Lagaan Dvd

Lagaan (transl. Agricultural tax), released internationally as Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India, is a 2001 Indian Hindi-language epic musical sports film written and directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, and produced by Aamir Khan. Khan stars along with debutant Gracy Singh, with British actors Rachel Shelley and Paul Blackthorne in supporting roles.

Plot

In 1892, a delayed monsoon has rendered the farmers of Champaner unable to grow any crops. They pay a visit to the local ruler, Raja Puran Singh to ask for exemption from the annual tax (lagaan), which has been doubled this year. The Raja, a nominal figure under the protection of the British Raj, is at the Cantonment where a cricket match is underway between British army officers. At the game, a young farmer named Bhuvan gets into a scuffle with one of the officers and ends up mocking the game in front of the commanding officer, Captain Andrew Russell. Enraged, the short-tempered Captain challenges Bhuvan to a match of cricket in exchange for cancelling lagaan. He raises the stakes by offering exemption from lagaan for the next three years should the farmers win, but also asking for a triple payment should the farmers lose. Bhuvan wittingly accepts the challenge.

Informing his fellow villagers of the challenge, Bhuvan is met with incredulity; no one believes they will stand any chance of winning and they are terrified that the heavy tax burden will destroy their lives. Assembling a team proves to be difficult, as the only people to support Bhuvan are his mother and Gauri, the daughter of the village medic. The next day, Bhuvan puts up a public display of cricket in the village square and gains two supporters—Bagha, a strong drummer and Guran, an eccentric astrologer. To learn the rules of the game, they start secretly going to the cantonment to observe the playing officers. Unexpected help comes in the form of Captain Russell’s sister, Elizabeth, a young woman who wants to give the farmers a fair chance by teaching them the game. With the help of an Indian translator, she starts meeting Bhuvan and his team at a ground outside their village. Soon, other villagers join the team. With a few weeks to go until the day of the match, Bhuvan is still missing one player and spots a hidden talent in Kachra, a cripple living on the fringes of the village. Kachra, bowling from his injured hand, can naturally spin the ball without difficulty. The other team members threaten a walkout because Kachra is also an untouchable, but Bhuvan reminds them of the high stakes of the match and expresses belief that Kachra will prove to be their team’s strongest weapon.

The day of the match arrives and the British army team elects to bat. The match has taken on a new dimension for Captain Russell, because he has been commanded by his superiors to pay the exempted lagaan from his own pocket should his team lose the match. The British team lose early wickets thanks to the unconventional bowling style of the farmers; however, they recover and end the day’s play positively with Captain Russell leading the scoring. Kachra’s bowling has been completely ineffective the whole day. At night, Elizabeth spies Lakha, a member of Bhuvan’s team, talking to her brother in a conspiratorial manner. Lakha had been playing particularly poorly that day, and she informs Bhuvan of his betrayal. Angered, the villagers chase after Lakha to kill him but Bhuvan decides to give him another chance when Lakha confesses to being jealous of Gauri’s love for Bhuvan.

The next day, Lakha redeems himself on the field and plays with great spirit. Kachra regains his ability to spin the ball, now that the ball has lost some of its hardness. He takes a hat-trick and some further quick wickets, and the British innings is over. The villagers’ run chase starts promisingly, but soon the main batters, apart from Bhuvan, all lose their wickets before the end of the second day. The next day, steady and careful batting by Bhuvan and Ismail, an injured but capable player, gets them out of trouble. With victory now in sight, Ismail is run out, leaving Bhuvan to make the required runs with the last man, Kachra. With only one over left to play, Bhuvan loses strike and Kachra is forced to bat for the victory. With a boundary needed on the last ball, he only manages a single. However, the unbiased British umpire calls a no-ball (illegal delivery), putting Bhuvan on strike for the replayed delivery. He swings mightily, connects, and clears the boundary, thus winning the match for his team.

In the coming weeks, with the villagers celebrating the end of lagaan, the British cantonment is disbanded, and the villagers watch as the British caravan departs from Champaner, seemingly forever. Elizabeth, who had fallen in love with Bhuvan, steps out to bid him a tearful farewell. She returns to England and never marries, while Gauri and Bhuvan get married with great fanfare in the village.

Cast

Aamir Khan as Bhuvan Latha. Ashutosh first thought of having Shah Rukh Khan, Bobby Deol, Hrithik Roshan and Abhishek Bachchan for the role of Bhuvan. After Bachchan chose to enter cinema with J. P. Dutta’s Refugee (2000), Aamir was approached with the idea.
Gracy Singh as Gauri. Several actresses had offered to act in the film, but Aamir needed someone who matched the description of the character given in the script. After considering Rani Mukerji who did not have dates to accommodate the film, Sonali Bendre, Nandita Das, Shamita Shetty and Ameesha Patel were approached for the role, Ashutosh selected Gracy Singh for the female lead because he was convinced that she was a good actress and dancer and resembled actress Vyjayanthimala. Singh, a newcomer, devoted all her time to the film.