Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India
Seen it?2001 | 233 min | Adventure, Drama, History
Friday Night FlickWhy it’s a Friday Night Flick
Critics loved it (95% on Rotten Tomatoes), it collected a shelf of major awards and it's still drawing plenty of interest. Make plans for this one.
Based on critics, audiences, awards, box office and buzz. Details below.Is it for you?
- Who'll love it
- Made for adventure fans and history buffs. If you loved The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind or Everest, start here. Critics rate it higher than audiences do, so it rewards patience more than it chases thrills.
- The mood
- Exciting.
- The pace
- Epic and sweeping, at 3 hr 53 min.
- What might put you off
- Rated PG. Worth a look first if you have very young kids.
- It's long: 3 hr 53 min.
- It's in Hindi, so expect subtitles (or a dub).
- Audiences were cooler on it than critics.
The year is 1893 and India is under British occupation. In a small village, the tyrannical Captain Russell has imposed an unprecedented land tax on its citizens. Outraged, Bhuvan, a rebellious farmer, rallies the villagers to publicly oppose the tax. Russell offers a novel way to settle the dispute: he challenges Bhuvan and his men to a game of cricket, a sport completely foreign to India. If Bhuvan and his men can defeat Russell's team, the tax will be repealed.
How it earned its rating
- CriticsVery strong
95% on Rotten Tomatoes, 84 on Metacritic
- AudiencesSolid
7.3 out of 10
- AwardsVery strong
Nominated for 1 Oscar.
- Box office & staying powerSolid
$8 million worldwide on a $5 million budget; still draws a steady audience long after release
- Buzz & cultural impactStrong
About 412K people sought it out in the past year
Trailer
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Cast & crew
Directed by Ashutosh Gowariker
- Aamir KhanBhuvan
- Gracy SinghGauri
- Rachel ShelleyElizabeth Russell
- Paul BlackthorneCaptain Andrew Russell
- Suhasini MulayYashoda
- Kulbhushan KharbandaRaja Puran Singh Chawla
- Raghubir YadavBhura
- Rajesh VivekGuran
- Raj ZutshiIsmail
- Pradeep Ram Singh RawatDeva Singh Sodhi