Lagaan: Once Upon A Time In Indi

Director Gowariker has stated that it was almost impossible to make Lagaan. He went to Khan, who agreed to participate after hearing the detailed script. Khan had initially rejected the idea of a "sporty" film, but was "himself in tears" upon hearing the full dialogued script.[6] Even after securing Khan, Gowariker had trouble finding a producer. Producers who showed interest in the script wanted budget cuts as well as script modifications. Eventually, Khan agreed to Gowariker's suggestion that he would produce the film.[7] Khan corroborated this by saying that the faith he had in Gowariker, the story and script of the film,[8] and the opportunity of starting his own production company inspired him to produce Lagaan.[9] He also said that by being a producer himself, he was able to give greater creative freedom to Gowariker. He cited an example:

In 2001, Lagaan had a world premiere at the International Indian Film Academy Awards (IIFA) weekend in Sun City, South Africa.[41] The Locarno International Film Festival authorities published the rules of cricket before the film was screened to a crowd which reportedly danced to its soundtrack in the aisles.[42] Lagaan was shown 4 times due to public demand as against the usual norm of showcasing films once at the festival.[35] It subsequently won the Prix du Public Award at the festival.[43] After the film's publicity in Locarno, the director, Gowariker said that distributors from Switzerland, Italy, France, Netherlands, North Africa, Finland and Germany were wanting to purchase the distribution rights.[35] Special screenings were held in Russia, where people were keen to watch the film after its Oscar nomination.[44]

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Mohd Imran, 'Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India: The Portrayal of British Colonialism in India Cinema' (Opinio Juris, 29 October, 2009) -once-upon-a-time-in-india-the-portrayal-of-british-colonialism-in-india-cinema/

A Sony Pictures Classics release of a Jhamu Sughand presentation of an Aamir Khan production. Writer-director Ashutosh Gowariker. Dialogue K.P. Saxena. English dialogue Gowariker. Producer Aamir Khan. Cinematographer Anil Mehta. Editors Ballu Saluja, Kumar Dave, Sanjay Dayma. Music A.R. Rahman. Lyrics Javed Akhtar. Costumes Bhanu Athaiya. Production designer Nitin Chandrakant Desai. In Hindi and English, with English subtitles. Running time: 3 hours, 45 minutes.

Snake charmers, carpet vendors, and veiled women. These are the images of India evoked in the mind of the western spectator feverishly waiting in a cinema hall. But in Lagaan, Once upon a time in India, are only one side of the story.

Set in 1863 in the village of Champaner in Kutch, Lagaan, Once upon a time in India is an Indian epic sports-drama film. it is also the story of a team of villagers playing cricket against an oppressive colonial regime to save their lives, families and land.

While lavish landscapes and exuberant colours carefully recreate the atmosphere of both Indian and British quarters, Post-orientalist perspectives tackle Lagaan, Once upon a time in India as the trope of a different India.

A second element of the post-orientalist reading of Lagaan lies in the vicarious redemption of the British. While in Raj screen fictions the West is often portrayed as a marker of negativity, Lagaan Lagaan, Once upon a time in India vicariously redeems British colonialists by representing white characters facilitating Indian gallantry and heroism.

These narratives are perpetuated, in terms of style, by ad hoc stylistic choices. The music genre (inherently folk) and the authoritative narrator. In contrast with the oneiric soundtrack of numerous Bollywood movies, in Lagaan, Once upon a time in India the song sequences fit in with the action. They help drive the narrative forward.

Due to the discourses of the Internalized Orientalism perpetuated in Lagaan, the movie holds a paradigmatic relevance. Not only is Lagaan, Once upon a time in India a strategy for the reconciliation of a traumatic past; it is also a tool for embracing, reproaching and eventually overcoming the Orientalist framework.

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