Lagaan (2001)
1893. A drought-hit village. A cricket match against the British, with the tax for three years riding on the result.
- Year
- 2001
- Language
- Hindi
- Director
- Ashutosh Gowariker
- Starring
- Aamir Khan, Gracy Singh, Rachel Shelley, Paul Blackthorne
- Also
- Music by A. R. Rahman · Produced by Aamir Khan
The story
In the village of Champaner, farmers cannot pay the land tax (lagaan) after a failed monsoon. A British officer offers a wager: if the villagers beat his team at cricket, the tax is cancelled for three years; if they lose, they pay triple.
Bhuvan, a young farmer, accepts and has to build a team from people who have never played the game, while dealing with divisions of caste and religion within the village.
Why it matters
- It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
- The long final cricket match is one of the most celebrated sequences in Indian cinema.
- A. R. Rahman's songs, such as "Ghanan Ghanan" and "Radha Kaise Na Jale", were huge hits.
Where to watch
Lagaan is available on licensed streaming services. Availability changes from country to country and month to month; see how to find a legal stream. Please don't use pirate download sites: they are illegal in India and a common source of malware.
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