Lagaan

Allie Padnos
Screening India
Lagaan film review
4/11/10

Lagaan is a film concerning a small poverty stricken village in India fighting against their annual lagan (tax) reprimanded by the British colony. The villagers are worried because they are in a terrible drought and fear they will not survive especially if they have to pay taxes. Captain Andrew Rusell only cares about the British army and does not understand the extent of poverty in the villages. He enjoys playing trickery games when it comes to the villagers, but for the Hindi’s it’s a matter of life or death. Captain Rusell announces this year the villagers must pay double Lagaan out of his arrogant nonjudgmental character. In response the villagers try to reason with Captain Rusell and find themselves in a terrible predicament after Rusell offers a deceitful gamble to the main character Bhuvan. The offer entailed the following; if the villagers beat the British in a game of Cricket, they would not have to pay taxes for three years, but if they lost the match they would have to pay triple the taxes for the season. The captain knew he had a clear advantage since he thought the Hindi’s were ignorant to his British game. Throughout this film there are reoccurring Bollywood themes of national identity, good versus evil, religion, and class.
Bhuvan displays national pride by accepting the offer, for the betterment of the villagers. Since the villagers are unfamiliar with the British cricket sport, they are outraged with Bhuvan’s decision because they believe they are digging themselves into a deep hole. At first the only support Bhuvan had was from Gauri, the girl who was madly in love with him. Captain Rusell’s sister Elizabeth takes an unexpected stance which did not agree with her brother’s corrupt ideas, resulting in her impulsive interest towards the Hindi culture and her desire to help Bhuvan and his friends learn the game of cricket. The villagers learn about Elizabeth’s help which gave them a sense of hope, and slowly the eleven man cricket team was formed, along with numerous supporters.
The division of class was also a huge theme in this film in two aspects. The first one is obvious, the British and the Hindi’s. The British men and women are depicted as westernized affluent people. They dress in elegant dresses and suits and appear to be extremely classy. On the other hand the villagers are clothed tattered cloths and live a struggling life style. During the month of preparation for the cricket tournament there is another class distinction between the villagers. During a practice the cricket ball moves past the fields boundary and a crippled man picks it up and throws it to Bhuvan. The crippled Hindi threw with his bad arm forcing the ball to spin which brought an amazing interest to Bhuvan, and resulted in wanting the crippled man on the team. The other villagers are very negative against the idea since the man is known as an untouchable, the lowest division on a hierarchy scale. Bhuvan is outraged and explains how they are all Hindi and need to stick together, which displays Hindustani values. The villagers agree with Bhuvan and the class separation is abolished allowing integration and reinforcing Hindi unity.
The cricket match day finally arrives and perseverance, national pride, prayer, and Hindustani values help the villagers defeat the British. The match lasts for a couple days and at first the British have a strong lead, which brings doubt to the villagers. As the game continued things began to look up and in the end Bhuvan and the ‘untouchable’ are the last two teammates who overcome the British and make the win. The symbolization of joy and happiness is accompanied by rain, which ends the drought.
The theme of religion is a motive seen throughout the film of Lagaan. There is one specific instance when Elizabeth is able to watch a Hindi ritual and gets a personal view of the culture. There are many instances when the drought is brought up and was responded by prayer. There is a song in the beginning of the film which represents dance and prayer for rain to come. There are also scenes that take place in the temple of the village, which again demonstrates the amount of religious importance.
The soundtrack is composed of numerous songs that correlate with the plot and are extremely expressive to Bollywood known themes. The songs represent Hindustani values of love, prayer, hope, and an excessive amount of happiness. Despite the horrible position and living conditions the villagers faced, the songs helped them escape their poverty stricken lives and bring strength and courage to overcome their dilemma. Overall the songs incorporate lively dance and singing which maintains Hindustani unity.
Overall I thought Lagaan was an exciting Bollywood film. It displayed a classical plot where good triumphs over evil through a continuous struggle. I thought it was interesting how Elizabeth was interested in Hindi culture and was opposed to the British ideas, because I do not believe we have seen something like this in a Bollywood film yet. From my film experience usually non-Hindi’s are depicted as ignorant and are poked fun at, so this was something completely new and different. It was also interesting to become aware of cricket and how to understand the game. Overall national pride, religion, class, and good versus evil were all themes present throughout the film and the songs helped represent Hindustani ideals as well. Lagaan was a wonderful film that depicted pride and happiness despite the village poverty.