As a teenager, occasionally I read books which were set in India (i.e., the Far Pavilions). I watched "The Jewel in the Crown" from beginning to end, and after that "A Passage to India", "Heat and Dust" and others. All different films but with one thing in common; all from the British/Colonial/white point of view.
Expanding my horizons to the Indian experience outside of India, I sought out films like "My Beautiful Launderette" and "Mississippi Masala". I had also seen a couple of Indian independent films, like "Salaam Bombay" and "Kama Sutra", but I had never seen a full-out Bollywood production before. I added "Lagaan" to my Netflix queue based, in part, on an Oscar nomination and on a favorable essay about the film on National Public Radio's "All Things Considered".
In the time between placing it in the queue and actually getting the film, I saw "Ghost World" where, in one scene, Enid was watching a clip from a Hindi musical, which to my WASP ears, sounded like Chinese opera on speed. And then on top of that, I found out that "Lagaan" was over 3 ½ hours long! The DVD arrived and I thought seriously about returning it unviewed, but I didn't, and I'm glad I didn't. IT WAS WONDERFUL. Engaging, uplifting and best of all, entertaining, and it passed the "butt" test (I didn't feel the need to squirm not once during the entire running time). And it didn't hurt that the star, Aamir Khan is a major babe.
All in all, a great film for the whole family with valuable lessons in tolerance, integrity and cooperation surrounded by an entertaining movie.
Expanding my horizons to the Indian experience outside of India, I sought out films like "My Beautiful Launderette" and "Mississippi Masala". I had also seen a couple of Indian independent films, like "Salaam Bombay" and "Kama Sutra", but I had never seen a full-out Bollywood production before. I added "Lagaan" to my Netflix queue based, in part, on an Oscar nomination and on a favorable essay about the film on National Public Radio's "All Things Considered".
In the time between placing it in the queue and actually getting the film, I saw "Ghost World" where, in one scene, Enid was watching a clip from a Hindi musical, which to my WASP ears, sounded like Chinese opera on speed. And then on top of that, I found out that "Lagaan" was over 3 ½ hours long! The DVD arrived and I thought seriously about returning it unviewed, but I didn't, and I'm glad I didn't. IT WAS WONDERFUL. Engaging, uplifting and best of all, entertaining, and it passed the "butt" test (I didn't feel the need to squirm not once during the entire running time). And it didn't hurt that the star, Aamir Khan is a major babe.
All in all, a great film for the whole family with valuable lessons in tolerance, integrity and cooperation surrounded by an entertaining movie.