Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (2001)

Director:

Ashutosh Gowariker

Writers:

Ashutosh Gowariker (story)
Ashutosh Gowariker (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

8 May 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Musical | Romance | Sport

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 | Love

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:

Lagaan has many parallels with Bhuvan Shome (1969). Amitabh Bachchan is the narrator in both the movies. The hero and heroine's name are the same, Bhuvan and Gauri. Suhasini Mulay who played the heroine in Bhuvan Shome, played the hero's mother in Lagaan. Both movies were shot in Gujarat.

Goofs:

Continuity: After the first day's play, the direction of light-and-shade don't seem to correlate to the time-of-day (may be this is continuity?)

Quotes:

Maj. Cotton: That must be the first 50 in the history of village cricket.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 74th Annual Academy Awards (2002) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Mitwa

The Best Indian Movie of the Year 2001

I initially gave this movie a miss after I was totally disappointed by "Asoka". The latter was hugely advertised but I don't find it good at all.

I finally saw "Lagaan" after a friend told me that this movie was actually good. And she was right. I borrowed the DVD from the library and had to see the movie in 2 sessions due to it's almost 4-hour-long running time. But it was worth it!

The cricket game was captivating. I didn't know anything about cricket but before the movie ended, I felt that I almost understand the game!

I'm not Indian and I seldom see Indian movie even though I love foreign movies, especially Japanese. But "Lagaan" is truly the best Indian movie I've ever seen, or at least the best of the year 2001.