Lagaan

[tikistitch]

And now for something completely different....



I gather y'all already watched this puppy in an art house theater some years back, but I hadn't seen it. This was a big, big, big international hit. They had wanted SKR to star, but he either couldn't or wouldn't, SRK sometimes moving in mysterious ways.

It has the classic formula for a blockbuster hit: a musical about cricket! :D

Anyway, this takes place in the Nineteenth century, while India was still under the Raj. There's been a drought, so crops suck, and to make matters worse, the British are imposing harsh taxes on the farmers. So Bhuvan, a young man in the village makes a bet to stake the tax on a cricket game between the British and the men of the village. The villagers don't react well to this at first: if they lose, their taxes will be increased. So the video above is Bhuvan starting to convince everyone to join in. BY SINGING!

This being Bollywood, there are some twists: the sister of the leader of the British forces takes a shine to Bhuvan, so she helps out. And then falls in love with Bhuvan. Oops. About half of the film is the cricket match, pitting the scrappy villagers against the increasingly repugnant British (if you like your Brits villianous - this is the movie.)

This film is just a lot of fun. The music is catchy as hell, and they make excellent use of the musical numbers for storytelling. (In other words, the story doesn't just grind to a halt every 20 minutes so people can dance.) And unlike, for example, a lot of SRK vehicles, you can really almost believe these are a bunch of Indians in the countryside dancing around (uh, minus the orchestral music, maybe). I don't know shit about cricket (though I know a tiny bit more after watching this), but I think this is one of the most enjoyable sports films I've ever seen. One thing I liked: though Bhuvan is clearly the hero, his cricket team is stocked with very enjoyable eccentric characters. I'm still not quite sure why this particular film was such a crossover hit, when some equally good films I've seen recently were not, but it certainly merits being viewed and enjoyed.