| Lagaan: Once Upon A Time In India |
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| Genre: | Musicals |
| Year: | 2001 |
| Rating: | NR |
| Length: | 3h 45mins |
| Cast: | Ashotosh Gowariker, Aamir Khan, Rachel Shelley |
The wait for a crossover Bollywood hit -- one that gives Western audiences a largely English-language story as compelling as the genre's fabulously kitschy musical numbers -- is over. Clocking in at just under four hours, Lagaan is a rousing and accessible underdog tale set in 1893 that brims with the Bollywood staples, including passionate romance and spectacular Busby Berkley-styled production numbers. A ruthless wager sets the story in motion when Captain Russell (Paul Blackthorne), the racist head of the local English garrison, challenges an impoverished village to a game of cricket. If the villagers win, they will pay no tax for three years; if they lose, the levy (lagaan) will be tripled. Led by Bollywood heartthrob Aamir Khan, the villagers assemble a ragtag team that doesn't know an over from a googly. But with Kahn's drive and dignity, and some instruction by Captain Russell's Kahn-crazed sister, these humble, bad-news bowlers put up a fight that would have Rocky cheering. This simple, engaging tale is spiced with a love story between Kahn and the coquettish Gracy Singh, a subplot involving a double-dealing villager, and lots of broadly drawn characters. Straddling the line between Bollywood and the elegant period flavorings of the Ismail Merchant-James Ivory India movies, this exotic treat with a frequently thumping beat is -- as of 2002 -- the most entertaining musical this side of Moulin Rouge. Seth Kaufman
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