6. Lagaan (2001)
Lagaan is an epic sports film set in the Victorian period of India’s colonial British Raj. It follows the lives of the peasants of the small and barren village Champaner, who are oppressed by the high taxes levied on them by Captain Russel, the commanding officer of the Champaner cantonment despite severe drought suffered by the village. In an attempt to persuade the British officers to reduce the taxes, a wager is offered: If their village team succeeds in beating the British team in a game of cricket, their taxes for three years would be cancelled. Accepting this wager, the villagers now face the dilemma of learning this alien game and beating the British at their own forte, that will change their destiny. The brownie point for this film was its topic: the nation’s biggest obsession – Cricket. It received a lot of critical acclaim and won several national and international awards including nine Filmfare Awards and seven National Film Awards. It was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. In 2010, it was ranked No. 55 in The 100 Best Films of World Cinema by Empire magazine and was also listed in Time magazine’s special The All-TIME 25 Best Sports Movies, in 2011.
