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Lagaan (General Movie ,2001)  Starring
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Synopsis
Set in the latter half of the nineteenth century “Lagaan” is a film about the adversities and injustice perpetrated by the British
upon the innocent peasants who face these extraordinary circumstances with fortitude and dignity.
It is Aamir Khan’s maiden home production and is written and directed by Ashutosh Gowarikar whose earlier directorial attempt “Baazi”
proved to be a dud at the box office.
The film casts Aamir Khan, Gracie Singh (of Amaanat fame) and a host of Indian and British actors including Jessica Radcliffe and
Rachel Shelley. AR Rahman’s music in the film is folkish and have a beautiful amalgamation of Indian and western instruments. And the
costumes are by Bhanu Athaiya who had done the costumes for Richard Attenborough’s “Gandhi”.
In a small village of Champaner in North India in 1890s is a community of poor and innocent farmers who are happy ploughing, sowing,
praying for the rains and reaping their harvest. Part of this community are Bhuvan (Aamir) a young farmer and Gauri (Gracie Singh),
his love.
A spate of adversities strike them with the entry of a brute-like British army captain who challenges the locals to a cricket match. A
dastardly character, he is planning, in the sly, to burden the villagers with a land tax (Lagaan). One of the conditions of the game
is that the loser will pay the state the land tax. The captain knows that the villagers are ignorant of the game and its rules and
therefore be beating retreat against his trained players.
Although poor, the villagers are people of self-respect. Led by Bhuvan they are ready to take on the Britons despite their ignorance
of the game. Now comes to their rescue the army captain’s younger sister Elizabeth (Rachel Shelley). Firstly Elizabeth helps the
rustic lads purely out of sympathy for them but later she grows affection for Bhuvan.
But Bhuvan is fixated on one thing. With grit and determination he and villagers stand together against the ruthlessness of their
perpetrators. Faith and courage comes face to face with arrogance and ruthlessness and what follows is spectacular climax of showdown
between Indians and Britons.
Review
Lagaan,” as Aamir puts it, “has not been an easy film to make”. When its director Ashutosh Gowarikar first narrated the idea to
him, he brushed it off without showing any enthusiasm. But Ashutosh didn’t give up and worked on the script and it’s subtleties for a
good five months. And when he showed Aamir a meticulously written script the second time, the dashing Khan relented.
Not only did Aamir give consent to play the film’s protagonist Bhuvan but also decided to produce it himself. With that began a
“challenging task” that, after two year’s arduous labor, culminated in a Rs 25-crore film.
“Lagaan” is a film with a realistic theme but at the same time retains the gloss of popular cinema. With Nitin Desai as the art
designer, Ashutosh has created the authentic milieu of an Indian village Champaner in 1893. Those who inhabit it go by the names of
Deva, Goli, Kachra, Lakha, Bhura, Ismail. They are peasants, blacksmiths, potters, wood cutters, temple dwellers and astrologers. The
dialect they speak is a mix of three bolis – Awadhi, Bhojpuri and Brijbhashsa.
Clad in a darned Dhoti and with hair drenched in oil, Aamir Khan gives a realistic portrayal of a simple village yokel. Bhuvan,
the character he plays, is a man of self-respect no matter whether he is gamboling around the village fields or waltzing on Mozart’s
symphony in a ballroom with none other than Elizabeth, the sister of the British captain Russell (Paul Blackthorne).
Gracie Singh looks convincing as Gauri, a simple village belle who is smitten by Bhuvan. Gracie’s disarming smile and homely looks
make her a perfect choice to play a rustic girl for whom her small village is the world.
The high point of the movie is the three-day match between the villagers and the British team led by captain Russell. In the end, when
the Indian side needs to make 20 runs in just three overs and Bhuvan is at the crease, batting with a century to his credit, the nail
biting suspense begins. It ends with an Escape to Victory-like climax, leaving viewers’ at the edge of their seats.
Rating: Worth Watching.