Lagaan tells the tale of the Indian village Champaner, beset by drought and British colonialism in the year 1893. Without a drop of rain in months, the worried villagers of Champaner decide to ask the local authorities for a temporary repeal of their taxes -- the hated lagaan. Led by the heroic Bhuvan (Indian superstar Aamir Khan) they bring their plight to the military governor, Captain Russell (Paul Blackthorne). But the sadistic Russell threatens to raise the lagaan threefold, unless the villagers can beat his men at a game of cricket, in which case he'll lift taxes on the entire province for a period of three years. Bhuvan accepts the challenge, but there's a problem -- no one in Champaner knows how to play cricket. A band of misfits come to the rescue, coached by Russell's soft-hearted sister Elizabeth (Rachel Shelley), and the race is on to be ready in three months' time. An epic reworking of Victory with eye-popping song-and-dance routines.
Two men get hit in the head with cricket balls. There is some blood.
A man's leg is broken by a cricket ball.
A man aims a gun at another man. After a few seconds, he switches the gun's barrell to aim it at a bunny. He shoots and kills it. Not graphic.
A man kicks and beats another man while yelling racist insults at him.
After a man is discovered to be a traitor, he is chased by villagers into a temple.
A man skins his arm on the ground. There is some blood.
profanity
Some British insults, and some very, very mild language.
alcohol
None
frightening
An epic cricket match near the end becomes quite suspenseful, but not intense.
Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (2001) Photos
Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (2001) Movie Stars
