Movie World
Lagaan was turned down by Shah Rukh Khan and grabbed by Aamir Khan
Became a big hit and even made it to the Oscars
By Dinesh Kamath
The King Khan turned down Ashutosh
Gowariker’s Lagaan, which enthralled Indian audiences and made it to the
Oscars. The role was later grabbed by Aamir Khan. Here are some interesting
information about the movie Lagaan.
Lagaan (English: Taxation),
released internationally as Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India, is a 2001 Indian
historical epic sports drama film, written & directed by Ashutosh
Gowariker, produced by Aamir Khan. Aamir Khan stars along with debutant Gracy
Singh, with British actors Rachel Shelley and Paul Blackthorne playing supporting
roles. Made on a then-unprecedented budget of ₹250 million (US$5.32 million),
the film was shot in an ancient village near Bhuj, India. The film script has a
minor resemblance to the World War movie Victory (titled Escape to Victory in
Europe)
The film is set in the Victorian
period of India's colonial British Raj. The story revolves around a small
village whose inhabitants, burdened by high taxes, find themselves in an
extraordinary situation as an arrogant officer challenges them to a game of cricket
as a wager to avoid the taxes. The narrative spins around this situation as the
villagers face the arduous task of learning the alien game and playing for a
result that will change their village's destiny.
Lagaan received critical acclaim
and awards at international film festivals, as well as many Indian film awards.
It became the third Indian film to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best
Foreign Language Film after Mother India (1957) and Salaam Bombay! (1988).
Lagaan was inspired by a 1957
Indian film, Naya Daur, starring Dilip Kumar.
The film initially grossed ₹65.97
crore worldwide in 2001. This made it the third highest-grossing Indian film of
2001, behind Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham and Gadar: Ek Prem Katha.
Domestically, Lagaan grossed ₹55.63
crore in India. Its domestic net income was ₹34.31 crore, equivalent to ₹187
crore ($29 million) when adjusted for inflation.
With an overseas gross of ₹10.8
crore[36] (US$2.2 million) in 2001, it was the year's second highest-grossing
Indian film overseas, behind only Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. Lagaan's overseas
gross included £600,000 in the United Kingdom, US$910,000 in the United States
and Canada, and US$180,000 in the Arab states of the Persian Gulf.
In China, where the film later
released on 16 May 2003, it grossed ¥3 million, equivalent to ₹1.71 crore
(US$362,500).
Including the film's China
collections, the film's total worldwide gross was ₹67.68 crore (US$14.533
million). At a ticket inflation rate of 5.5 times, the film's total gross is
equivalent to approximately ₹372 crore ($57 million) when adjusted for
inflation.
Lagaan was met with high critical
acclaim. The film currently scores a 95% "Certified Fresh" approval
rating on review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes, based on 59 reviews, with an
average rating of 7.9/10. The site's critical consensus is, "Lagaan is
lavish, rousing entertainment in the old-fashioned tradition of Hollywood
musicals." Derek Elley of Variety suggested that it "could be the
trigger for Bollywood's long-awaited crossover to non-ethnic markets".
Somni Sengupta of The New York Times, described it as "a carnivalesque
genre packed with romance, swordplay and improbable song-and-dance
routines" Roger Ebert gave three and half out of four stars and said,
"Lagaan is an enormously entertaining movie, like nothing we've ever seen
before, and yet completely familiar... At the same time, it's a memory of the
films we all grew up on, with clearly defined villains and heroes, a romantic
triangle, and even a comic character who saves the day. Lagaan is a
well-crafted, hugely entertaining epic that has the spice of a foreign
culture." Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian described the film as "a
lavish epic, a gorgeous love story, and a rollicking adventure yarn. Larger
than life and outrageously enjoyable, it's got a dash of spaghetti western, a
hint of Kurosawa, with a bracing shot of Kipling." Kuljinder Singh of the
BBC stated that "Lagaan is anything but standard Bollywood fodder, and is
the first must-see of the Indian summer. A movie that will have you laughing
and crying, but leaving with a smile." Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles
Times argued that the film is "an affectionate homage to a popular genre
that raises it to the level of an art film with fully drawn characters, a
serious underlying theme, and a sophisticated style and point of view."
Sudish Kamath of The Hindu suggested that "the movie is not just a story.
It is an experience. An experience of watching something that puts life into
you, that puts a cheer on your face, however depressed you might be." The
Times of India wrote, "Lagaan has all the attractions of big-sounding A.
R. Rahman songs, excellent performances by Aamir Khan... and a successful debut
for pretty Gracy Singh. In addition, there is the celebrated David vs Goliath
cricket match, which has audiences screaming and clapping." Perhaps one of
the most emphatic recommendations for the movie, coming 10 years later, is by
John Nugent of the Trenton Independent, who wrote "a masterpiece ... and
what better way to learn a bit about India's colonial experience! History and
great entertainment, all rolled in to one (albeit long) classic film."
Lagaan was listed as number 14 on
Channel 4's "50 Films to See Before you Die" and was the only Indian
film to be listed. The film was also well received in China, where its
anti-imperialism themes resonated with Chinese audiences. It was ranked #55 in
Empire magazine's "The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema" in 2010.
Aamir Khan and Gowariker went to
Los Angeles to generate publicity for the Academy Awards. Khan said, "We
just started showing it to whoever we could, even the hotel staff." About
India's official entry to the 2002 Oscars, The Daily Telegraph wrote, "A
Bollywood film that portrays the British in India as ruthless sadists and
Mafia-style crooks has been chosen as Delhi's official entry to the Academy
Awards." It added that the film was expected to win the nomination.
On 12 February 2002, Lagaan was
nominated for the best foreign language film at the Academy Award nominations
ceremony. After the nomination, Khan reacted by saying, "To see the name
of the film and actually hear it being nominated was very satisfying".
Post-nomination reactions poured in from several parts of the world. The USA
Today wrote "Hooray for Bollywood, and India's Lagaan". With Sony
Pictures Classics distributing the film and Oscar-winning director Baz Luhrmann
praising it, Lagaan had a chance to win. The BBC commented that the nomination
raised Bollywood hopes that Indian films would become more popular in the US.
In India, the nomination was celebrated with news reports about a win bringing
in "a great boost for the Indian film industry" and "a Bharat
Ratna for Aamir Khan and the status of a 'national film' for Lagaan".
When Lagaan lost the award to the
Bosnian film No Man's Land, there was disappointment in India. Khan said,
"Certainly we were disappointed. But the thing that really kept us in our
spirits was that the entire country was behind us." Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt
criticised the "American film industry" as "insular and the
foreign category awards were given just for the sake of it." Gowariker
added that "Americans must learn to like our films".
The film won a number of national
awards including eight National Film Awards, nine Filmfare Awards, nine Screen
Awards and ten IIFA Awards. Apart from these major awards, it also won awards
at other national and international ceremonies.
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