Is Aamir Khan’s Lagaan the best Hindi movie made in the last 50 years.
That’s what many reviews say…
I saw the movie last weekend. Its 3 hrs. 45 minutes long.. which is kindaa too long and one starts getting restless towards the end. To say that its the best movie ever made is a bit of exaggeration.
Yes, the actors in the movie have all played their role well. I also liked the fact that the Britishers in the movie were actual British actors and not our Deshi Tom Alter or Bob Cristo etc. like they have in many british-era Indian movies.
A few of the scenes and songs could have been done without. This would have made the film shorter and good for repeat viewing. After all how many times can you watch such a lengthy movie.
In the end analysis, I liked the movie because it was different kind of story.. not the usual "Boy meets Girl & dancing around trees" movie.
It's funny and it's a drag. I laughed 'cause I watched it in a theatre but you'll be bored out of your wits if you see it home by yourself.
I absolutely recommend this one to all!
I wouldn’t say its the best ever cuz I’ve already given that title to another movie
http://www3.pak.org/gupshup/smilies/smile.gif
but I hope it wins the filmfare for 2001 ;
very impressive as a first time production from Aamir Khan ; different story-line (not at all what I expected from the soundtrack and the movie trailers).
Probably gonna go for a second time and definitely buying it on dvd once its out.
Paid reviews i must say.. like it is alright and different.. but it surely lacks somthing.. n well what more could be the bad luck of the movie.. it came out the day Zimbabwe beat India.. mayb Aamir khan should try his luck batting one under tendulkar.. and Dev singh and khurpa being given a chance for srinath and harbajan..
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i feel sorry for all the europeon lasses.. indo’s r just too good for them..
^-Of course I’m arrogant. The best usually are.-^
Watched this movie. Loved it. Definitely a good Indian movie after a very long time. Make sure you watch it in theater and not on video or DVD. Worth the $8 spend. Good direction by Ashutosh Gowarikar , Good acting by Aamir and the entire cast , excellent music by A R Rahman. Good choreography, costumes (Bhanu Athaiya) , screenplay. Well, everything was just perfect.
It’s been in top 10 in US and UK charts. This is a film with no exotic locations , No sexy dance numbers, No Big stars apart from Aamir, yet it’s become popular. Shows that there is an audience for good films.
All Cricket fans would definitely like this movie.
I wish Aamir would have dedicated the movie to the lost souls of Gujarat earthquake. The entire shooting was done at Bhuj in Gujarat which was affected by a massive earthquake on Jan.26,2001.
This is Ashutosh’s first film as a director. Previously he has acted in Hindi and Marathi films (Holi etc)
Here are some of the reviews. Check them out before watching the movie.
http://www.sulekha.com/moviereview.asp?movie=125777
http://film.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/Critic_Review/Guardian_review/0,4267,510677,00. html
Love in Hot climate http://www.guardian.co.uk/friday_review/story/0,3605,488660,00.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/friday_review/story/0,3605,488660,00.html
http://www.rediff.com/search/lagaan.htm
http://www.lagaan.com
[This message has been edited by mohabbat (edited June 24, 2001).]
well it was really a gr8 movie, somethin different all in all, watched it twice!
~ mera Junoon, meri DIL KI BAAT hai!!!!
We watched this movie yesterday. Yes it was long, very long. And yes it was different. Usually I don't like the costume movies, but this one grips you pretty quickly and then doesn't let you go till the titles start rolling.
It is a love story but this aspect of the movie is woven around a much bigger story of pre-independance India and resistence to the British.
Perhaps the best part of the movie was a fascinating cricket match. I wonder if Amer Khan is always mixing sports with serious subjects. I seem to remember he also had a prior movie "Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar" (produced by his relative Mansoor Khan) which was based around some sort of racing (cycle racing?).
Anyway "Lagaan" is a good movie, and definitely a safe recommendation. :)
I saw it yesterday as well..i wasn’t expecting that movie to be so much entertaining. I think for me and for my pals it was a great fun after a long time. I did enjoyed the old culture and the songs too. The best part was the cricket. The viewers were so much involved in it that it felt like a cricket stadium instead of cinema theatre. Everyone was clapping no matter whatever there age was. For me it was an entertainment combo in one..coz i haven’t seen any cricket matches since a long time. I think it was an inspirational movie as well!!
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i would definately recommend it.
how differnt can a indian movie get? i heard this few days ago from someone and thought it was kinda funny
ask an indian person about bla bla movie. there answer will be!! like it was a differnt movie?
ask them again how was it differnt? well the songs were good and they were pictureized in united state instead of england!!
[This message has been edited by jasleen_g (edited July 02, 2001).]
http://www.timesofindia.com/today/27indu3.htm
Lagaan: A Review By Amitabh Bachchan
"I found Lagaan flawless. It’s well-made and brilliantly performed. And when I talk about performance, I don’t just mean the main characters but each and every artiste in the film.
It’s a very pleasant surprise to see people who are not playing main leads perform so exceptionally - the villagers, the mother, the leading lady, each and every member of the team, including the the guy who uses the catapult, were just outstanding. And the best part is that the performances were just right. There wre huge opportunities to perhaps overdo them, but that has not happened.
I think the choice of subject and the way it has been structured is also quite exceptional. I would like to believe ninety percent of India has an association with villages. We all come from small towns. There is always somebody in the family who’s somehow associated with a village. It’s an intrinsic part of all our lives. Lagaan is a huge burden for a villager, for someone low down in the social hierarchy.
Another very big issue in our country is rain. We might be oblivious to it, but a very big part of India survives on barely two to three months of rain; some people don’t even get that much. It’s a part of our ethos. The monsoons are something every one looks forward to. Our social life, our eating habits, our festivals, our agricultural habits, our songs – every thing is influenced, if not entirely dependent, on it. So to use rain as a factor, as a very important factor - gives the film an immediate empathy with all of India.
Then you have the British. Lagaan has found a replacement for the traditional baddies, the Thakurs, or the landowners. Here you have an even bigger baddie, the people who had made us their slaves. They were cruel, ruthless. The common man was entirely at their mercy.
Then you have cricket, the national obsession! It is a lovely ploy. I think it’s brilliant the way it has been structured. Even the team is no common one, it’s an integration of what India stands for. Each and every character has been so carefully chosen. And how well patterned their personal characteristics are with the game. If somebody is in charge of getting rid of the rats and birds that eat away the fasal (crop), they use them to bowl. You have a crippled spinner. Chandrashekhar and Murlidharan, both great spinners have actually damaged arms. Chandrashekhar was a polio victim, so he had a naturally deformed arm structure which became positively constructive when he was bowling. The same goes with Murlidharan. These two are the examples that I can give right now. They are two of the finest bowlers the world has ever seen.
They made him (the crippled bowler in Lagaan) an achute. As untouchability is a very sensitive issue in our social ethos. And all our films are always designed to make the under privileged, the underdog, the minority, the backward, come up. Indian commercial mainstream escapist cinema has always made sure that these sections of our society are made to look good. So you have the Muslim, you have the Sikh, you have the achute, you have the aged gentleman and it’s marvelous the way it has been structured.
Then you make them do all the heroic feats whether it’s the Muslim guy who’s hurt his leg, he comes out on his crutches and wants to fight. It’s a great moment. The achute, the cripple – you give him the grandest moment in the match. You have the Sardar who just lambasts the bowling everywhere with big volleys. He is driven by revenge because he has suffered at the hands of British. You have this dumb guy who oozes sheer strength and power when he hits the ball. It’s unbelievable the way it has been shot.
You have the English lady falling in love with this Indian from the village. With so many good things in place structurally, what needs to be marvelled at is the way it has been executed. So everything is in place, the structure is in place, all that it required was proper execution.
Then the bhajan. The bhajan is a very very important ingredient in our lives. Mornings and eveningsn are bhajan times for Hindu society. And the bhajan at the most appropriate moment works wonders. Just 24 hours before their future would be decided, the mother and the ladies sing a bhajan. It’s just marvelously structured.
Then comes the execution, which is so good. When you put in every conceivable ingredient that is connected with commercial Hindi mainstream cinema, things can easily go wrong and destroy it all. But, in Lagaan what is remarkable is the restraint. There is restraint in performances, in situations. It just flows effortlessly. And I really loved the way it has been shot. Not just the technical side, the camera work of course is marvelous. I would say if you give any other competent cameraman this kind of premise, he is bound to do brilliantly. But the way it has been executed, that’s more brilliant. That’s what I really liked.
I don’t know whether they thought the same but I would say that there were some huge shots without cuts. They started from here, moved there, rolled back, rolled in again, in one long shot. That could be perhaps symbolic of the time period, because films made in the eighteenth century didn’t have much editing. In fact, that’s the difference between films which are made now and films made then. There is a lot of speed in today’s films. And that apparent speed is not because they are showing speeding cars or aeroplanes, but because of a lot of editing. If you compare today’s movies with those in the 30s or 40s,you’ll see that the number of edit cuts are a lot more now. Maybe because he (Aamir) wanted to show the period as 1893, therefore the camera technique was also designed to give that feel. And if that was what they were thinking, it’s magic.
The performance of every one is just flawless. They have very judiciously not gone too much into the accent because it would have been difficult for people to understand. I have the authority to say that because I come from that region (eastern U.P.) and I know that it’s not a very easy language to understand for someone not used to it. For those who live in that region, though, it’s glorious. But in Lagaan they have only used a smattering of that accent. That’s very prudent. I think the attempt to speak genuine avadhi and create the whole atmosphere was best seen in ‘Ganga Jamuna’ by Dilip Kumar and nobody has been able to top that. I would like to use that as my yardstick. Lagaan comes very close to that. But then ‘Ganga Jamuna’ was a totally different film. And that was Dilip Kumar. He is the best. But that does not to take away anything from Aamir and his crew.
The gentleman who plays the poultry farmer, Raghuvir Yadav, is from Uttar Pradesh. You can make that out from his accent. I’m sure most of his lines must have been lost but he was incredibly good. Only someone from eastern UP will be able appreciate the brilliance of his performance. But then everybody was good, no one did anything extra. The mother was right, the girl was lovely, very fresh, lots of innocence. Aamir of course, like all his films, was brilliant. To me it’s a totally perfect film. The best I’ve seen in recent times"
Great movie. It has cricket
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, British actors, good music, and a storyline that doesnt revolve around a love triangle. What more could u want?
Don't usually watch Hindi movies unless it offers something unique.
I'd say this one was very well done. Not many ppl would have managed to put in a cricket match in a movie this well and come out tops. Cheers out to Aamir Khan, the only hindi actor I've considered can truly act.
Paki Princess, how does having 'British actors' make it a great movie, and be an ingredient for 'what more u could want'?
Oh, what a movie!
By Pritish Nandy
What makes a great movie? A great story? A powerful script? Brilliant performances? Imaginative direction? Remarkable cinematography? What about music? In India, music and choreography are also critical since we love watching song sequences. Drama? Emotions? Thrills? Production values? Heart stopping, power packed scenes? What happens when you have them all in one movie? Is it possible for anyone to make such a movie?
If you had asked me this question last week, I would have said: Possible, yes, but unlikely. The perfect film is what everyone aspires to. But, in reality, it is never made. I have seen hundreds, if not thousands of movies in my life: different kinds of movies made in different parts of the world in different languages.
In fact, I edited and published Filmfare for several years and this forced me to see many movies, good, bad and pretentious. The Illustrated Weekly, which I edited and published for almost a decade, also carried path-breaking cover stories on the movies.
The first was on Guru Dutt, in whose work we managed to revive huge interest. The next was on Smita Patil who we welcomed as India' s finest actress. We were the first mainstream magazine to put on our cover young Aamir Khan, then two-films old, as the star of the future. We were also the first to acclaim Subhash Ghai as the great showman, long before the industry took him seriously. We called Madhuri Dixit number one two full years before the industry acknowledged her as such. On looking back, we never made a single mistake during the magazine' s decade-long dream run. Certainly not when it came to the movies.
Every seemingly outrageous claim we made came true. Largely because we believed in them. Because we stuck out our necks and said it in an environment where everyone was stingy with praise. For most critics here believe that fulsome praise for a commercial film is politically incorrect. So they stick to snooty criticism or pretentious, smart-arsed comments. The Illustrated Weekly succeeded because we were the first mainstream magazine to believe in popular movies when everyone else was rooting for fashionable art cinema.
Today, that distinction has vanished, thank God! What you have now is not commercial cinema versus art cinema. It is good cinema versus bad cinema. And that is how it should be. A great movie is one where all the elements listed in the beginning of this column work in perfect tandem. A great movie does not belong to any star, it does not belong to its director, it does not belong to its screenplay writer, it does not belong to its music director. It belongs to all of them together. It is flawless teamwork. A bit like cricket.
And, last week, I saw flawless teamwork in this amazing movie, Lagaan. No exaggeration. It is possibly the finest movie I have seen in my life and, believe me, I have seen some very fine movies. From Battleship Potemkin to Citizen Kane to Giuseppe Tornatore' s cult film Cinema Paradiso to Satyajit Ray' s Apu trilogy to Gone with the Wind to Kaagaz ka Phool, one of my favourites, to the hugely over-rated Sholay to Titanic. But I have never seen a movie quite like Lagaan.
It took my breath away by the sheer simplicity of its narrative, the amazing performances, the great music and, what holds it all together, truly awesome direction by a filmmaker I had never even heard of.
Between Aamir Khan, the producer, and Ashutosh Gowariker, the director, they have not only made a great movie by any standards but they have created a work that will go down in the annals of cinematic history.
Too much praise you think? Watch the movie yourself. No praise is enough to describe Lagaan. It is the first film I have seen that deserves 100 on a scale of one to nine. What makes me doubly proud is that it is produced by the world' s biggest dream factory, which has been neglected for far too long, obsessed as we all are by the hoopla of Hollywood. Lagaan can easily challenge anything made out there.
The last two years have seen history being rewritten. First came Roberto Benigni's Life is Beautiful which won an Oscar for the Best Film. Not the Best Foreign Film, mind you, but the Best Film. Then came Aung Lee' s Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, my own favourite. It also won an Oscar nomination for the Best Film even though the dialogues were all in Chinese and most of the world saw it in a subtitled version.
Now comes Lagaan. If Hollywood has any sense, it will get put its hands together and acclaim it as the film of the year. This time, from India.
The trade pundits, I am told, have already acknowledged the movie as a hit. It is being compared to Sholay as a milestone. Forget Sholay; it is bigger and better than anything that the Indian movie industry has ever produced.
Our cinema history will now have two eras. Before-Lagaan and post-Lagaan. The standards of movie making will have to completely change. Lagaan has set the new standard. Correctly marketed, it can easily take on Gone with the Wind or Titanic or any such movie produced anywhere in the world. It is not just outstanding. It is spectacular. It is better than anything I have seen.
It takes nerves of steel to go out on a limb and write such extreme praise. But, then, Lagaan is an extreme film and it deserves extreme recognition. Congratulations, Aamir Khan. Move over, James Cameron. Ashutosh Gowariker has arrived.
[quote]
Originally posted by Elmo with headphones:
**Don't usually watch Hindi movies unless it offers something unique.
Paki Princess, how does having 'British actors' make it a great movie, and be an ingredient for 'what more u could want'?
**
[/quote]
U said so urself that u watch only unique movies...and I thought one of the unique ingredients was that they actually have real british people. Usually they have desi people trying to fake a british accent...and i think that totally kills the whole family...its too corny for me to digest. And besides...british actors r only part of "what more could u want" ingredient? Obviously there were other aspects involved and i mentioned some of them. Maybe u should go back and read my previous reply...u might understand what I am talking about.
okay so it's the fact that they have real british ppl rather than desi-attempting-an-accent britsh ppl that establishes an element of uniqueness? my bad, I'm not very well versed in hindi movie culture to have realised that.
yes I know you said british actors were in addition to other aspects, which is why I said "an" ingeredient (as in, one of) rather than "the"(as in, one and only).
Nice to know i cleared up that british actor thing. And ok...maybe i should have paid more attention to ur response....i didnt really focus on "an" ingredient (as in, one of)...lolz...u made ur point there.
i loved this movie and i agree with who ever said it should win one or more awards.
it was good and i really enjoyed the songs...espeacially GHANNAN...oh my god its the best song!!!
"The real problem is in the hearts and minds of men. It is easier to denature plutonium than to denature the evil spirit of man."
[quote]
Originally posted by durango:
**Is Aamir Khan's Lagaan the best Hindi movie made in the last 50 years.
That's what many reviews say........**
[/quote]
Nope..it is a okay movie, nothing spectacular. There are lots of movies which will beat this movie hands down. I guess all this hype is because of the Cricket.
Its just an OK movie.I saw it with my family last weekend and my daughters did not like it at all.(This weekend I have booked tickets for Gadar and they have warned me that they wont accompany me for such'Bore' movies.).