Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India

This is actually the first ever film I have seen where the audience clapped cheered and booed effectively as if they were a part of the actual proceedings in the film. I heard someone say that they felt that they were really at a cricket match. I loved the movie even though admittedly at the time (surprising for an Indian) I didn't know cricket at all...I learned while watching it with the help of a friend but also found I didn't need to! It certainly renewed my interest and made mea cricket fan soon enough, the next match that year I watched with grave interest.

About the fikm, the acting was good. Rachel Shelly and Paul Blackthorne were impressive and unlike in other Hindi films where they are usually clichéd versions of foreign characters, they were very drawn out believable characters. Aamir Khan was definitely the star attraction (obviously) as in any case it was 'his movie' but honestly he was very good, one of hsi best performances i'd personally say. Gauri was given very little to do in the movie but she did stand out in her own way. The supporting cast were all excellent in each of their roles, although some characters were a bit too starkly depicted. The British cast on the other hand had precious little to do except look foreboding.

The setting in the Gujrati village and country was beautiful. The sets were historically accurate I've been told and the backdrop just right for the match and one would it imagine it fit into the time frame suggested. The costumes were also appropriate. I especially liked that scene where Elisabeth imagines Aamir in a suit, it worked because being who she is of course shed see him like that.)Some historians might nitpick on small points, but they were so minor that the rest of the story overshadowed these errors.

At first I wondered whether foreign viewers would understand it what the unusual concept of musical numbers, but most seem to have understood the game of cricket (non cricket playing countries I mean) and the historical context as well and seem to have also taken the musical numbers in their stride.

The only thing that got to me was the length of the movie. I really wish that they had done some serious editing, it just ran too long and the cricket match was too dragged out. It should have either focused more on the cricket match for the majority of the film, or reduced the footage of the rest of the film to balance it out. I saw many scenes that could have been edited out and were totally unnecessary.

The songs were enjoyable and only one or two were unnecessary and could have been cut down or deleted entirely, like the 'Radha Kaise Na Jale' and the song where both girls sing. Honestly this movie was one Hindi movie that did not require many songs at all if at all. A background score maybe but not 6 songs. It got tedious and it gets on the nerves especially when you've been sitting in the theatre for 2 hours and you know that there is 1 more hour to go. Luckily people with DVDs will be able to fast forward!

Although Predictable in places with characters being over-drawn or under-drawn and everyone knew the ending that was inevitable, ending, (it isn't much of a long shot at all) but we watched it for the thrill of it anyway.

The overall effect the movie was so good that I fully believe that it deserved a nomination and I never say that about most Hindi movies. Even though it did not win I'm very proud of this movie.

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')

This movie not only opened my eyes to the beatuies of india but also the hearts of India. I fell in love with this movie at once and I feel very close to all of the characters I know them and feel for them. The dancing and singing made my heart pound and my heart overwhelmed by the matchless beauty and I was imagining myself following along with Gauri. I love this story and I could watch it daily and never tire of the beauty it holds. I have always loved indian people and the culture which they live, I am American and have never visited India,soon I will visit in person and dreams of going there will no longer tug at me . I hope to one day perform the dances as well as those in the movie. I really loved that in the movie the characters were faced with such hardship but somehow they were of cheer and sang together and lifted one anothers spirits.I love this movie some may tire of its length but I wish it would continue forever. I want to be a part of it.

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.

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.