Lagaan

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

Lagaan
Directed byAshutosh Gowariker
Produced byAamir Khan
Written byK. P. Saxena
(Hindi Dialogue)
Ashutosh Gowariker
(English Dialogue)
Screenplay byAshutosh Gowariker
Sanjay Dayma
Story byAshutosh Gowariker
Starring
Narrated byAmitabh Bachchan
Music byA. R. Rahman
CinematographyAnil Mehta
Edited byBallu Saluja
Production
company
Distributed bySony Pictures Networks
Zee Network
Release date
  • 15 June 2001 (2001-06-15)
Running time
224 minutes[1]
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
English
BudgetINR25 crore[2]
Box officeest. INR65.97 crore (see below)

The film is set in 1893, during the late Victorian period of India's colonial British Raj. The story takes place in a small village in Central India, whose settlers, overloaded by high taxes, and several years of drought, find themselves in an bizarre situation as an arrogant British army officer challenges them to a game of cricket, as a wager to avoid paying the taxes they owe. The narrative spins around this situation as the villagers face the extremely difficult task of learning a game that is strange and new to them and playing for a result that will change their village's destiny.

Lagaan released on 15 June 2001, clashing with Gadar: Ek Prem Katha starring Sunny Deol and Ameesha Patel. Lagaan received worldwide critical acclaim and awards at international film festivals, and many Indian film awards and it became a blockbuster. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Made on a very expensive of INR[2] (US$5.32 million),[3] the movie was a humongous project from Aamir Khan Productions and was filmed in villages near Bhuj.[4]

Cast

References

  1. "Lagaan (PG)". British Board of Film Classification. Archived from the original on 1 January 2014. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  2. 2.0 2.1 "Aamir Khan causes traffic jam". The Tribune. 1 June 2001. Archived from the original on 20 January 2008. Retrieved 20 January 2008.
  3. "Historical Exchange Rates Tool & Forex History Data (47 INR per USD)". OFX. 2001. Archived from the original on 19 June 2018. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  4. "15 Years of 'Lagaan': 20 Lesser Known Facts About the Film". CNN-News18. 15 June 2016.