Year:
2001
Studio:
Set Pictures, Aamir Khan Productions
Movie:
3/5
DVD:
1/5
Lagaan is an
Indian-made movie about India during British rule. It is the story of a
small village oppressed by the British. Bhuvan (Aamir Khan) rebels in
small ways, such as scaring the deer away when the garrison commander,
Captain Russell (Paul Blackthorne) is out hunting. There has been a bit
of a drought and little food, but since they paid only halve lagaan
(i.e. taxes) last year they must pay double lagaan this year.
The vlllagers can't do this since crops have been poor. They'll starve!
So they petition their Rajah, who is powerless against his British
masters. Still, Captain Russell is nothing if not spiteful and he
proposes a cricket match after he overhears the villagers making fun of
him and his men playing cricket.
It'll be a game between the British and the villagers. If the villagers
win they will not pay lagaan for three years. But if the British win
the villagers pay triple lagaan. Bhuvan is finally goaded into
accepting though the rest of the village wants him not to because it is
better to accept your current hardships than to risk what you have for
freedom.
The villagers have a tough job ahead of them in the next three months
as they try to learn the game. Captain Russell's sister, Elizabeth
(Rachel Shelley) becomes enamored with Bhuvan and starts helping the
villagers learn cricket. This makes Gauri (Gracy Singh), who also wants
Bhuvan, quite jealous because she thinks Bhuvan might be attracted to
the White Lady.
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Anyway, about
2-1/2 hours later we come to the big match and spend the next hour
watching the drama unfold. This being an Indian movie there have also
been five musical numbers in the meantime with one more to go. This
part was both good in that it had the most drama and it was bad in that
the acting and plot became quite melodramatic and over the top.
I thought it was an ok movie. Quite long though which I hear is the
norm for an Indian movie. The musical numbers weren't so bad since they
only take about 1/4 of the movie. This is not a movie for everyone but
it is an interesting movie that shows an Indian perspective to Indian
history.
The only extra is a 17-minute sequence that was deleted from the movie.
It's a whole little plot which shows more of Elizabeth helping the
villagers and being in love with Bhuvan and the consequences once her
brother takes his little revenge. Small elements of the sequence were
incorporated into other parts of the movie.
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