Lagaan

by Philip Parodayco // written on 11 September 2002, saved in Pjournal

I never thought I'd say this, but I spent the last two evenings thoroughly enjoying a four-hour long subtitled epic sports musical! I don't know how many movies belong to this genre; perhaps Lagaan will inspire others. The story involves a fictional event in 1893 when a brash young farmer butts heads with a British captain. The local farmers can't pay an exorbitant tax, i.e. lagaan, due to drought and the captain challenges the hero to a cricket match. If the farmers win, no lagaan for three years, if the soldiers win, triple lagaan this year. The story has overlapping love triangles, lessons in trust and tolerance, capriciousness of man and nature, tense gameplay, along with great song and dance sequences.

Unbelievably, the movie did not drag at any point. Indians must be film-making geniuses! I've been reading about India's film industry for a while now, popularly known as Bollywood. They produce approximately 800 films per year — compare to America's 200-plus. Music is a big part of India's movie experience and the singers are as much stars as the actors. The song and dance sequences in this movie are great fun. The rhythms of Indian music are very exciting and the dance moves entertaining.

I've never seen a Bollywood movie before Lagaan. If anyone can recommend other Indian movies as fun as this one, I'd love to know of them.