America loves Lagaan! Aamir Khan truimphs -- again

T J Sony

If the reviews are anything to go by, Aamir Khan's Lagaan, directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, has already triumphed over America.

Most critics have been left searching their online dictionaries for superlatives and adjectives to praise the Oscar-nominated Bollywood musical. The biggest winner in most reviews, of course, has been actor-producer Aamir Khan. The Associated Press says he has "the steely gaze of Tom Cruise, the infectious exuberance of Mel Gibson, the sly wit of Robert Redford, the gritty determination of Russell Crowe and the social conscience of Jimmy Stewart. Did we mention the dance moves of Gene Kelly and the working-man appeal of Bruce Springsteen?"

The review continues: "No wonder the singing, dancing, acting Khan is more famous in India than the Prime Minister, dominating an industry that produces more than 900 movies a year --- three times the number made in Hollywood. Lagaan also proves what Hollywood used to know: assemble 10,000 extras for a grand scene (in this case, a cricket match) and you will have something to film. The surging energy of real, unvarnished people of all ages and sizes puts to shame the flat, computer-generated crowd scenes made for movies like Gladiator."

The LA Times said though a four-hour Bollywood epic sounds demanding: "it works its magic with such exuberance and passion that the film's length becomes part of its fun. …The charismatic energy holding the movie together, however, belongs to Khan, who produced as well as stars. He is able to communicate volumes in silence, with his eyes. Moreover, the Krishna myth ---which openly haloes him as he withstands insult, injury, envy and betrayal --- is particularly potent here as Khan moves with hypnotic force, yet uses his gaze like a probing touch, even when confronting his cruelest enemy."

Elsewhere the LA Times said: "An affectionate homage to a popular genre that raises it to the level of an art film with fully drawn characters, a serious underlying theme, and a sophisticated style and point of view."

More than one reviewer compared Bollywood to Hollywood and found the latter wanting. Take TV Guide's Movie Guide who said: "Unbeatable entertainment from India, and proof that the often derided Bollywood film industry is entirely capable of beating Hollywood at its own game."

"It's been made with an innocent yet fervid conviction that our Hollywood has all but lost," said Entertainment Weekly.

"An Indian modern classic. Lagaan lives up to its huge hype with a spirited and well crafted story that could become actor-cum-producer Aamir Khan's magnum opus," said the BBC.

There were some patronising reviews too. "In some ways Lagaan is quintessential Bollywood. Except it's much much better," said Newsday.

And the Apollo Guide sees it as just another Hollywood rip-off: "although it tries to be much more, it’s really just another Major League."

The Village Voice goes the high road with a review about Lagaan's exotic appeal. "Elegantly produced and expressively performed, the six musical numbers crystallise key plot moments into minutely detailed wonders of dreamlike ecstasy."

As for the New York Times, its reviewer says, "This is a movie that knows its business --- pleasing a broad, popular audience --- and goes about it with savvy professionalism and genuine flair."

But for sheer bitchy effrontery there is no match to the New York Post: "Cartoony acting, dreadful dialogue, obvious dubbing and meandering but ultrapredictable plots are simply part of the Bollywood package, along with six musical numbers and a bizarre mixture of romance, comedy and melodrama."

It continues: "While Lagaan is gorgeously photographed, in every other way it's so lacking in subtlety it could be the product of 12-year-olds."

The Post's 2 ½ stars comes with this summing-up: "Typically crude but weirdly enjoyable Indian period musical."