This article is about the Indian live action film. For the Japanese animated series, see Gurren Lagann.
Lagaan
English-language release poster
Directed by
Ashutosh Gowariker
Screenplay by
Ashutosh Gowariker Kumar Dave Sanjay Dayma
Story by
Ashutosh Gowariker
Dialogue by
K. P. Saxena (Hindi) Ashutosh Gowariker (English)
Produced by
Aamir Khan
Starring
Aamir Khan
Gracy Singh
Rachel Shelley
Paul Blackthorne
Narrated by
Amitabh Bachchan
Cinematography
Anil Mehta
Edited by
Ballu Saluja
Music by
A. R. Rahman
Production company
Aamir Khan Productions
Distributed by
SET Pictures[1]
Release date
15 June 2001 (2001-06-15)
Running time
224 minutes[2]
Country
India[3]
Languages
Hindi English
Budget
₹250 million[4]
Box office
est. ₹659.7 million (seebelow)
Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India, or simply Lagaan, (transl. Land tax) is a 2001 Indian Hindi-language epic period musical[5] sports drama film written and directed by Ashutosh Gowariker. The film was produced by Aamir Khan, who stars alongside debutant Gracy Singh and British actors Rachel Shelley and Paul Blackthorne. Set in 1893, during the late Victorian period of British colonial rule in India, the film follows the inhabitants of a village in Central India, who, burdened by high taxes and several years of drought, are challenged by an arrogant British Indian Army officer to a game of cricket as a wager to avoid paying the taxes they owe. The villagers face the arduous task of learning a game that is alien to them and play for a victory.
Produced on a budget of ₹25 crore (US$5.3 million), Lagaan was the most expensive Indian film at the time of its release. It faced multiple challenges during production: Khan was initially skeptical to star in a sports film, and later, prospective producers called for budget cuts and script modifications. Eventually, the film would become the maiden project of Aamir Khan Productions, and mark Khan's foray into film production. Gowariker was inspired by aspects of the sports drama Naya Daur (1957) in developing the film. The language featured in the film was based on Awadhi, but was diluted with standard Hindi for modern audiences. Principal photography took place in villages near Bhuj. Nitin Chandrakant Desai served as art director, while Bhanu Athaiya was the costume designer. The original soundtrack was composed by A. R. Rahman, with lyrics written by Javed Akhtar.
Lagaan was theatrically released in India on 15 June 2001, clashing with Gadar: Ek Prem Katha. It received widespread critical acclaim for Gowariker's direction, Khan's performance, dialogues, soundtrack, and the film's anti-imperialist stance. With earnings of ₹65.97 crore (US$13.98 million) during its initial release, the film was the third highest-grossing Hindi film of 2001. Lagaan was screened at numerous international film festivals and garnered multiple accolades. It was the third, and as of 2023 the last, Indian film to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film after Mother India (1957) and Salaam Bombay! (1988). Lagaan became the most-awarded film at the 47th Filmfare Awards with eight wins, including Best Film, Best Director for Gowariker and Best Actor for Khan. At the 49th National Film Awards, the film won eight awards, including Best Popular Film.
^Mathur, Arti (30 December 2001). "Sony closes Hindi film distrib biz". Variety. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
^"Lagaan (PG)". British Board of Film Classification. Archived from the original on 1 January 2014. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
^"Lagaan (2001)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 31 December 2018. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
^"Aamir Khan causes traffic jam". The Tribune. 1 June 2001. Archived from the original on 20 January 2008. Retrieved 20 January 2008.
^Zilko, Christian; Chapman, Wilson; Foreman, Alison (24 April 2023). "The 57 Best Movie Musicals of All Time, Ranked". IndieWire. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India, or simply Lagaan, (transl. Land tax) is a 2001 Indian Hindi-language epic period musical sports drama film written...
treatment". He is best known for helming the epic musical sports drama Lagaan (2001), the social drama Swades (2004) and the epic historical romantic...
in Hindi and Telugu films. She is best known for her role in the films Lagaan and Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. Singh is also a trained Bharatnatyam and Odissi...
Lagaan (English: Taxation) is a 2001 Indian sports drama film, written and directed by Ashutosh Gowariker. The film stars Aamir Khan, who also produced...
The L Word and Elizabeth Russell in the Oscar-nominated Bollywood epic Lagaan. Rachel Irene Shelley was born on 25 August 1969 in Wiltshire, England,...
director in the epic film Lagaan directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, whom she also assisted later on Swades: We, the People. Lagaan was nominated for 74th Academy...
Hindustani (1996), Lagaan (2001), and Dangal (2016), the Best Actor (Critics) award for Rang De Basanti (2006), the Best Film award for Lagaan, Taare Zameen...
film role was in the Academy award nominated Hindi-language Indian film Lagaan, released in the year 2001. Since then, he has mostly appeared in American...
Sarfarosh (1999). In 1999, he founded Aamir Khan Productions, whose first film, Lagaan (2001), was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film...
also played the character of Arjan in the Academy Award nominated film Lagaan. He played the demon king Ravana in the 2008 television adaptation of the...
by Dil Chahta Hai with 13 nominations, and Lagaan and Gadar: Ek Prem Katha with 9 nominations each. Lagaan won 8 awards, including Best Film, Best Director...
film and television actor. He has acted in a number of Hindi movies like Lagaan (2001), Gangaajal (2003), Swades (2004) and Raajneeti (2010). He began his...
Amin Gazi is an Indian Actor. He was seen in 2001 Film Lagaan and 2003 Comedy Film Hungama. Lagaan (2001) Stumped (2003) Hungama (2003) Matrubhoomi (2003)...
Amrohi was best known for his roles in the Academy Award-nominated film Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (2001), Andaz Apna Apna (1994), and Chak De!...
best known to Hindi film audiences for his role as the astrologer Guran in Lagaan (2001) and as the postmaster Nivaran in Swades (2004). He had also played...
seek his fortune as an actor. Edward was inspired by the 2001 Hindi film Lagaan. He visited India in 2005 for a two-week course at the Vipassana International...
and television actor. He was known for films including Sarfarosh (1999), Lagaan (2001), Abhay (2001), Aan: Men at Work (2004), Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose:...
assistant director in Akele Hum Akele Tum. The character of Kachra in the movie Lagaan remains one of his most memorable performances. He is working in various...
Cultural Festival 2016 at Delhi and films like, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999), Lagaan (2001), Devdas (2002), Jodhaa Akbar (2008) and Prem Ratan Dhan Payo (2015)...
Cinematography for his work in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999) and later worked in Lagaan (2001), which was one of the most expensive Indian films at that time. He...
Paani Foundation. Retrieved 27 May 2019. "'Lagaan broke all rules'". Rediff. "'I have a story to tell about Lagaan'". www.rediff.com. Honeycutt, Kirk (19...
launched a production company, Aamir Khan Productions, whose first release Lagaan (2001) was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film...
successful, and Lagaan was the first Indian film with a nationwide Chinese release in 2011. Chinese filmmaker He Ping was impressed by Lagaan (particularly...
offered Mohan's role to Aamir Khan (who worked in Gowariker's 2001 film Lagaan), but he rejected it because he found the story to be weak. Mohan's role...
Productions' Kalyug. He has also appeared in period films such as Jodha Akbar and Lagaan. He has acted in a number of Punjabi films. He portrayed the hero in the...
Gowariker's period epic film Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India. As Aamir Khan was looking for someone with Hollywood experience for Lagaan, Farhan Akhtar recommended...
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