ and the strange ‘them’.” But no movie is as revealing about the dynamics of colonialism as Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India ( Lagaan from now on) with its depiction of the most important aspect of colonial legal administration, i.e., Lagaan or land tax . 

India has been an agricultural economy; thus, land tax was one of the greatest sources of revenue for the Empire. The legal aspects of colonialism, despite colonialism being an important subject for third world cinema , are often overlooked. The literature relating to popular culture and international law also gives little attention to the culture of anti-colonial resistance in art, music, and cinema. In this blog, I examine the depiction of British involvement in agrarian policies in Lagaan. I argue that to generate greater revenue and extend their control over newer territories, the British codified laws, created military alliances, and set up courts. Priority was given to laws relating to property and commerce as these were the greatest source of extracted wealth for the British. 

Lagaan & Colonialism

Set against a realistic background, the Bollywood blockbuster Lagaan (2001) (directed by Ashutosh Gowariker) combines two Indian obsessions: cricket and the colonial past. The movie is set in Champaner , a small village, during the British Raj. The villagers are unable to pay the annual taxes imposed by the British because a drought has destroyed their agriculture produce. The antagonist Captain Russel, head of the British cantonment, challenges the village to beat the English team in a cricket match, failing which the entire province will be charged three times their share of annual tax. If the team of villagers, led by the protagonist Bhuvan, succeed in the match, their taxes and those of entire province will be revoked for three years. Cricket, in this movie, is the primary vehicle for resistance to colonial rule. Within the Anglophone colonial and postcolonial culture, cricket occupies a signal place.  

In Lagaan, Indian farmers take center-stage , emerging as modern citizens asserting their right to self-determination when their own king has proven unable to help them. Nissim Mannathukkaren argues that the movie absolves the role of provincial king in the oppression of farmers by centering the British as the “real enemy” while the king also gets a share from the land tax given by the farmers. He further argues that in Lagaan “the other becomes defined as foreigner, i.e., the white coloniser.” But the “other” that defines the subaltern’s self-consciousness, both historically and in the film, is not only the white outsider: it is equally the provincial king. The TWAIL historiography of international law also seems to have missed this aspect.

Codification of Laws

The narration at the beginning of movie sets up two important issues: the main source of revenue for the British Raj and its efforts to expand that revenue which lie in the agrarian policies and military alliance with princely states. The narration goes :

The British protected the domain of the king from neighboring attacks. They also promised the other kings protection from this king. Owing to this double-dealing, the British collected taxes from several kings paid by every farmer in the country. The kings would keep one share and give the rest to the British. In this way, the British fist grew iron strong. Thousands of villages across the country the farmers of Champaner toiled on empty bellies and paid taxes to the king every year.

To begin with codification of law, the political and constitutional involvement of British East Indian Company (BEIC) began with the Treaty of Allahabad in 1765. The BEIC was granted the right to collect taxes on behalf of the Emperor from the eastern province of Bengal-Bihar-Orissa. The Permanent Settlement of Bengal (1793) was an agreement between the BEIC and Bengali landlords to fix revenues. It was agreed that the landlords would have perpetual and hereditary rights over the land, so long as they paid the fixed revenue to the Company. This Settlement was first introduced in Bengal, then Bihar, and later to the southern districts of Madras and Varanasi. Law has been an important instrument of British colonialism. Tirthankar Roy has eloquently argued that the codification of commercial law in British India was influenced more by the commercialization of the nature of State. Thus, the laws were not necessarily codified to remove the defects of the existing laws but to establish a legal system favourable to and amendable at the hands of the British. This is also evident when we see the British making changes in the rules of the game. Carl Schmitt claimed that a meaningful imperialism is its ability to determine the content of political and legal concepts. Thus, in the movies, the British team complains about bowling style of Boli, a player in villager’s team. On finding that there was no written rule on the bowling style to support their claims, the British umpires decided to write some rules after the match. Similarly, the British ensured that the “content of political and legal concepts” would have a British origin. For instance, the policy of Doctrine of Lapse adopted by the BEIC and prominently used by Lord Dalhousie, the Governor General of BEIC, provided that on the death of a native ruler having no natural heir to succeed, his/her State will automatically annex to the territory of the Company though the right to adoption by a king or queen was matter of “personal law” allegedly left untouched by the British. 

In 1797, the British Parliament recognised the Company’s authority to make a regular Code affecting the rights of persons and property of the natives of India and others amenable to the Provincial courts. The adjudication of matters relating to property was so central to the Company’s colonial administration that they found a place in the earliest legislation of the Company. For example, The Plan of Warren Hasting (1772) provided that the President and Committee of the Company should exclusively try the disputes concerning the right of succession to Zamidarees and Talookdaris . The plan also contained a significant provision of substantive criminal law, viz., punishment for dacoity. Thus, matters of trade, tribute, and tax were governed under English laws. 

Military Alliance and Colonial Investment

The creation of a subsidiary alliance in 1798 was another step towards weakening powerful kingdoms, Mughal, Marathas etc., and taking over the small Indian states. In this alliance, princely rulers were forbidden from negotiating treaties with any other Indian ruler without first making inquiries to Company officials. They were also forbidden from maintaining any standing armies. Indian princely states were instead protected by the troops of the British and paid for their upkeep. After the revolt of 1857, all the territories owned by the BEIC were transferred to the British Crown under the Government of India Act 1858. However, the annexation of territories within and beyond India continued.

Sornarajah writes that in the 18 th and 19 th centuries, investment was largely made in the context of colonial expansion. Such investments were protected under the integrated colonial legal systems and imperial powers. Martti Koskenniemi, similarly, argued that trade in potentially hostile territories required investment in factories and fortifications that might not be forthcoming unless the investors were guaranteed monopoly rights. These investments were protected under the integrated colonial legal systems and imperial powers. The power to lobby for such laws would have been necessary as the territories and properties acquired by BEIC were later transferred to the British Crown. These investments were protected by huge tax levied from Indian farmers, zamindars (landowners), and provincial kings also known as ‘drain of wealth’ . 

In general, international law occupies limited space in mainstream cinema, and depictions of colonial legal administration are sparse. The literature relating to popular culture and international law has also given little attention to the culture of anti-colonial resistance in art, music, and cinema. Perhaps the reason for the absence of depictions of colonial legal administration in movies is the complex nature of legal administration and its relative value for post-colonial audience.

The author would like to thank the reviewers and editors of this symposium for comments and corrections. Errors, if any, are attributable only to the author.

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• Film Analysis and Reflection: Lagaan

Film Analysis and Reflection: Lagaan - Essay Example

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Extract of sample "Film Analysis and Reflection: Lagaan"

Film analysis and reflection: Lagaan Lagaan is an Indian film made for the Indian audiences as a popular entertainment. In the year 1893, the Britishsoldiers impose a wager upon the Indian villagers according to which, the villagers are required to play a cricket match with the Brits and defeat them. If the Indian villagers manage to do this, they would escape a crushing tax imposed by the British on them for a period of three years but in case they lose, they would have to pay three times as much tax as they have been paying before.

Most of the movie, up to 75 minutes are consumed by the cricket match itself. While it is a tough and interesting match, another very interesting element of the story is the love triangle between three main characters of the movie, Gauri, Bhuvan, and Elizabeth. The movie has a number of joyous songs. The movie was a hit in India. The film portrays different themes. One of the themes is Indians’ slavery to the British government in India. I felt empathy for the Indian villagers who had no choice but to win the cricket match so that they would not have to pay the triple tax imposed by the outsiders on them in their own motherland.

The film depicts the complexity of relationship that the indigenous people of India shared with the British soldiers in India. Although the movie centers around a cricket match, yet it reveals a great deal of information about the history of India and the influence of the British on the Indian people physically, emotionally, and psychologically. The relationship between the British soldiers and the Indian villagers is complicated and cannot be considered as outright suppression of the Indians.

One can sense a very fragile and subtle sense of association between the British and the Indian villagers. While the British soldiers compel the villagers to win the match, it is in a way, a way to empower the villagers in the sense that they would learn cricket and also have an opportunity to win over the Brits. The British soldiers are making a dual approach to motivate the Indian villagers to win the match because not only would they be able to escape the tripling of fine, but also the imposition of any fine at all.

The romantic relationship between Bhuvan and Elizabeth also indicates that in spite of all the differences of culture, race, ethnicity, social status, and class, the British and the Indians could feel like relating to each other. The film’s songs also depicted that the British found the local culture and especially songs of the Indian people very fascinating and entertaining. By depicting these elements in the film, this film educates the audiences on many aspects of relationship between the British and the Indians in India, that are very rarely, if ever, depicted in the accounts of history since most of the history is based on covering the different events and developments that happened in India during the British rule.

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