Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India

2001 ‘लगान’ Directed by Ashutosh Gowariker

In 1890s India, an arrogant British commander challenges the harshly taxed residents of Champaner to a high-stakes cricket match.

Aamir Khan Gracy Singh Rachel Shelley Paul Blackthorne Kulbhushan Kharbanda Rajendranath Zutshi Rajesh Vivek Yashpal Sharma Amin Hajee Aditya Lakhia Akhilendra Mishra Rajendra Gupta Shri Vallabh Vyas Raghubir Yadav Javed Khan A.K. Hangal Anupam Shyam John Rowe Jeremy Child Howard Lee Pradeep Ram Singh Rawat David Gant Amitabh Bachchan Ben Nealon Suhasini Mulay Daya Shankar Pandey Raja Awasthi Amin Gazi Pramatesh Mehta Show All…

Alternative Titles

Lagaan - Es war einmal in Indien, Лагаан: Однажды в Индии, Lagaan: Dawno temu w Indiach, Land Tax, Lagaan: Érase una vez en la India, Lagaan - olipa kerran Intiassa, Lagan: Bilo jednom u Indiji, Lagaan - Det var en gång i Indien, Lagaan: Era uma Vez na Índia, 라간, Taxation: Once Upon a Time in India, Lagaan, Lagaan - Era Uma Vez na Índia, Лаган: Било једном у Индији, ラガーン, Lagaan: Once Upon A Time In India, Lagaan - C'era una volta in India, 榮耀之役

romance drama adventure

224 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by Sean Gilman ★★★★★ 9

Seven Samurai meets The Bad News Bears, except it's a musical about cricket and colonialism. Basically the ideal movie.
Still have no idea how to play cricket, but I do understand that British imperialism is about moving into a new territory, setting up an extortion racket and then, when the people who happen to live there complain, subjecting them to an arcane and ultimately pointless series of rules and procedures which the British themselves violate the spirit if not the letter of at every turn while also, whenever possible, resorting to outright violence to punish and intimidate said populace.
Review by Florin Scanlon ★★★★ 8

I used to play a game similar to gili-danda when I was a kid. It has a different name and it's not an "official" game like cricket but it was a lot of fun. So there's a player who stands inside a circle with a long stick, he's the batter. Another player, the pitcher, has to throw a smaller stick in such way that it would fall in the circle. When the small stick is thrown towards the circle the batter has to hit the small stick and send it as far away from the circle as possible, the pitcher having to throw from where the small stick lands. If the small stick falls inside the circle the pitcher gets…
Review by Milez Das ★★★★★ 4

I am going to say it
"FUCK YOU ACADEMY AWARDS"
This is the film that really marked India on International level and this the movie which turnaround the Indian film industry. As Indian film industry is mainly about entertainment and money this movie breaks all the rules that this industry has and marks a spot and changes it.
Ashutosh Gowariker did a fantastic job in Direction, Story and screenplay. He took a risk that no one could have taken for another 10 to 20 years to make a film which is different and extraordinary.
The story flows in simple and majestic way while all the actors blend in their characters.
The Music is one of the best part of the…
Review by fran hoepfner ★★★★★

the best sports-underdog-historical-triumph-of-a-persecuted-people-movie-musical-love-quadrangle I've ever seen in my whole fucking life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review by Jack Moulton ★★★★ 6

Lagaan has been on my watchlist forever, ever since I saw a '50 Films You Have to See Before You Die' programme on Channel 4 back in 2006, but I would probably say now was the perfect time to finally watch it.
From the Bollywood films I've seen so far (this is number 8 within 6 weeks), this is absolutely the best one. Utterly sensational. It's remarkable how there are very little diminishing returns over its 4 hours. An incredible culture clash.
Review by Matthew B. ★★★★½

Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India is a film that has always intimidated me with its length. With a running time of nearly 4 hours, this is epic in the truest sense of the word. With the day off today, I decided to settle in and give it a shot, and I am so glad that I did; Lagaan is a fully-realized Bollywood masterpiece.
One of the things that I love about Bollywood cinema is the full cinematic experience so many of their greatest films attempt to deliver, and Lagaan is no exception. In a single film (albeit one as long as two standard features) writer-director Ashutosh Gowariker blends elements of comedy, drama, sport, and romance, with a handful…
Review by Felipe Fritz ★★★★½

A four hour long Bollywood musical about cricket and agricultural taxes shouldn't be this consistently riveting, but here we are.
Review by russman ★★★½ 3

At 3 hours and 44 minutes, this movie is still shorter than an actual game of cricket
Review by Andrew Ferguson ★★½

Look this was never gonna be my cup of tea really. A ~4 hour long movie about cricket where the title basically translates to Taxes. Not one word of that sentence appeals to me but here we are.
This was far from a bad movie though, it was incredibly well directed and shot. The acting was fantastic, Aamir Khan was great as always in the lead and Paul Blackthorne gave a delightfully villainous turn as an egocentric English captain. The last hour or so of the film once we get to the actual cricket match was also surprisingly exciting and engaging considering how little I know or care about the sport, it really kept me engaged.
My main issues lie…
Review by Libby Caldwell ★★★

Films Watched in 2020 - Film 110
I liked some of the songs and the last 90 minutes were interesting but I’m not sure if that’s to the credit of the movie or just because I find cricket entertaining on its own.
This movie is long, way too long in my opinion. I actually don’t think any movie should be this long, it gives it the opportunity to become too indulgent and leave in scenes that really don’t need to be left in.
Overall, it was just pretty predictable and I know I’m going to have forgotten most of it by tomorrow.
Review by Maria ★★★★★ 2

I’d been meaning to watch this for three months and I kept putting it off because I didn’t think a nearly four hour movie about cricket could possibly be my thing. How wrong I was. Lagaan asks its viewers to give it four hours, but not without reason. It takes advantage of every single minute of its runtime to tell an inspiring story that’s about so much more than just cricket. It knows how to emotionally invest its viewers in Champaner's world full of life, and, in true Bollywood fashion, it mixes cricket with drama, comedy and musical numbers, never making you feel like an outsider even if you're not particularly interested in cricket. If I could give Lagaan more than 5 stars, I would. A masterpiece in every sense of the word.
Review by Lebowskidoo🍿😷🍁 ★★★★½

"He who has truth and courage in his heart shall win in the end."
A three hour and forty-four minute long Bollywood musical drama about a cricket game (of which I know nothing) between a small village in India and their harsh British overlords, did not initially seem like an obvious choice for myself. Good thing I'm an adventurous movie watcher, always looking to broaden my horizons, or I would have missed out on this hugely entertaining film.
You are placed directly amongst the villagers, quickly emphasizing with their plight. The running time allows you get comfortable and get to know the characters. I was at first taken back by the musical numbers, I hadn't read anything about the movie…

Recent reviews

Review by sammerw ★★½

ngl i skipped the songs
Review by Jeff Bernstein ★★★★★

fuck yeah dude hell yeah this rules
Review by njm_2902 ★★★★½

I’ve watched four-hour movies where you feel every minute ... and this was nothing like that. It has literally everything - a romantic love triangle (quadrangle?), betrayal, underdogs overcoming the oppressors, the breaking down of social classes, and brutal colonialism, but is also a comedy with musical numbers and it all comes together in a cricket match that in itself goes the length of a feature film.
Review by devinski ★★★★★

Wonderful film!! Best parts of a musical and an underdog sport film mixed to create this masterpiece! I will definitely be watching this again.
Review by Joey ★★★★

The name of this movie is “Tax”. It’s four hours long and features almost an entire game of cricket being played. It’s one of the most entertaining films I’ve ever seen.
Review by Steve ½

An almost 4 hour movie about land tax and cricket is unconscionable. Are there no editors in India?!
Review by Quinn Glasnapp ★★★★★

The greatest singing 🎤 , dancing 💃 , cricketing 🏏 picture of all-time!
Review by alan_yates99 ★★★★

banger
Review by sitarslayer ★★★★

pure nostalgia and insane music bops
Review by vishvas

cricket against brits in 1900 gujarat to avoid tax
Review by Jukka Kuva ★★★★

Lagaan is one of those movies I certainly would've skipped, were it not standing in the way of imdb top250 completion. It's about a small village in India who have to play a cricket match against their colonial overlords. If they win, they are exempt of land tax, or Lagaan, for three years. If they lose, they have to pay triple Lagaan, essentially starving to death. Basically it's a two hour movie with a two hour final battle by the means of cricket.
Just like cricket, Lagaan seems to never end. But it's a pretty entertaining ride nevertheless. The acting is mostly good, the plot is well crafted and contains some social commentary here and there as well. The british are suitably douchy and the audiovisual side works well. Most of the Bollywoody dance numbers are quite successful too.
Worth watching if you can spare the time, but nothing that can't be skipped.
Review by Jane ★★★★★

I don’t think anyone has ever looked as good as Aamir Khan looks in this movie