neumu [ cinematronic ]




	Lagaan: Once Upon A Time In India
	Ashutosh Gowariker Aamir Khan, Gracy Singh, Rachel Shelley, Suhasini Mulay, Paul Blackthorne, Kulbhushan Kharbanda 2001		India's commercial film industry, A.K.A. Bollywood, gets its best chance at finding an international audience with "Lagaan." It's still not an easy sell. The movie is an elaborate, colorful musical set in late 19th-century colonial India; it's epic-length at 223 minutes; and even though it's partially in English, it's primarily in subtitled Hindi. Plus, it revolves around a crucial cricket match between an expert team of British soldiers from the occupying government and an amateur squad of Indian villagers. The poor natives, facing doubled tax payments, make a wager on the game. If they win, no taxes will be paid for three years; if they lose, they must pay triple the amount. Despite the extensive running time, "Lagaan" zips along. You get the big match; a love triangle between noble villager Bhuvan (Aamir Khan), a local girl and the kind sister of a villainous British captain; and tuneful, spirited production numbers that owe much to the burst-into-song fantasias of American movie musicals. Bolly good!