Cheap Lagaan - Once Upon a Time in India (DVD) (Ashutosh Gowariker) Price

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Customer Reviews of Lagaan - Once Upon a Time in India

Even if you are not much into musicals in general, and you don t know a thing about cricket, you will like "Lagaan"
"Laggan" is an interesting Indian musical, that will capture your attention, even if you are not much into musicals in general, and you don?t know a thing about cricket, a sport that has a big place in this film. <
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>Why? Well, to start with the plot of "Lagaan" is original, and the director (Ashutosh Gowariker) manages to make it credible. The story takes place in 19th century India, a British colony at that time. A group of villagers have been told that due to a whim of a British colonial officer they will have to pay double lagaan (a tax), despite the fact that they are suffering the effects of a drought. The villagers, led by Bhuvan (Aamir Khan) ask Captain Russell (Paul Blackthorne) to understand their plight, and he tells them that there will not pay lagaan if the villagers win a cricket match. However, if they lose they will have to pay triple lagaan. <
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>Bhuvan recklessly accepts the bet, and has to convince his friends that he did the right thing and that it is possible to win that match. First, though, they need to learn the rules of the game, something they do with the help of Elizabeth (Rachel Shelley), Captain Russell s sister. Of course, there is more to this movie than that, for example the fact that Gauri (Gracie Singh) doesn?t like the attention that Bhuvan pays to Elizabeth, or the problems some villagers have with Bhuvan s leadership. Notwithstanding that, the more interesting part of this movie is how much the possibility of defeating the British, even if merely in a cricket game, meant for everybody. <
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>All in all, I think that you will like this movie. It is interesting and picturesque, so much so that you hardly notice that it is almost four hours long. Recommended :) <
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>Belen Alcat <
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Fun introduction to India's past and the game of cricket
If you're looking for an exotic and enjoyable evening, Lagaan is the movie for you. It's filled with handsome men and beautiful women, lots of dancing. The joyous scene of the villagers when they think the monsoon rains are coming is a great introduction to India's culture and even its modern problems. <
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>I really enjoyed the moving scenes of the villagers worshipping at their local temple to Krishna and praying for help in winning the cricket game. So many Americans know next to nothing about religions other than Christianity. Many Americans assume that other religions don't inspire the same sincerity and devotion as their own. Well, they do. <
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>The film is bit overly politically correct in Indian terms. The idea that a cricket team from an Indian village of the 1890s would include a Muslim and an untouchable strikes me as absurd. <
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>The character of Gauri is meant to be innocent but seemed weak and stupid to me. The idea that she is wasting her time being jealous of the Englishwoman Elizabeth when the survival of her village is at stake is at best ridiculous. Elizabeth doesn't come off much better, mooning over a man from an alien culture she knows on only the most superficial level. Silliness in the female characters, particularly the younger ones, is common in the Indian films I have seen. Maybe it's just the cultural gap between America and India. <
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>The film is rather long, and slow-paced by the standards of American films. Plan to spend a whole evening with it.