Review of Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (2001) by Charlene S — 03 Feb 2012

Usually I find cricket SO Boring.....but rather like Baseball in 'The Natural' this is a must see film! Never a fan of Bollywood films before (too much singing and dancing.....even if it is part of telling the story) BUT there's no denying LAGAAN is one if not the best entertainment to come out of Indian cinema.

What I liked was the amount of different characters and their individual stories which made you side with their cause. The story was well told, and there was a nice build up of tension even before the match started.

Basically it's about a bet that can't be refused....if the Indians win the cricket match against the British, then they will pay no taxes for three years......but if they lose....they have to pay thriple the amount they are already paying.

This tax is called LAGAAN and the village people are already struggling to pay the normal amount of tax. Bhuvan is tricked into taking up the wager....even though the Indians haven't played cricket before.

The nasty bad guy Captain Russelll has staked his reputation on the British winning....There are some Bollywood style songs and dances here which I must admit I skipped over to get back to the 'action' but most of those which I did watch actually did add to the feel of the occassion and lent more detail to the story.

P.s. LAGAAN is at number 14 on the BBC's top 50 films to see before you die.