Rachel Newsham

Screening India

Professor Brueck

12 April, 2010

Film Review for Lagaan

Lagaan, or “tax,” is a stirring film that brings up many controversial themes and social issues within Indian history. As the title and historical setting of the film indicates, the main plot of the film is centered on British imperialism in Colonial India. The villagers of a small town called Champener have been ordered to pay double taxes regardless of the two-year long drought. The local monarch, Raja Puran Singh, appeals to the British Captain Russell Andrews on behalf of the villagers who cannot even afford to pay the normal amount of taxes, but his plea falls on a heart of stone. Rather than empathizing with the plight of the villagers, the audience finds Captain Russell as indifferent and overbearing.

The villagers, unaware of the previous appeals made by Raja Singh on their behalf, come to present their case before him and are told that they will have to wait until the British officers have finished playing a cricket match. Captain Russell overhears the villager’s petition of Raja Singh and comes up with a plan he deems to be infallible. If the villagers are able to assemble a cricket team and beat the British officers in a three day long cricket match, then he will cancel taxes for the next three years throughout the entire province. However, if the villager’s team is defeated, their taxes will be tripled. Captain Russell directs this challenge at Bhuvan, the young rebellious star of the show who had been caught earlier in the film scaring away the deer Captain Russell was trying to hunt. Despite the warnings from the other villagers, Bhuvan accepts the challenge.

Although his acceptance of Russell’s terms were met with fury by the villagers in the beginning, Bhuvan, with the help of his sweetheart Gauri, is able to win over the support of the other villagers and construct a team of eleven players. With the help of Elizabeth, Captain Russell’s sister who acts in defiance of her brother’s commands, Bhuvan’s team is able to learn how to play the game of cricket. In a fight to free their village from the tyrannical rule of the British, these eleven players defy all odds by defeating the British team and disposing Captain Russell from his position. Although this film is largely focused on the issue of British oppression during the colonial period, it also incorporates themes of nationalism, the importance of religion, and the concept of love in Bollywood films.

Bhuvan, as the ideal Hindi hero, is able to build up a politically correct cricket team that includes a variety of players in terms of caste, ethnicity, and religion. This construction is a play on the common motif of nationalism in Bollywood films. The team acts as a microcosm of India by overlooking the significant differences of each of the players and, even more controversially, allowing an untouchable to participate, uniting the different citizens of India on terms of a shared sense of nationalism. In the song “Chale Chalo,” Bhuvan emphasizes the need for all Indians to unite in order to conquer their enemy, more specifically the British: “Should one finger rise, it shall break. When five fingers join, they form a fist. Let our unity grow, come on, walk on.” This attitude is reminiscent of Gandhi’s dream: uniting all Indians, regardless of caste, religion and ethnicity, in order to overthrow, or undermine, the British rule and create a stable, unbiased Indian government.

Hindu religion is another significant theme in Lagaan. In the beginning of the film, we watch as the villagers break into song and dance in the expectation of rain. When the clouds pass by without shedding a drop of water, the villagers comment on how it must be a punishment from God. At the end of the film the sky is filled with clouds once again; only this time the result is a heavy rain that is full of promise for the villagers, signifying to them the Lord’s favor. Their reliance on religion is also depicted in the song “O Paalanhare” in which the villagers come together to cry out to Krishna for his favor and salvation in terms of the cricket match. “Ease our troubles O Lord! We have no one but you.” Religion is an integrated part of the villagers’ lives; affecting they way they think, talk, act and sing.

Carrying on the motif of religion, we enter the interesting dynamic of relationships within the film. In her song “Radha Kaise Na Jale,” Gauri complains that Bhuvan’s relationship with Elizabeth is similar to the tale of Krishna and the lovelorn Gopi in which they meet in a grove making Radha jealous. Bhuvan reassures Gauri that just as Radha was the only flower of love that bloomed in the heart of Krishna, Gauri was the only flower of love that blooms within his own heart. Love plays a significant role in the film: initiating Lakha’s betrayal of the village and Elizabeth’s betrayal of her brother. Because Gauri favors Bhuvan over himself, Lakha becomes a spy for Captain Russell. In the end Lakha does the right thing and returns to support his village teammates, but it came at the price of making the match much more difficult to win. Elizabeth’s love for Bhuvan causes her to go against the will of her brother and provides the team with the much-needed training in cricket. However, because she is a Westerner, her dreams of love can never be realized. I enjoyed watching the playful love story of Bhuvan and Gauri develop, though I was disappointed in the fact that Gauri was not able to join the cricket team and break the boundaries of women’s social status in India. Both Gauri and Bhuvan’s mother carried on the idea of women playing submissive roles in a paternalistic society, a trait central to the idea of women being the upholders of tradition and morality within Indian society.

Although Lagaan is almost four hours in length, it is so captivating that time seems to fly by. It is easy for the audience to identify with the plights of the villagers, and even as a Westerner, I was happy to see the end of Captain Russell’s rule. While each of the songs are catchy and entertaining, they also play a significant part in the movie’s plot, which is somewhat of a diversion from traditional usage of songs in Bollywood films. I thought that the integration of Western actors was interesting. Although I am jealous of her immediate knowledge of the Hindi language, I was disappointed in the shallowness of Elizabeth’s song and even more disappointed that she did not receive a happy ending. All in all, this is a film that I will be putting on my “favorites” list and would gladly recommend it to anyone who is interested in Bollywood films.