Lagaan V/s the rest of the world

Article Updated 09 December, 2002 10:16:12 PM IST

Lagaan V/s the rest of the world

Come March 25, and Aamir Khan's Lagaan team will have to play another one day match against four other teams in the Best Foreign film category at the 2002 Oscars. If his team manages to score a victory then this will be the beginning of a new innings for Indian movies on an international platform.

Director Ashutosh Gowariker and Aamir Khan have left no stone unturned into putting Lagaan in the spotlight and it has paid off quite well. Lagaan is the third film after Mehboob Khan's Mother India in the 1950's and Mira Nair's Salaam Bombay in 1988 to be ever nominated in the Best Foreign film category. It is definitely a moment of great pride and joy for every Indian to bask in the success of Lagaan making it in the final round. But along with this, the question of why do Indian films fail to reach the expected mark on an international level needs to be answered. Bollywood produces the maximum number of films worldwide, while it is seen that the movie nominated in the Foreign film category are usually European , South American or South East Asian. Why do Indian movies not get the much-needed exposure globally ? What has Aamir Khan done that other producer/actors could not do?

Lagaan is definitely a superior product in terms of quality than any average movie, which Bollywood churns out every friday. It has a great cast, a superb score, and a person who decided to go by his gut instinct. The gamble has finally paid off big time for Aamir and his team. Right from the word go Lagaan had invoked the wrath and criticism of the so called trade pundits. They called it a dead bait which no one would dare to touch, some said it was too humongous and epic in its outlook, while some simply waited for the movie to collapse by its own weight. But nothing of that sort happened. The movie not only broke records at the Indian box office, but also won critical and commercial acclaim worldwide, right from Switzerland to South Africa, and England to America. And now the nomination is just like a cherry on the icing.

Why haven't Indian movies met the benchmark that Lagaan managed to meet? Firstly, we should remember that Indian movies are never made keeping in mind the Oscars, they rather would want to focus on the local junta who shell in money to watch their movie every friday. There are very less independent movie makers with their production houses who want to make a movie that is different , not in the clichéd "hatke hain" way. Though we have good directors like Mani Ratnam, Yash Chopra,Shaym Benegal, Govind Nihilani, Shekhar Kapoor (is he ours anymore, I doubt!) they have hardly met any critical acclaim worldwide, except for Kapoor whose Elizabeth was shunned away by the Oscars in a very distasteful way.

Also there is a perception in Hollywood and the press that Indian movies are lengthy, boring and are nothing more than song and dance. Yes, Lagaan is lengthy, and it has a great deal to do with song and dance ,yet the critics as well as common people have embraced it. This image of Indian movies could also be a result of sending bad movies for the awards, especially something like 'Jeans' can never ever be dreamt of making it in the final five, though it was the official Indian nominee for the Oscars some years back. Lagaan hopefully has broken this illusion of mainstream Indian cinema. It has proved that cinema need not be serious, or boring, or deal with something offbeat, to make it to the Oscars. If it wins then it won't be a win simply for Indian cinema, but will be a ray of light in the world where recognition of good work does open up many more doors for the actors, directors, and people associated with it.

Will Aamir hit a final six in his innings against the other nominees. Will Ashutosh Gowariker finally emerge as a victorious captain who lead his team into the world cup and brought back the trophy home with a winning smile, or will he have to be another victim of the lurking hypocrisy and racial hegemony that is still prevalent in the awards distribution system. Only time will tell.

Here are the competitors for Lagaan:

Amelie (France) : A box office smash world wide, Amelie tells a simple yet marvelous tale of an unhappy child who grows up to bring joy and happiness into the world of those who need it the most. In my opinion, this film will give Lagaan a tough fight for the trophy.

No Man's Land (Bosnia) : A Golden Globe winner, No Man's Land is touted as the dark horse in the final race to claim the golden boy. Set in Bosnia it details an interesting scenario of a Serb and a Croat soldier caught in the same trench.

Son Of The Bride (Argentina) : Directed by Juan Jose Campanella, this is a local favourite with the Spanish people. It is a comedy about a 42 year old restaurant owner who faces many difficult problems sometimes posed by his customers and at times by his father.

Elling ( Norway) : One of the most difficult movies to watch, Elling tells us a tale about two mentally ill patients ho have been released from an asylum and now live their independent lives in a common house. Shot in a unique way, the story and the narrative are very intense and dramatic.

In my opinion , with all the money (Aamir confessed to have spent nearly 50,000$ in the pre-nomination publicity) and the hype (Indian big-wigs and industrialists are said to be pressing all their buttons in the favour of Aamir Khan), Lagaan could emerge as the winner. However, the favourite with the Associated Foreign Press and the majority of Hollywood film critics seems to be the brilliant 'No Man's Land' , which even I am willing to put my money on. Amelie would spring a sweet surprise if it manages to win. Lets wait and watch, 25th March is just around the corner!

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