Lagaan - Sabrina Lee

Sabrina Lee

Laura Brueck

Lagaan Review

April 11^th, 2010

Imagining Colonial India in Film

The imagination of Lagaan seems to be another Indian take on the 'classic' western film formula: in this case, the sports drama. However, this movie is more interesting in that it sets the sports drama of the rag-tag team of strange, simple people into the backdrop of imperialism and colonialism in the era of British dominance. The characters are mostly well thought out, but they lack any real development beyond the gimmick they're known for that applies to the team in some positive way. Cricket is also the major story behind this film, and it is written in as the major connection between all walks of Indian life, and importantly within the community. The scenes where the representatives of other communities join to defend the idea of India as a nation are supposed to be more meaningful, and more clearly a sign of nationalism and togetherness around cricket, where in other films the existence of the nation is more important, this film is set in a colonial time, so their simple village resistance as a cricket team is what has to stand in for the nation, as well as Bhuvan himself. The fact that one of the British officers notes, “This country has a brilliant future in this game!” is indicative of this ideal, given the fact at this point in time, the vanguard of the Queen would not have a conception of the subcontinent as a country at all, or it becoming one any time soon. The fact he even says something like that is pure nationalist pride at a modern greatness in the sport that constantly dominates the UK's teams.

Another interesting point of the film comes when the great betrayal occurs. The village, dominated by Hindus, seems to even be segregated from the other communities, yet somehow, they /allow/ the Muslims and the Sikh to play, but ultimately, it is not a member (more likely) of the Hindu community that betrays them to the village, but a member of the Muslim community. I was not happy with that point of the film, as it could just as easily be an allegory for feelings about the Muslims during the partition, or in a more shallow sense simply an underhanded stab at that community. The Sikh is portrayed as more even-handed, but each member of the community is oddly represented outside of the Hindu social normality. Once the Dalit is allowed to play, and not speak out for his own, his value only comes in serving the needs of a high born Hindu who has to condescend to let him fight for a village he will never be able to own, and a life he won't be able to have even if a fleeting victory in Cricket gives him a cruel taste of something they seem to deny him, and one assumes, will continue to deny after they are free of the land tax, the tax of his life is constant. Overall, this movie was fun to watch despite typical nationalist messages embedded in the fight against colonialism. It displays how the contemporary Indian can imagine a time where the nation was something of the imagination and more or less what the British created : a collection of kingdoms to set against one another so control can be maintained, and various benefits both social and economic could be reaped with less problems. Cricket as an institution is however, in this film something that notes a grass roots resistance to the British, and a thing they make wholly Indian and of their class not just a sign of upper class privilege, another fun note while they struggle to free themselves playing what will be the lifeblood of entertainment across India in the years before and well after the actual formation of the nation state.