The audience cheers fervently, there is prolonged applause and every heart thumps with joie de vivre. No, this is not Hrithik Roshan being conferred another ridiculous award; this is the final frame of Aamir Khans magnum opus - Lagaan.
In the words of sutradhar Amitabh Bachchan, the story got lost somewhere in the pages of history. But this movie is here to stay. It is a winner, no two opinions about that. And it is not a mere movie, it is a tale of the most unusual accomplishments. Never have I seen a film audience root for characters in a movie with such ebullience. Never have I sat through an hour of cricket, clapping and backing the already pronounced winners. And never in my life did I imagine that this would happen in a 4-hour movie full of unknowns!
Manish Malhotra can take Gucci for a walk while Ashutosh Gowariker establishes the fact the good cinema is not all about juvenile bimbos courting infantile bimbettes in designer labels.
Gowariker engaged the best in the country for his maiden production. And be it Oscar winner Bhanu Athaiyas impeccable dresses or Ahmed Khan and Saroj Khans spellbindingly glorious choreography, the team does not let us down. Anil Mehta’s photography is superior stuff. I’ve never seen a prettier village, especially at night. K P Saxenas sentences are rough with rural dust and tradition. But the two facets of the movie beyond appreciation are the acting and the music.
The backbone of Lagaan, without doubt, is the beguiling performance by the actors. Gowariker has managed to extract the most astounding show from non-stars. Aamir is, as usual, riveting. Yashpal Sharma as the baddie Laakha steals the show. The British actors are very convincing, and at tiems amusing. The side-splittingly funny poultry owner, the jaunty palmist, the ardent mute, the doting mother, the downtrodden harijan interestingly called kachra....each one of these artistes does extremely well.
After more than 24-hours of watching the movie, the resonant sounds of ghanan ghanan outrightly refuse to leave my soul. Exorcists, save me from the spell of A.R. Rehman! Apart from the great beats of ghanan ghanan, the background score brilliant. It is A R Rehman’s best since Taal. He is our resident Beethoven in great form. But that applies only when it comes to the background music. Despite so many praises, I do not find five star stuff in most of the songs. The composer owes a ton to the director and the choreographers. The songs sound nice on audio, but they look out-and-out divine on video. In bits and peices
the background music is reminiscent of that of Chariots of Fire, the British Oscar-winning sports opus. Albeit Lagaan is a masterly score, it does not match up to the superb compositions by Vangelis in Hugh Hudson’s movie.
Coming to the other side of the coin, the thinking Khans tour de force is not without its lows. That is the reason why I rate the plot at ’Fair’. The first 2 and a half hours arent a patch on the enthralling finale. Minimising the risk, Ashutosh has added the two genres of film that make Bollywood run - romance and comedy. Chock-full with slapstick, and a little lukewarm by the lack of script, the first 2 hours dont do much to push the story forward. Well, there isnt much of a story to put forward at all. Sharper screenplay could have made them more crisp. Yet, they dont bore you stiff. A little bit of patience is richly rewarded. Guys, the bottom line is - the last hour of Lagaan is something Bollywood should be proud of. And that last impression is what makes the movie a bit over-rated.
All said and done, there is one line that makes the crux of what I want to say through this review - in the past 2 years, this is undeniably the best commercial Hindi movie I have seen. . Two warnings- first, do NOT watch this on TV...it just wont work. Second, if you dont like slapstick jokes and melodrama, and prefer highbrow stuff, coerce yourself to enjoy this. In no time the laughing will get natural. Even if you loathe cricket you will enjoy the whole thing without the slightest feeling of ennui. For a film with such a huge canvas, this is no little feat. Thank you, Ashutosh Gowariker, for such a wonderful experience.
The Chiefs verdict - 3.5/5 - not a must-see, but a most refreshingly pleasurable experience.