Review of Lagaan

Introduction

Don`t let the turban fool you, as I`m not a Bollywood fan. It wasn`t always that way, though. Growing up, I passionately followed the adventures of Amitabh Bhachan in various outlandish action movies, and fervently believed that Sholay was the best movie ever made. I rapidly grew jaded however, as the identikit nature of the storylines became apparent. The stories and stars were interchangeable, and every film followed the same conventions, boy meets girl, families separated through adversity, moustache twirling bad guys. When films began to ape western blockbusters and songwriters stole western pop melodies, my cynicism became complete. The last film I saw was Shahenshah nearly 10 years ago. When I heard The Final Countdown on the radio with Hindi lyrics, I gave the whole thing up as a lost cause.

Fast-forward to the year 2001 and suddenly Bollywood is big business globally. Hindi films regularly make the cinema charts and more people are watching them than ever before. Lagaan is released to critical acclaim, the first Hindi film to be made entirely on location, with an international cast. Then the unprecedented happens, Lagaan is nominated for best Foreign Film Oscar. My interest is piqued, could there finally be an original story from Bollywood, without people bursting into song at the drop of a hat, without endless costume changes? I put aside my cynicism and inserted the discs…

It is the year 1893, and the village of Champaneer is in the midst of a drought. The farmers are barely eking out a living. Their plight isn`t helped by the tyrannical British overlords led by the heartless Captain Andrew Russell (boo hiss!) who are bent on squeezing every last drop from the villagers with their unfair tax or Lagaan. When the villagers protest their treatment, Captain Russell agrees to forego the debt for the entire province for three years, if the villagers can beat the army team at cricket, a game that none of them have seen. The brave and heroic Bhuvan (hurray!) accepts the challenge, much to the dismay of his fellow villagers and goes about convincing them to learn the game. Captain Russell`s sister, Elizabeth who is sympathetic to the villagers and dislikes the unfair treatment they have received, helps him in this. She also harbours affection for Bhuvan. This arouses the jealousy of Gauri, a girl from the village who is in love with Bhuvan herself. Of course Bhuvan remains oblivious to this, as he is intent on forging a team good enough to defeat the wily and ruthless British (Boo, hiss etc). But as the day of the big match approaches, not everyone is as loyal as they appear.

Video

Spread over two discs split quite logically at the intermission, Lagaan is presented in a 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer. The first thing that struck me after 10 years Bollywood deprivation was the improvement in production values. This film easily matches the best that Hollywood can produce and in fact surpasses most of them. Ashutosh Gowariker writes and directs the film and he creates a modern classic. The scenes are beautifully staged and nearly every scene is memorable. The choreography on the songs is amazing and mind-boggling when you consider the number of people and the difficulties of filming on location. The fact that it is filmed entirely on location makes this a sumptuous feast for the senses. The Kutch landscapes are eminently suited to glorious cinematography. It would make a perfect spaghetti western setting, with its vast rocky expanses and sparse scrub. The image is sharp and well defined, with strong vivid colours. It truly is the most lavish Hindi film I have ever seen. Unfortunately, while the transfer is flawlessly accomplished, the original print used for the transfer is curiously damaged. A film that is only a year old is plagued with dirt and scratches and lines. It looks very out of place when you consider that the film doesn`t look at all aged. Surely a better print exists that could have been used instead.

Audio

Lagaan is presented in DD 5.1 English/Hindi. The sound is very well done, with the surround used to adequately convey the atmosphere as in when flies plague the Fortuneteller. It also is used to envelop the room with music when the characters burst into song. Yes, that aspect of Bollywood movies hasn`t changed, but the music of A. R Rahman is a refreshing delight in this film. None of the songs are out of place in this film. In fact they are all uplifting and moving songs that are refreshingly original and even better, traditional. The beautiful music, coupled with the marvellous choreography are reasons enough to be entertained by this film.

Features

After 10 years, I`m ashamed to say my Hindi was a little rusty and I was thankful indeed to find the subtitles. As well as subtitles in Hindi and English, there are 16 other languages catered for. There are brief filmographies for the cast and trailers for Gandhi and Lawrence of Arabia, but curiously not for Lagaan itself. Finally, there is a 15-minute deleted scene. Presented in the same format as the feature, I found that while it is in itself as entertaining as the rest of the film, it actually does nothing to move the story along and can understand why it would be removed for time. It`s a shame there is no option for seamlessly branching it back into the film though. There are also some production notes inside the case.

Conclusion

When you first hear the voice of Amitabh Bhachan narrating the story, you realise that you are in for a treat. In my opinion, this is the most ambitious and well-told story ever made in Hindi cinema. All the performances are uniformly consummate. Aamir Khan produces, and stars as Bhuvan and he`s ideal as the heroic villager going up against tremendous odds. Gracy Singh makes her debut as Bhuvan`s love interest Gauri and it`s readily apparent that she is a star of the future. Paul Blackthorne initially seemed a little over the top as the villainous Captain Russell, but I soon fell into the Bollywood mindset and quickly realised he is the perfect moustache twirling bad guy that usually graces Indian screens. Rachel Shelley as Elizabeth is perfectly cast for her role and is graceful and elegant.

This is in many respects a classic Bollywood movie. It has the struggle of good versus evil, romance, comedy and great songs. The style and script conform to a well-established precedent. What makes this film so special is the story. A completely original tale, where a battlefield is transposed to the cricket pitch is the kind of story that Indian cinema has never made. There are no outlandish fight scenes and no ridiculous plot twists, but the story proceeds quite logically and the strength of the characters carries the story along. The villagers who comprise the final team are an eclectic mix. Like many Hindi films, there are moral messages and the team is admirably secular, with players of all faiths. There is also a strong message critical of the caste system. The final cricket match lasts nearly an hour, and it is so compelling that it is impossible to turn away. Like all the best movies, Lagaan is more than capable of tugging at the old heartstrings, and it is a moving and uplifting experience. Easily the best movie ever made in India, you should definitely watch this. As for me, I`ll be watching the England-India test series this summer with added interest.