Lagaan
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| Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India | |
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| Directed by | Ashutosh Gowariker |
| Produced by | Aamir Khan |
| Written by | Screenplay: Kumar Dave Sanjay Dayma Ashutosh Gowariker Original Story: Ashutosh Gowariker Dialog: K.P. Saxena |
| Starring | Aamir Khan Gracy Singh Rachel Shelley |
| Release date(s) | June 15, 2001 India, UK and U.S. release |
| Running time | 224 min. |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi English Bhojpuri |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Lagaan (Hindi: लगान; Urdu: لگان; English: land tax), also known as Lagaan: Once upon a time in India, is an award-winning film made in India, released on June 1, 2001. It became the second Bollywood film to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film (after Mother India in 1957), though No Man's Land won the award. The director, Ashutosh Gowariker, and the lead actor and producer, Aamir Khan, flew to Los Angeles to lobby for the film; they, and the film, attracted a great deal of free publicity. As a result, Lagaan was booked into many theaters worldwide, theaters that do not ordinarily show Indian films. This was for many Westerners the first opportunity to see a genuine Bollywood film in the local cinema.
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[edit] Plot
"Lagaan" is set in late 19th century India. Captain Andrew Russell (Paul Blackthorne), the commanding officer of a British cantonment, oppresses the people of Champaner with high taxes (lagaan). The local ruler, Rajah Pooran Singh, asks that taxes be lowered, to ease the suffering of the drought-stricken villagers. Captain Russell humiliates the rajah by asking him to eat meat if he wishes the taxes to be lowered. The rajah says that he must keep the rules of his religion and his caste; he cannot eat meat. Captain Russell then doubles the taxes.
The peasants, who are already suffering from a prolonged drought, are devastated by this news. The monsoon is late; they will be unable to pay regular taxes, much less double taxes. They beg the rajah to help them, but he says he cannot persuade the British to mercy.
The villagers, returning from their fruitless audience with the rajah, stop to watch the British officers playing cricket. Captain Russell notices them and sees the young, impetuous Bhuvan (Aamir Khan), who has previously angered him. The captain offers Bhuvan a wager: he will cancel the taxes of the whole province for three years if a village team can beat his men at cricket. If they lose, they will owe triple tax. To the horror of the other villagers, Bhuvan accepts this wager on their behalf. Later, he explains that as they can pay neither double nor triple taxes, they should grab the chance for a tax remission.
Nonetheless, the villagers of Champaner, and of all the neighboring villages, are furious with Bhuvan. No one has ever played cricket. How can complete novices beat the British?
The British Government, on learning of Captain Russell’s wager, admonishes him for his arrogant and irresponsible behaviour. His superiors tell him that if he loses the match, he will have to reimburse all the taxes from his own pocket and moreover suffer a transfer to East Africa.
Led by the courageous Bhuvan and helped by Russell’s good-hearted sister Elizabeth (Rachel Shelley), a few villagers begin to learn cricket. As time progresses, more and more villagers are convinced to join Bhuvan's team. Bhuvan accepts them on merit alone, disregarding all considerations of religion and caste. This is controversial, but eventually accepted by the villagers. The team works hard and it seems that they might have a chance to win.
As they spend time together, Elizabeth falls in love with Bhuvan, who is himself attached to a charming local girl, Gauri. Though Bhuvan feels nothing but respect for Elizabeth and Elizabeth never expresses her feelings, Gauri sees how matters stand and is anxious until Bhuvan declares his love. This infuriates the woodcutter Lakha, who had hoped to win Gauri himself. Lakha decides to humble Bhuvan by forcing him to lose the match. Lakha joins the team, but secretly meets with Captain Russell, informing him of everything that is happening. The captain tries to prevent his sister from helping the villagers, but she defies him.
So matters stand when the three-day cricket match starts. An immense crowd of villagers gathers to watch the British and the local team face off at cricket. The last hour of the movie is a condensed rendition of the game, ending with an edge-of-your-seat climax. It has a slight resemblance to 1981 film Escape to Victory.
[edit] Subplot
The love-triangle between Bhuvan, Gauri and Elizabeth parallels the story of Krishna, Radha and Rukmini in Hindu mythology. Krishna and Radha love one another in a pure and unconditional way, but circumstances of the world drive them apart. Krishna eventually marries Queen Rukmini while Radha marries Ayanaghosha, though some traditions say that Radha never married out of unwavering devotion to Krishna. Radha's relationship with Krishna is said to be symbolic of spiritual devotion because Radha remains eternally devoted to the god despite being physically separated from him.
In the film, the village celebrates a festival by performing the song "Radha kaise na jale" (“Why shouldn't Radha be jealous?”) with Bhuvan and Gauri playing the parts of Krishna and Radha respectively. During the performance, Krishna (Bhuvan) makes Radha (Gauri) jealous by ignoring her and flirting with the other gopis instead. This appears to reference a story in the Bhagavata Purana in which Krishna attracts the amorous attentions of the local gopis (cow-herding girls) of Vrindavana. Krishna playfully feigns disinterest and rejects their advances until they become jealous of one-another while vying for his affection. Radha emerges as Krishna’s favorite gopi and becomes his lover.
Elizabeth appears to fall in love with Bhuvan while watching his charming performance, which makes Gauri very jealous. Throughout the film, Gauri admonishes Bhuvan for ignoring her whenever Elizabeth is present. Gauri appears to believe she is Radha to Bhuvan’s Krishna while Elizabeth is merely a “lovelorn gopi” that has caught his eye. However, the film suggests that Gauri is actually Queen Rukmini while Elizabeth is Radha. During the song “O Rey Chhori”, Elizabeth and Bhuvan fantasize about being together despite the distance between them created by culture and his impending marriage to Gauri. At the end of the film, the narrator states that Elizabeth returned to England, where she never married and remained “Bhuvan’s Radha for all of her life”. This suggests that, despite his marriage to Gauri, Bhuvan and Elizabeth are united by a sacred bond that transcends time and space, just as Krishna remained united with Radha after he married Rukmini.
[edit] Awards and nominations
[edit] Won
- 2002 Bergen International Film Festival, Jury Award - Ashutosh Gowarikar
- 2002 Filmfare Best Actor Award - Aamir Khan
- 2002 Filmfare Best Director Award - Ashutosh Gowarikar
- 2002 Filmfare Best Movie Award
- 2002 Filmfare Best Music Director Award - A. R. Rahman
- 2002 Filmfare Best Lyricist Award - Javed Akhtar
- 2002 Filmfare Best Male Playback Award - Udit Narayan for the song "Mitwa"
- 2002 Filmfare Best Female Playback Award - Alka Yagnik For the song "O Re Chhori"
- 2002 Filmfare Best Story Award - Ashutosh Gowariker
- 2002 IIFA Best Actor Award - Aamir Khan
- 2002 IIFA Best Director Award - Ashutosh Gowariker
- 2002 IIFA Best Movie Award - Ashutosh Gowariker
- 2002 IIFA Best Female Playback Award - Asha Bhosle For the song "Radha Kaise Na Jale".
- 2002 IIFA Best Music Director Award - A. R. Rahman
- 2002 Leeds International Film Festival, Audience Award - Ashutosh Gowariker
- 2002 Locarno International Film Festival Audience Award
- 2002 National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment, India
- 2002 National Film Award for Best Music Direction, India - A. R. Rahman
- 2002 National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer, India - Udit Narayan For the song "Mitwa Re"
- 2002 National Film Award for Best Audiography, India - H. Sridhar, Nakul Kamte
- 2002 National Film Award for Best Lyrics, India - Javed Akhtar
- 2002 National Film Award for Best Costume Design, India - Bhanu Athaiya
- 2002 National Film Award for Best Art Direction, India - Nitin Chandrakant Desai
- 2002 Portland International Film Festival, Audience Award - Ashutosh Gowarikar
- 2002 Star Screen Award Most Promising Newcomer - Female - Gracy Singh
- 2002 Star Screen Award Best Director - Ashutosh Gowariker
- 2002 Star Screen Award Best Film - Ashutosh Gowariker
- 2002 Star Screen Award Best Female Playback - Asha Bhosle For the song "Radha Kaise Na Jale"
- 2002 Zee Cine Award Best Actor- Male - Aamir Khan
- 2002 Zee Cine Award Best Female Debut - Gracy Singh
- 2002 Zee Cine Award Best Director - Ashutosh Gowariker
- 2002 Zee Cine Award Best Film - Ashutosh Gowariker
- 2002 Zee Cine Award for Best Lyricist - Javed Akhtar For the song "Radha Kaise Na Jale".
- 2002 Zee Cine Award Best Music Director - A.R. Rahman
- 2002 Zee Cine Award Best Playback Singer- Female - Asha Bhosle For the song "Radha Kaise Na Jale".
- 2002 Zee Cine Award Best Story - Ashutosh Gowarikar
[edit] Nominated
- 2002 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
- 2002 European Film Awards, Screen International Award - Ashutosh Gowarikar
- 2002 Filmfare Best Lyricist Award - Javed Akhtar for "Radha Kaise Na Jale"
- 2002 IIFA Best Actress Award - Gracy Singh
- 2002 IIFA Best Supporting Actor Award - Kulbhushan Kharbanda
- 2002 IIFA Best Comedian Award - Rajesh Vivek
- 2002 IIFA Best Villain Award - Paul Blackthorne
- 2002 IIFA Best Male Playback Award - Udit Narayan for "Mitwa"
- 2002 Star Screen Award Best Actor - Aamir Khan
- 2002 Star Screen Award Best Music Director - A.R. Rahman
- 2002 Star Screen Award Best Villain - Paul Blackthorne
- 2002 Star Screen Award Best Male Playback - Udit Narayan for "Mitwa"
- 2002 Star Screen Award Best Background Music - A.R. Rahman
- 2002 Zee Cine Award Best Actor in a Supporting Role- Female - Rachel Shelley
- 2002 Zee Cine Award Best Playback Singer- Male - Udit Narayan for "Mitwa"
[edit] Cast and crew
[edit] Crew
- Director: Ashutosh Gowarikar
- Music Director: A. R. Rahman
- Lyricist: Javed Akhtar
- Producer: Aamir Khan
[edit] Cast
- Aamir Khan as Bhuvan
- Gracy Singh as Gauri
- Rachel Shelley as Elizabeth Russell
- Paul Blackthorne as Captain Andrew Russell
- Suhasini Mulay as Yashodamai
- Kulbhushan Kharbanda as Raja Puran Singh
- Raghuvir Yadav as Bhura
- Rajesh Vivek as Guran
- Raj Zutshi as Ismail
- Pradeep Rawat as Deva
- Daya Shankar Pandey as Goli
- Yashpal Sharma as Lakha
- Amin Hajee as Bagha
- Aditya Lakhia as Kachra
- A.K. Hangal as Shambukaka
[edit] External links
- Official site
- Lagaan at the Internet Movie Database
- Review of "Lagaan" from the BBC
