When I went to see Lagaan I had huge expectation mainly because Aamir Khan was producing the movie. I knew from the begining that being an Aamir Khan production this movie has to be different in real sense from all these masala movies that are being made in hundereds every year. Let me tell you guys this movie surpassed all my expectations and I think this is one of the best movie in bollywood's histroy. The way this movie has been made and the way this movie deals with several key issue is amazing. I mean how many times you have seen an indian movie dealing with the issue of tax on farmers probably never. A lot has been said about the movie so i guess i don't have to write the whole story but I will point out the strong points of the movie. 1) A very simple and unique story dealt with amazing direction. 2) All the characters in the movie with amazing performance. 3) An amazing soundatrack and background music. 4) Amazing art diection. 5) Great narration by the bollywood legend Amitabh Bachan. These are some of the storng point about the movie. I have many friends who never go for indian movies but I insisted them to go woth me a watch this paticular movie and they rate this movie as one of the top ten movie including Hollwyood movies. I guess if you don't see indian movies this movie is the best movie to start with.
Reviews
3 Reviews
Dil Chahta Hai
(2001)
An Excellent movie with real life situations!!!
25 August 2001
Dil Chahta Hai Starring: Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Akshaye Khanna, Preity Zinta, Sonali Kulkarni, Dimple Kapadia and Ayub Khan Director: Farhan Akhtar Music: Shankar-Eshan-Loy Released. Debutant director Farhan Akhtar's (son of Javed Akhtar and Honey Irani) Dil Chahta Hai is the story of three friends and their respective thinking of love. It has a new, trendy and youthful look, completely different from the standards norms of the Bollywood film.
Akash (Aamir Khan), Sameer (Saif Ali Khan) and Siddharth aka Sid (Akshaye Khanna), three close friends, have completed their education and are on the threshold of life. Akash does not believe in love. He is a flirt and his love affairs do not last for more than a month. Sameer believes in love. He is always carrying his heart on his palm and falling in love every time. But he still has not found that special girl. Sid, a painter, is the most sensitive and mature among the three. He knows the true meaning of love. He finds love in everything, everywhere and everytime.
All three are enjoying life. Then comes the twist when Sid falls in love with older woman Tara Jaiswal (Dimple Kapadia), an interior designer, who is a divorcee. Akash is not able to understand the depth of Sid's love and hurts his sentiments for which Sid slaps Akash, thus creating a rfit between the two friends. Sameer tries to bridge the gap but is unsuccessful.
Sid leaves for a painting workshop at Kaushali. Akash leaves for Australia for his dad's business. On the flight, he meets Shalini (Preity Zinta), who he had briefly known earlier. Their friendship slowly blossoms into love. Meanwhile Sameer also finds his special girl in Pooja (Sonali Kulkarni), whom he wants to marry. Time has passed. All three friends are again in the same town -- but things are different for them now.
Full marks to director Farhan Akhtar for giving a completely new and fresh look to the film in his debut film. The storyline is different from the run-of-the-mill fares which we are used to seeing for such a long time. Farhan is a welcomed entry in the list of talented and young directors. He has also dared to be different. He has taken care of the minutest details in the film. Technically, the film is no way behind some of the best Hollywood movies.
Now the performances -- all the three leads are fabulous. They all fit their roles to a T. Aamir Khan as expected is the best. He is too good in the comic scenes and is excellent in the emotional scenes also -- especially in the scene when he breaks down on the phone while talking to his father. He definitely is the best among the current lot who does his work with precision and utmost dedication. Saif Ali Khan is a wonderful surprise in this film. This is his career-best role and one cannot imagine anyone else playing Sameer's role. His sense of timing and facial expressions are very natural and makes Sameer a very adorable character in the film.The least significant role was of Sameer but Saif made it very important. Now comes the final winner -- Akshaye Khanna. An actor-par excellence and very natural in front of the camera, Akshaye has played the role of Sid to perfection. His emotions and expressive face say a lot. He has given a spell-binding performance. Preity looks great in her new look and has acted well. Sonali Kulkarni is wasted and Dimple Kapadia still looks gorgeous and plays her role well.
Music and the picturisation of the songs flow with the mood of the film. The locales of Sydney and Goa have been brilliantly shot. The first half of the film has some of the light good moments. The second half is filled with emotion though the Aamir-Preity affair has been stretched a lot thus making the film a bit lengthy. But one thing is sure -- Bollywood has got one more talented director in Farhan Akhtar.
Akash (Aamir Khan), Sameer (Saif Ali Khan) and Siddharth aka Sid (Akshaye Khanna), three close friends, have completed their education and are on the threshold of life. Akash does not believe in love. He is a flirt and his love affairs do not last for more than a month. Sameer believes in love. He is always carrying his heart on his palm and falling in love every time. But he still has not found that special girl. Sid, a painter, is the most sensitive and mature among the three. He knows the true meaning of love. He finds love in everything, everywhere and everytime.
All three are enjoying life. Then comes the twist when Sid falls in love with older woman Tara Jaiswal (Dimple Kapadia), an interior designer, who is a divorcee. Akash is not able to understand the depth of Sid's love and hurts his sentiments for which Sid slaps Akash, thus creating a rfit between the two friends. Sameer tries to bridge the gap but is unsuccessful.
Sid leaves for a painting workshop at Kaushali. Akash leaves for Australia for his dad's business. On the flight, he meets Shalini (Preity Zinta), who he had briefly known earlier. Their friendship slowly blossoms into love. Meanwhile Sameer also finds his special girl in Pooja (Sonali Kulkarni), whom he wants to marry. Time has passed. All three friends are again in the same town -- but things are different for them now.
Full marks to director Farhan Akhtar for giving a completely new and fresh look to the film in his debut film. The storyline is different from the run-of-the-mill fares which we are used to seeing for such a long time. Farhan is a welcomed entry in the list of talented and young directors. He has also dared to be different. He has taken care of the minutest details in the film. Technically, the film is no way behind some of the best Hollywood movies.
Now the performances -- all the three leads are fabulous. They all fit their roles to a T. Aamir Khan as expected is the best. He is too good in the comic scenes and is excellent in the emotional scenes also -- especially in the scene when he breaks down on the phone while talking to his father. He definitely is the best among the current lot who does his work with precision and utmost dedication. Saif Ali Khan is a wonderful surprise in this film. This is his career-best role and one cannot imagine anyone else playing Sameer's role. His sense of timing and facial expressions are very natural and makes Sameer a very adorable character in the film.The least significant role was of Sameer but Saif made it very important. Now comes the final winner -- Akshaye Khanna. An actor-par excellence and very natural in front of the camera, Akshaye has played the role of Sid to perfection. His emotions and expressive face say a lot. He has given a spell-binding performance. Preity looks great in her new look and has acted well. Sonali Kulkarni is wasted and Dimple Kapadia still looks gorgeous and plays her role well.
Music and the picturisation of the songs flow with the mood of the film. The locales of Sydney and Goa have been brilliantly shot. The first half of the film has some of the light good moments. The second half is filled with emotion though the Aamir-Preity affair has been stretched a lot thus making the film a bit lengthy. But one thing is sure -- Bollywood has got one more talented director in Farhan Akhtar.
A Movie that will change how movies are made in India!!!
17 August 2001
When you think of how many movies keep you engrossed for three running hours, the brilliance of Lagaan is evident from keeping your interest for all of its four hours (with an interval and some boring ads and trailors thrown in). It could have been a few minutes shorter - but that would be at the cost of detail, drama, humor, or perhaps a silent cinematographic transition. Different sections of the audience appreciate different aspects of a film - and a film that can please as many sections without getting on the nerves of another must be appreciated as a truly complete film. And in that respect, Lagaan is a perfect example of complete film, a classy entertainer, with superior technical execution - like Sholay (the only other comparable movie).
The strength of "Lagaan" is in the people behind its making. Ashutosh Gowariker leads the way as a director first, and as much as the man behind the story and screenplay. Anil Mehta uses color and camera to bring out the mood in each scene. A period movie set in 1893 would rely on sets and costumes - but limiting the movie to one village called Champaner and nearby British Cantonment makes it easier on Nitin Desai and Bhanu Athaiya to successfully take you back by a century with none of the usual faux pas.
A R Rahman´s background score combines with Anil Mehta´s visual brilliance for a strong audio-visual impact. The songs impress by themselves, and instrumental notes from the songs work brilliantly in the background track - that keeps you listening and appreciating it from the titles to the credits at the end. The songs blend into the movie with Javed Akhtar´s strong lyrics and are innovative choreography. There may be some whispers about the songs affecting the narrative but there is an audience that wants to see movies for the songs and choreography - and Lagaan manages the balance between narrative and song-and-dance well. About the cast, everyone brings life into their roles. Aamir Khan stands out - with his screen time to movie time ratio most likely to beat some of Kamal Haasan´s movies.
Now, about the movie itself - it is a modernized presentation of four-decade old "Naya Daur". It is a movie about common men, led by a strong-minded individual to overcome resistance and differences in opinion - and standing their ground for a cause against a powerful opposition. There is a cause for a fight, there is a fight, and there is a moral victory in the end. This is the stuff that most good-over-bad and other moral stories are made of, but the details in the script of Lagaan make it work.
The humor built into individual characters as Aamir Khan assembles a cricket team and respond to the challenge of the British General is most entertaining. At the cost of sounding sexist, some of the ignorant humorous descriptions of cricket amused me by how close it was to what some women in the house would say when all men are glued to the TV and households come to a standstill (often depriving the women of some boring TV serial). This humor is certainly a strength of the movie, blended most brilliantly into a serious and inspirational narrative. Full credit to the director, screenplay, dialogues, and the performers.
About the story itself - it is incidental to the movie. Lagaan is more about spirit, inspiration, and cinematic brilliance rather than a story that will move you. And should I say, thankfully there is no marriage, no rituals and functions, and the stuff that most of 90´s were made off. The movie works at the level of spirit and inspiration, and not at some perceived lost cultural value in society - and most thankfully so.
And to conclude this review - I must say Lagaan and Sholay, being two very different movies share a lot in common - in how complete they are. Think about this - what´s so common to these movies.
Extra long movies, suppressed societies, domination through power, the spirit to fight, inspiring and building a team, humor and entertainment in a serious script, brown barren landscapes, strong people and characters, story of a single village, and we can keep counting ...
So, here I am shooting off a feature by feature comparison of the two movies.
Length and directions - Two "too" long movies - where the length didn´t bore you. Two directors, who got their formula right.
Performances and characters - Sholay was easily better with a different genre of performers and more complete characters. Lagaan suffers from the typical "Kamal Haasan" syndrome - of centering around one character.
The love story - If it were not for the Amitabh-Jaya love story of Sholay, Lagaan would be far superior with how the romantic angle never interferes or disturbs on the narrative.
Creating a whole village - Two movies that successfully take you to a different society with pains, pleasures, and feelings that are not so common with what we associate with.
Terror - Gabbar Singh scores and its an unfair comparison here. The British general is more about misplaced pride than terror.
Humor - Lagaan wins, with humor being a part of its people - unlike Sholay which had parallel tracks and comic characters like "Soorma Bhopali" and the "Jailor".
Visual effects - Technologies have evolved in 25 years, but the brilliance of Anil Mehta in Lagaan is still only comparable to what we saw in Sholay. Songs and dances - Lagaan scores with its songs, though R D Burman could undo all the brilliance of A R Rahman with one Mehbooba.
Background music - It would be hard to tell the two apart in how well they served the movie.
Climax - Sholay wins, for the stark and different end - and this is one weakness for Lagaan to be a little more cliched, heroic, and melodramatic. Yet, the climax of Lagaan has its moments and tries to be different in its own way. How often has a cricket match formed a climax (without getting so farcical as Chamatkar, Maalamaal, and the Dev Anand fiasco which incidentally again had Aamir Khan at the crease)?
So - for those who still believe that Sholay is the best entertainer Hindi cinema has seen till date, here is reason to rejoice that Lagaan is comparable if not better.
The strength of "Lagaan" is in the people behind its making. Ashutosh Gowariker leads the way as a director first, and as much as the man behind the story and screenplay. Anil Mehta uses color and camera to bring out the mood in each scene. A period movie set in 1893 would rely on sets and costumes - but limiting the movie to one village called Champaner and nearby British Cantonment makes it easier on Nitin Desai and Bhanu Athaiya to successfully take you back by a century with none of the usual faux pas.
A R Rahman´s background score combines with Anil Mehta´s visual brilliance for a strong audio-visual impact. The songs impress by themselves, and instrumental notes from the songs work brilliantly in the background track - that keeps you listening and appreciating it from the titles to the credits at the end. The songs blend into the movie with Javed Akhtar´s strong lyrics and are innovative choreography. There may be some whispers about the songs affecting the narrative but there is an audience that wants to see movies for the songs and choreography - and Lagaan manages the balance between narrative and song-and-dance well. About the cast, everyone brings life into their roles. Aamir Khan stands out - with his screen time to movie time ratio most likely to beat some of Kamal Haasan´s movies.
Now, about the movie itself - it is a modernized presentation of four-decade old "Naya Daur". It is a movie about common men, led by a strong-minded individual to overcome resistance and differences in opinion - and standing their ground for a cause against a powerful opposition. There is a cause for a fight, there is a fight, and there is a moral victory in the end. This is the stuff that most good-over-bad and other moral stories are made of, but the details in the script of Lagaan make it work.
The humor built into individual characters as Aamir Khan assembles a cricket team and respond to the challenge of the British General is most entertaining. At the cost of sounding sexist, some of the ignorant humorous descriptions of cricket amused me by how close it was to what some women in the house would say when all men are glued to the TV and households come to a standstill (often depriving the women of some boring TV serial). This humor is certainly a strength of the movie, blended most brilliantly into a serious and inspirational narrative. Full credit to the director, screenplay, dialogues, and the performers.
About the story itself - it is incidental to the movie. Lagaan is more about spirit, inspiration, and cinematic brilliance rather than a story that will move you. And should I say, thankfully there is no marriage, no rituals and functions, and the stuff that most of 90´s were made off. The movie works at the level of spirit and inspiration, and not at some perceived lost cultural value in society - and most thankfully so.
And to conclude this review - I must say Lagaan and Sholay, being two very different movies share a lot in common - in how complete they are. Think about this - what´s so common to these movies.
Extra long movies, suppressed societies, domination through power, the spirit to fight, inspiring and building a team, humor and entertainment in a serious script, brown barren landscapes, strong people and characters, story of a single village, and we can keep counting ...
So, here I am shooting off a feature by feature comparison of the two movies.
Length and directions - Two "too" long movies - where the length didn´t bore you. Two directors, who got their formula right.
Performances and characters - Sholay was easily better with a different genre of performers and more complete characters. Lagaan suffers from the typical "Kamal Haasan" syndrome - of centering around one character.
The love story - If it were not for the Amitabh-Jaya love story of Sholay, Lagaan would be far superior with how the romantic angle never interferes or disturbs on the narrative.
Creating a whole village - Two movies that successfully take you to a different society with pains, pleasures, and feelings that are not so common with what we associate with.
Terror - Gabbar Singh scores and its an unfair comparison here. The British general is more about misplaced pride than terror.
Humor - Lagaan wins, with humor being a part of its people - unlike Sholay which had parallel tracks and comic characters like "Soorma Bhopali" and the "Jailor".
Visual effects - Technologies have evolved in 25 years, but the brilliance of Anil Mehta in Lagaan is still only comparable to what we saw in Sholay. Songs and dances - Lagaan scores with its songs, though R D Burman could undo all the brilliance of A R Rahman with one Mehbooba.
Background music - It would be hard to tell the two apart in how well they served the movie.
Climax - Sholay wins, for the stark and different end - and this is one weakness for Lagaan to be a little more cliched, heroic, and melodramatic. Yet, the climax of Lagaan has its moments and tries to be different in its own way. How often has a cricket match formed a climax (without getting so farcical as Chamatkar, Maalamaal, and the Dev Anand fiasco which incidentally again had Aamir Khan at the crease)?
So - for those who still believe that Sholay is the best entertainer Hindi cinema has seen till date, here is reason to rejoice that Lagaan is comparable if not better.
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