Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Am I Missing Something?

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

Film Lagaan has been written and directed by Ashutosh Gowariker. Aamir Khan produced this film and also played the lead role as Bhuvan. This film is based on the background of British Raj. In the 21st century it is worthwhile to analyze this film on the basis of national identity, self identity, sports and its psychological status in India.Lagaan is based on the background of British Raj. It narrates the story of drought ridden village through various characters. Bhuvan plays the lead role in uniting villagers and training them for a cricket match. The tussle of rivalry, competition, politics, pressure, loyalty, self identity and the social identity reveals the plot and narrates the story through various characters. This paper has analyzed, what is self identity and social identity.Dr ramachandra guha, chair: professor michael cox agree that cricket is national pride. Dr. Guha gave an anecdote," Ram Manohar Lohia, a cricket hater, who once having concluded a verbose press-conference denigrating cricket as a colonial vestige, proceeded to enquire about an ongoing India-Pakistan test match at a nearby paan-shop. Such is the wonderful concoction that is Indian cricket, where inside every cricket-hater, a lover of the sport continues to breathe." He concluded his speech on Tuesday 6th March 2012 , London.

That's funny. I always thought the reason of "Lagaan" continuous presence on IMDb Top 250 was due to its being "a little more than" your typical Bollywood movie, as if the opposite was a disqualifying parameter. I confess, from my slightly prejudiced perspective, I thought "Lagaan" was an empowering sports movie about the triumph of human spirit etc. but again, not the "typical" Hindi movie. But that would have been overlooking the subtitle: which goes straight to the point: Once Upon a Time in India. I guess if you set a story in India, you better tell it the "Indian way".So, the fact is: "Lagaan" IS your "typical" Bollywood movie, but that's not saying much as the director Ashutosh Gowariker finds that little extra push to elevate the film above the expectations of a national audience, thus delivering a story of universal appeal: something about the fight for dignity and justice, an underdog story with the same resonance as "Rocky", and told in an old-fashioned way with a despicable villain and a colorful gallery of challengers that goes from a handsome hero, a brute with a golden heart, a sneaky traitor, a comic relief etc. The film use many familiar elements from both Bolly and Hollywood's canon but the result is so enthralling, so exhilarating that it gets away with it.And take it from someone who's never been a fan of that Bollywood trope requiring that characters can break into singing and dancing in such a so well-choreographed act you wouldn't believe it's one of these spur-of-the-moment things. But the power of "Lagaan" is to know exactly what the audience longs, an emotional roller-coaster that includes singing and all dancing. There's such boldness in making a movie almost four hour longs by adding nothing that clearly advances the plot that even someone who's not familiar with Bollywood will understand that music isn't just an ornament, but as vital to the enjoyment as the rest. The film was long and riveting enough, but "Lagaan" primarily addresses its own audience and with such gusto that it widened its appeal to foreign audiences.But the story had a part to play in that success. Its premise alone is captivating: at the peak of the British Empire in India, an arrogant and racist Captain named Andrew Russel, commanding the province of Champenar, doubled the Lagaan tax to the villagers, who are already taxed to the bone. But with this new measure, they risk starvation and misery. Phillips (well-played by Paul Blackthorne) is no man to care for such considerations. And when the young and rebel villager named Bhuvan (Aamir Khan) goes with a few villagers to ask the local Rajah to intercede, the man with one foot in each world admits he's powerless. Russell spices up the situation, he challenges the villagers to beat them in cricket, a game Bhuvan called stupid, if they win, they won't pay Lagaan for three years, if they lose, they'll have to play triple Lagaan.When Bhuvan accepts, he faces a major uproar from the other villages of the provinces and before winning the game, there's a long process of winning the villagers' spirit and the process is crucial to reveal more about the characters and the setting. Meanwhile, Philips confronts his superiors and understands he'd rather win the game or he might pay the Lagaan from his own pocket. The dice are cast and we follow the training of villagers who never understood cricket, let alone played it. But it's not much in the game than the anticipation, to see these peasant trying to defy the British establishment, it's both funny like "The Full Monty" but many highly dramatic moments remind us that lives are at stakes and it's not just a game. The odds are worse but they've got to beat them.They are trying to win with what they have at hands and turning their flaws into tricks is the kind of inspirational material you expect from sport movie. One of the villagers is swift with slingshots, which earned him an ability to launch a ball so fast you literally don't see it coming, another one with a defect in his hand is able to make the ball spin, his status as a pariah allows a film to make a few comments about the caste system, to make sure there is an equivalent to British' ruthlessness. And to make up for the vileness of Captain his sister Elizabeth (Rachel Shelley), finding her brother's method cruel and unfair help the villagers, much to the displeasure of Gaury (Gracy Singh) in love with Aamir. There are many subplots in the movie and they swiftly overlap just like the many rules of that cricket game that you don't need to understand in order to enjoy the film.Each sub-story is bound to a specific emotion, there's romance, there's drama, comedy and tragedy, and at the climactic game, all these element come full circle together. And no matter how hard you expect the game to be, how many sports movie you've seen, no matter how firmly you anticipate that it will all comes down to one final blow, the film will still manage to surprise you. And that's the power of Lagaan that Ebert summed up very well, you enjoy it, you realize it's new and fresh although it's a very familiar material. You really enjoyed it. It is Bollywood but its appeals transcend the story.It has escapism, fun, colors, it's the kind of film, you can't say they don't make them anymore… well except maybe in Bollywood, the quintessential place for popular cinema. And it is an empowering sports drama about the triumph of human spirit.

The best cricket movie ever made.Set in India in the late-1800s, the local British rulers are imposing excessively high taxes on the local population. One of the local villagers has a run-in with the senior British officer, resulting in a cricket match between the British and the villagers. If the villagers win, they don't have to pay taxes for three years. If they lose, they have to pay three times their usual taxes.Interesting, engaging movie with some of the most realistic cricket scenes you'll see in a movie. The April 2004 edition of The Wisden Cricketer, probably the foremost cricket magazine in the world, had their list of the top 10 cricket moments in movies, and Lagaan come in at number 1. I wholeheartedly agree with their assessment. Cricket in movies is normally very badly done, looking as if the director had no clue about the sport. Even Bodyline, the movie about the infamous 1932 Bodyline series, had some laughable moments (eg the England wicket-keeper, Les Ames, standing up to the wicket for the express pace of Harold Larwood!). Considering that it was a movie exclusively about an historic cricket series, thus is even more cricket-centric than Lagaan, which is as much a human drama as a cricket movie, Bodyline's cricket scenes were very badly done. (Bodyline's script was just as bad, very biased and propaganda-like: going out of it's way to be anti-English). I expected similar inaccuracies in Lagaan and was pleasantly surprised. While there are some minor inaccuracies and inconsistencies, this is truly the most accurate and best cricket movie ever made. It is also good as a drama, not just a cricket movie, so recommended for those less-into-cricket too. (Aside: Bodyline came in at Number 3 on Wisden's list).

This is my First Review for a movie. Although I don't have much emotion and time to write a review I think this movie deserved to be known from the eyes of the biggest Fan. The movie is an Epic and I considered it as my top 5 favorite of all time.(The Godfather, The shawshank Redemption, The Dark Knight,Fight Club are other four.) The Movie is underrated because of its limitation to receive global Viewership. It deserved to nominate for Oscar more than most of the movies that have been nominated. The plot is epic and the actors have played there part very well. The music by A.R Rahman and the Lyrics by Javed Akhtar is extra Ordinary. The kind of sentiments we have for cricket, Social discrimination, Love Triangle have been depicted in an fabulous way. The movie captures the heart of India and for me is the best Indian movie ever been made.