Lagaan

Uday Reddy
Lagaan Review

Lagaan, directed and written by Astoush Gowariker in 2001, displays the quintessential “India vs. Britain” motif, in which the colonizing British are defeated by the colonized native Indians. In this case, they do so through a cricket match. Lagaan, which takes place in the town of Champaner during the 1890’s, tells the story of how one man, Bhuvan (Amir Khan), inspires an entire community to rise up against oppression. The reason for the revolution is that the ruling British impose an unforgiving double lagaan, or literally double tax. This is quite harsh because there has been no rain in Champaner for many years now, and the villagers are only just able to get by as-is. If they are forced to pay double tax, they will not be able to survive. They petition to their Raja, Raja Puran Singh (Kharbanda), to lift the tax just as he had done the year before. Previous to this, Raja Singh begs the ranking captain to lift the tax, but he refuses unless Raja Singh eats a piece of meat. He states that he will not eat it because it is in violation of his religion and thus in violation of his Hindustani heritage. Raja Singh solemnly tells the villagers that there is nothing he can do, and that “The British would not even spare their own kin”. It is then that Captain Andrew Russell (Paul Blackthorne) comes into the picture.
He informs the villagers that there may be a way for them to get the tax lifted. He proposes a cricket match, if the villagers won there would be no tax but if they lost there would be triple lagaan. Bhuvan, is called upon to answer, because Captain Russell remembers Bhuvan from when he was disrupting the Captain’s hunting. He is silent, and Captain Russell upps the stakes. He stays still silent, and Captain Russell finally proposes that if the villagers won, that there would be no tax for three years in not only Champaner, but the entire provence. But if they lost, everyone would be forced to pay triple tax. Bhuvan accepts, to the dismay and anger of his fellow villagers, as none of them know the first thing about cricket. Bhuvan promptly starts to change their minds, and one by one gains support until the entire village is behind him.
Along the way, Captain Russell’s sister, Elizabeth (Rachel Shelley), helps Bhuvan and the villagers learn how to play cricket and also unexpectedly falls in love with Bhuvan. Bhuvan is an unconventional Indian hero. His team incorporates all levels caste from the village, even including Kachra (Aditya Lakhia), an untouchable with a bum hand that can trickily spin the ball. At first not a single other player accepted Kachra, but after an endearing speech by Bhuvan, Kachra is willingly accepted on the team. Bhuvan’s insight is proven when Kachra ends up being one of the strongest players for the team. He manages to spin the ball around the English batsmen and get them out. Bhuvan’s ability to bring the entire community together is his ultimate reason for success. Without the support of the community, they would have suffered certain defeat against the expert English players.
The battle between the Indians and the British is one of the strongest motif’s in the movie. The oppressing British are constantly cast as cruel scoundrels, and Paul Blackthorne and team surely play that part well. Constantly scowling and always uppity, the British are a catalyst that allows the entire village to come together to oppose a common enemy. The British are certainly the better team, well oiled and practiced, in comparison to Bhuvan’s raggedy group of villagers. Lagaan helps develop Indias national identity by breaking cultural walls, and integrating all members of society. In doing so, he is successful in defeating the British. One notable way that the movie does not portray progressive imagery is through women. Elizabeth, being British, successfully defies her elder brother but no Indian woman in the film defies any of the Indian men.
The love story of the movie is quite funny. On one side, the apple of Bhuvan’s eye is Gauri (Gracy Singh). They are always playful towards each other but only Gauri really shows her interests. Bhuvan is for the most part indifferent and unnoticing. When Elizabeth enters the picture, things get quite interesting. Bhuvan, remaining completely ignorant to the way Elizabeth feels towards him, does not notice any of her advances. Gauri, on the other hand, feels completely threatened. The interesting thing about this is that Bhuvan realizes that Gauri is his destined wife, and I feel that he did not even factor in Elizabeth. She, being British, was not even an option for him.
The songs in Lagaan are quintessential Bollywood songs, incorporating religion, love, and support for Hindustan. The only complaint that I have about the film is the song in which Bhuvan, Gauri, and Elizabeth all sing in. I feel like the song is cheesier than most Bollywood songs, and in a worse way. It feels like the song was thrown into the film to appeal to a broader audience and ultimately detracts from the film.
The movie ends predictably, with Bhuvan and India emerging victorious at the last moment. As an added treat, Captain Russell is shipped off to Africa and made to pay the tax out of his pocket. Lagaan effectively visualizes India’s struggle for independence from the oppressive British. Despite this film being made recently, in 2001, it still reminds Indians to resist oppression and not remain complacent. It also shows India defeating the British army, non-violently through cricket. Bhuvan is continually shown being defiant to the British, from calling Cricket a child’s game, to how he refuses to get agitated during the game. Bhuvan is continually shown as the villages foundation, keeping the rest of the villagers grounded.
Lagaan, despite being such a long film, remains well paced and even through the long cricket battle remains captivating. The plot of the film is excellent, really capturing the idea of Hindu Nationalism and passing it on to the viewers. It really is one of Bollywoods greatest films, and can be watched by even people that don’t appreciate traditional Bollywood cinema.