Review: Lagaan

Oh, if Scarlett O’Hara had only known the words to “Ghanan Ghanan.”

Lagaan

The EBE (Evil British Empire) has recently laid claim to a small village in central India. No doubt bored out of his mind, the moustache-twirling Captain Russell (Paul Blackthorne) cripples the town’s villagers by demanding lagaan (triple tax). Silly Russell underestimates the wily Indians by challenging them to a game of cricket—no lagaan if they win, double lagaan if they lose. Led by a sexy farmer (Aamir Khan), a group of men fight and conquer the EBE as well as their own hypocritical caste system. There’s back-stabbing, inter-racial desire and, most importantly, singing and dancing. Beyond Lagaan’s incredibly long dry spells are the fabulous Bollywood musical numbers that celebrate the film’s broad intertexual themes. These moments are so exuberant, life-affirming and deliciously campy you might forget that you’ve been forced to watch a four-hour cricket match. Oh, if Scarlett O’Hara had only known the words to “Ghanan Ghanan.”

Score: 
 Cast: Aamir Khan, Gracy Singh, Rachel Shelley, Paul Blackthorne, Suhasini Mulay, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Raghuvir Yadav, Rajendra Gupta, Rajesh Vivek, Shri Vallabh Vyas, Javed Khan, Raj Zutshi, Akhilendra Mishra  Director: Ashutosh Gowariker  Screenwriter: Kumar Dave, Sanjay Dayma, Ashutosh Gowariker  Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics  Running Time: 225 min  Rating: PG  Year: 2001  Buy: Video, Soundtrack

Ed Gonzalez

Ed Gonzalez is the co-founder of Slant Magazine. A member of the New York Film Critics Circle, his writing has appeared in The Village Voice, The Los Angeles Times, and other publications.

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