Lagaan Film Analysis

Introduction The movie ‘Lagaan’ is a good start to understanding India’s cricket history in some aspects. Some may also identify with the hardships that Indian villagers faced under British colonial rule. However, Lagaan is ultimately a fictional film which Nissim Mannathukkaren (2001) argues that no historical evidence supports that such a match took place in the rural areas. In spite of this, it is noteworthy to compare how accurate Lagaan portrays the period and Indian reaction to British sports against literature written by scholars on the history of introduction of cricket and other British sports in India. The documentary on Trobriand Cricket will also be used as a comparison against Lagaan. Finally, a discussion on Lagaan as myth-making or an accurate reflection will be made.

Comparing the Film and that written by Scholars Similarities and differences between the

In Lagaan, villagers were angry with Bhuvan for putting them into an unthinkable predicament without their consent, and initially refused to play the unknown English game of cricket. Similarly, Tyndale Biscoe wrote that his Kashmir students did not want to play British sports like football or row, because it was low caste to touch a leather ball or have muscles. Thus it is evident that the introduction of British sports in India was met with Indian resistance. There were differing reasons for the introduction and learning of British sports to Indians. In Lagaan, the villagers of Champaner did not have much of a choice. Bhuvan had made the choice and the British officer would not take back Bhuvan’s decision. They could not pay the double tax as demanded by the British when they were already struggling to survival in a land that had not rained for a long time. They could only have a gamble and do their best to win the British in cricket so that Lagaan could be lifted for 3