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Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India

  • 2001
  • PG
  • 3h 44m
IMDb RATING
8.1/10
124K
YOUR RATING
Aamir Khan, Rachel Shelley, and Gracy Singh in Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (2001)
Home Video Trailer from Columbia Tristar
Play trailer2:15
7 Videos
37 Photos
EpicPeriod DramaDramaMusicalSport

The people of a small village in Victorian India stake their future on a game of cricket against their ruthless British rulers.The people of a small village in Victorian India stake their future on a game of cricket against their ruthless British rulers.The people of a small village in Victorian India stake their future on a game of cricket against their ruthless British rulers.

  • Director
    • Ashutosh Gowariker
  • Writers
    • Ashutosh Gowariker
    • Kumar Dave
    • Sanjay Dayma
  • Stars
    • Aamir Khan
    • Raghubir Yadav
    • Gracy Singh
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    8.1/10
    124K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Ashutosh Gowariker
    • Writers
      • Ashutosh Gowariker
      • Kumar Dave
      • Sanjay Dayma
    • Stars
      • Aamir Khan
      • Raghubir Yadav
      • Gracy Singh
    • 326User reviews
    • 69Critic reviews
    • 84Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar
      • 54 wins & 22 nominations total

    Videos7

    Lagaan:Once Upon A Time In India
    Trailer 2:15
    Lagaan:Once Upon A Time In India
    Lagaan Scene: I'll Cancel The Laagan But
    Clip 2:51
    Lagaan Scene: I'll Cancel The Laagan But
    Lagaan Scene: I'll Cancel The Laagan But
    Clip 2:51
    Lagaan Scene: I'll Cancel The Laagan But
    Lagaan Scene: What Do You Know About The Game
    Clip 2:08
    Lagaan Scene: What Do You Know About The Game
    Lagaan Scene: The Game
    Clip 1:58
    Lagaan Scene: The Game
    Lagaan Scene: Clouds Are Coming
    Clip 1:59
    Lagaan Scene: Clouds Are Coming
    Lagaan Scene: Trying To Learn The Game
    Clip 2:44
    Lagaan Scene: Trying To Learn The Game

    Photos37

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    Top cast40

    Edit
    Aamir Khan
    Aamir Khan
    • Bhuvan
    Raghubir Yadav
    Raghubir Yadav
    • Bhura
    • (as Raghuveer Yadav)
    Gracy Singh
    Gracy Singh
    • Gauri
    Rachel Shelley
    Rachel Shelley
    • Elizabeth Russell
    Paul Blackthorne
    Paul Blackthorne
    • Captain Andrew Russell
    Suhasini Mulay
    Suhasini Mulay
    • Yashodamai
    Kulbhushan Kharbanda
    Kulbhushan Kharbanda
    • Rajah Puran Singh
    Rajendra Gupta
    Rajendra Gupta
    • Mukhiya
    Rajesh Vivek
    Rajesh Vivek
    • Guran
    Shri Vallabh Vyas
    Shri Vallabh Vyas
    • Ishwar
    • (as Sri Vallabh Vyas)
    Javed Khan Amrohi
    Javed Khan Amrohi
    • Ram Singh
    • (as Javed Khan)
    Raj Zutshi
    Raj Zutshi
    • Ismail
    Akhilendra Mishra
    Akhilendra Mishra
    • Arjan
    Dayashankar Pandey
    Dayashankar Pandey
    • Goli
    • (as Daya Shankar Pandey)
    Yashpal Sharma
    Yashpal Sharma
    • Lakha
    Amin Hajee
    Amin Hajee
    • Bagha
    Pradeep Singh Rawat
    Pradeep Singh Rawat
    • Deva Singh Sodhi
    Aditya Lakhia
    Aditya Lakhia
    • Kachra
    • Director
      • Ashutosh Gowariker
    • Writers
      • Ashutosh Gowariker
      • Kumar Dave
      • Sanjay Dayma
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews326

    8.1124K
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    Featured reviews

    8Nazi_Fighter_David

    As a sports movie, "Lagaan" is dramatized with great élan and suspense

    The setting is historical… The year is 1893… The British Raj imposes heavy taxes on the poor villagers despite all the problems droughts have caused on their income…

    An arrogant army captain—unknown to him that his sister has fallen in love with a sensitive idealistic—confident in his countrymen's ability, offers the people relief if they can beat the fearsome British team at a game of cricket…

    Despite its closeness to the conventions, "Lagaan" proved to be a break-out film… Besides the graceful and enchanting attractions of the song-and-dance sequences, it has a plot carefully fashioned to a special kind of audience—audience who likes sports movies…

    They are minor characters compared to the captain's pretty sister (Rachel Shelley), who not only upholds the British tradition of fair play but also loses her heart to the handsome Indian hero
    10claudio_carvalho

    A Magnificent and Overwhelming Fairytale – An Oscar Deserving

    In 1893, India was a colony of England. The starving native farmers had to pay an imposed tax to the British soldiers for the protection of their lands, delivering most of their harvest to the British Queen. In those years, the lands were very dry due to the lack of rain, and the inhabitants of Champaner decide to request to their Rajah Puran Singh (Kulbhushan Kharbanda) to waive the taxes. While waiting for the Rajah, Bhuvan (Aamir Khan), the beloved friend of Gauri (Gracy Singh), comments that the silly game of cricket was a stupid game, comparable to the Indian child game 'gilli-danda'. The nasty and arrogant Captain Andrew Russell (Paul Blackthorne), who had had a previous discussion with Bhuvan, listens to his comment and challenges Bhuvan to play a match against the British team, imposing the following condition: if the natives win the game, they would not need to pay Lagaan for the next three years. Otherwise, they would triplicate their payment in that year. Bhuvan accepts the bet despite of the opinion of his people. The sister of Captain Russell, Elizabeth Russell (Rachel Shelley), finds the competition unfair to the Indians and decides to help Bhuvan and his friends, teaching them how to play cricket.

    This movie is a magnificent and overwhelming fairytale. It really deserved an Oscar nomination! The nice and well-directed story has wonderful songs and interpretations, romance, treason, dispute, drama, beautiful messages, outstanding choreography, being a stunning film indicated as family entertainment. The expensive Brazilian DVD is a shame, showing a total lack of respect of the 'Columbia Tristar Home Video' with the Brazilian costumers: the important songs do not have subtitles in Portuguese. I changed the option in the 'Menu' to 'English', and there were subtitles in English. At least in the opinion of the ridiculous Columbia representatives, Brazilians shall learn English first to understand the wonderful lyrics sang in Hindi. I feel really sorry for those who cannot understand English, since they will miss the meaning of these songs. It is amazing how 225 minutes running time passes so fast when you see such a marvelous movie. My vote is ten.

    Title (Brazil): 'Lagaan – A Coragem de Um Povo' ('Lagaan – The Courage of a People')
    9hokeybutt

    Just One Word: Wow!

    LAGAAN (4+ outta 5 stars) Years of subjugation and unfair taxation by the British Empire come to a head and the inhabitants of a small Indian farming community face off against their evil oppressors... in a cricket match??? This may seem like a ridiculous idea for a movie (and I won't even mention the fact that it's a musical) but this was the most exciting and wonderful movie I've seen in quite some time. Yes, it all comes down to a cricket match between the upper class British twits and the neophyte Indian farmers... and the movie is almost FOUR HOURS long... but, wow... what a movie this is! The slow building of trust and community among the usually-bickering villagers as they prepare for their ultimate battle is both fascinating and inspiring. It's like watching The Magnificent Seven or The Wild Bunch gathering together for a big showdown... only instead of shooting and killing... there's cricket! A cocky British Captain (Paul Blackthorne) makes a deal with the proud, young Bhuvan (Aamir Khan): he will give the entire region three years of no taxes if they can defeat the British cricket team... but if they lose they have to pay triple tax this year. Since there has been no rain all season and they can't even pay their regular taxes... this becomes a tense, do-or-die situation. Aamir Khan is terrific in the lead (he resembles a cross between Tony Curtis, Peter Sellers and Al Pacino). He is always believable, whether trying to inspire his fellow villagers or facing his English enemies in stony silence or wooing his the lovely Gauri (Gracy Singh) with song and dance. Great story! Great music! Don't miss this one!
    gpadillo

    Perfect First Time Bollywood Treat

    This was my first full-fledged trip into Bollywood and I couldn't have asked for a better entry. While there were some inconsistencies in sound, overall I loved the picture. Some of the songs and dances were breathtaking and emotionally charged. In particular the number where Bhuvan and the young boy are sitting on a hill and they're shrugging their shoulders, soon getting the village into the act. The other number where Bhuvan and Gauri re-enact the love of Krishna and Radha in exquisite dancing. Also there were many moments of stunning, breathtaking images, including the women of the village seated in the temple praying for salvation. Absolutely stunning.

    While I feel some judicious pruning could have trimmed the nearly 4 hour long version I watched (the DVD of which included an additional 17 minutes cut from this version) the picture did not seem nearly as long as it really was.

    Aamir Khan is such an instantly likable presence and Gracy Singh is simply irresistible as Gauri.

    Paul Blackthorne was a hilarious, old-school villain right out of a penny dreadful melodrama – and I mean this as a compliment.

    Rachel Shelley's Elizabeth was a perfect blend of Victorian reserved beauty and free spirit and noble in her heartbreak.

    So many other performances ran the gamut from old school "b" stereotypical characters to some original ideas.

    The blending of melodrama (in its purest sense) true comedic moments (the hen keeper), self and enlightenment culminated in the scene where Bhuvan shocks the village by touching an untouchable; his stirring, heartfelt speech about brotherhood and putting away castes shaming the village into enlightenment.

    Some of the criticism leveled at Lagaan is (I believe) unduly harsh. This is a charming movie and a perfect introduction into the joys of Bollywood.
    10Morten H.

    Boy, was I surprised!

    Okay, I am not from India, not even close. I am from Scandinavia. Before Lagaan I had never watched any Hindi movies of any kind. I know about 3 words from the hindi language. And I don't like musicals much. I viewed the movie on a DVD of rather poor quality compared to the state of the art DVDs I am used to. And I was told the movie lasted close to 4(!) hours... I figured this would be a complete waste of time... BOY was I wrong! This movie is completely the opposite! It is just amazing! Mr. Gowariker has selected an incredible cast with Aamir Khan in the lead. He makes an stunning performance as the village rebel, Bhuvan. He tries to unite the village in a struggle for life against the greedy Britons. The Britons exploit the villages by collecting lagaan (tax). This means that most of the harvest surplus is gone and there is just enough left for food for the farmers themselves. It's a classic war between "David", the native villagers of India, and "Goliath", the powerful and greedy Britons. But what makes it really interesting is that this war is fought in a Cricket arena. This is a challenge from the Britons, who are well known with Cricket, against the village, where most people have never laid eyes upon a cricket bat. If the villagers win, there will be no lagaan at all, for three years! And if the Britons win, they will collect triple lagaan, which will mean the end of the village. The stakes could not be higher!!

    I can't remember a movie being this thrilling and having so much life in it. And the music has a huge impact thanks to the great voices of Udit Narayan, Lata Mangeshkar etc. And the dancing is a chapter in itself! Few or none will leave this movie not remembering the song "Mitwa, sun Mitwa". It is a must see for everyone, inside and outside of India. And this movies has been totally righteously nominated for an Oscar too, and I wouldn't be surprised if it goes all the way to the top. It has my vote! It gets 10 out of 10 from me. Excellent!

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The first cut of the film was 7 hours and 30 minutes long.
    • Goofs
      When they get to the last over, someone says they need 10 runs off 6 balls - but in those days there would have been 4 or 5 balls to an over.
    • Quotes

      [Gauri is walking away in tears, Bhuvan shouts after her]

      Bhuvan: Hey Gauri! There's only one house in the village with a neem tree in the yard. There's also a big field beside it. There's some chickens, two cows, and three goats. And I know whose house that is! It's mine, you silly girl! One thing before you go. Mother likes you, too!

    • Connections
      Featured in The 74th Annual Academy Awards (2002)
    • Soundtracks
      Ghanan Ghanan
      Music by A.R. Rahman

      Lyrics by Javed Akhtar

      Performed by Udit Narayan, Alka Yagnik, Sukhwinder Singh, Shankar Mahadevan,

      Kishori Gowariker, Shaan and chorus

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    FAQ19

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • June 15, 2001 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • India
      • United States
    • Languages
      • Hindi
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Taxation: Once Upon a Time in India
    • Filming locations
      • Bhuj, Gujarat, India
    • Production companies
      • Aamir Khan Productions
      • Jhamu Sughand Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • ₹250,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $909,043
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $285,368
      • Jun 17, 2001
    • Gross worldwide
      • $1,724,806
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      3 hours 44 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • DTS
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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