'Lagaan' makes it to all-time 25 best sports movies list

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Aamir Khan's 'Lagaan' which won an Oscar nomination in the Best Foreign Language Film category, has made it to the all-time 25 best sports movies list compiled by Time magazine.

The 2001 film, set in the times of the British Raj in India, clinched the 14th spot on the list.

Produced by Aamir and directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, 'Lagaan' tells the story of a group of villagers who strike a deal with the representatives of the Raj - if the locals defeat them in a game of cricket they get a break on their 'lagaan', or land tax.

"From the thunderclap in the first torrential rainstorm -- a cue for riotous dancing -- to the climactic sunlight on the smiling faces of millions of viewers, this Bollywood epic is cause for joy of meteorological proportions," the magazine says, calling the film "the longest and most enthralling underdog-sports movie ever".

"Even those who know none of cricket's complicated rules will bounce in their seats to AR Rahman's irrepressible tunes; here, one can immediately and fully accept the Bollywood trope of music and dance as an expression of life's deepest, most soaring emotions. As sports film, social document or communal ecstasy, Lagaan is the all-time all-rounder," it added.

'Lagaan' is the only Indian movie in the list, which is topped by 'The Big Lebowski', a film on bowling made in 1998. 'Body and Soul' (1947), 'Breaking Away' (1979), 'Bull Durham' (1988) and 'Caddyshack' (1980) rounded off the top five.



http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2094611_2094511_2094504,00.html
 
Best cricket movie i have watched.

Other movies like Chain koli ke main koli was stupid movie, stupid hits six of Wasim Akram, with a Kapil Dev bat
 
'twas a good movie, loved the diving catch by the taitor :)))
 
Never been a very good cricket movie made to be honest. The sport just doesnt lend itself to good cinematography or directing. The action always looks manufactured.

In terms of sports movies in general I still haven't seen one that jumps out. Semi Pro :))
 
shocking that Patiala House, Chak de India and Awwal Number didn't make it to the list.
 
Some top movies there in the list. Have watched very few of them, "When we were kings" was the best one out of those.
 
I thought it had the potential to be a great. It would have been had the cheesy final ball not been hit for 6. Thought once again Bollywood cheesiness let them audience down.

There is a thing about desis and cheesiness, they can never get enough.
 
Rani Mukherjee's cricket movie (that comic sardar character) was the best cricket movie ever. :p
 
Miracle was another amazing sports movie - in my best sports movies list.
 
that movie was just a joke.
Even joke movies can be tolerated. That was untolerable movie. Couldn't watch more than 10-15 mins on TV.

How on this earth the producer , director and the actors thought people would like that ?

Their punishment should be to make them watch that movie everyday 3 times for a month.
 
Patiala house deserves a mention. I mean, Nass speaking Hindi, Kami making an appearance :))
 
My top five:

Raging Bull
Invictus
Major League
In a League of their Own
Dodgeball
 
Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar > Lagaan

no joke and i know AZ Bhzi would agree with me
 
Infact the great Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander was also a remake of a Hollywood movie, I remember watching this movie during high school class and it reminded me soo much of Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander.

My top 5:

Invictus
Miracle
Coach Carter
Remember the Titans
Seabiscuit
 
Anyone liked Mr.3000 ??

not a serious movie though, but decent comical :sachin
 
Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar > Lagaan

no joke and i know AZ Bhzi would agree with me

I'll never forgive Shekhar Malhotra and the other Rajput boys for what they did to Ratan.
 
It's a shame "The Damned United" doesn't get the recognition it deserves. It is one of the best and also the most under rated of all sports movies
 
Great movie.

My top 5 would be:

Rocky 1
Remember the titans
Rocky balboa (last)
Invictus
Glory road
 
ram-singh-lagaan.gif
 
Coach Carter was awesome.

Lagaan is probably the only Indian movie I've seen more than three times (Hungama, Rang de Basanti and K3G[no homo] are probably up there as well) :yk
 
I couldn't sit till the end in the theater to watch K3G. Our entire department (around 12 of us) went to watch the movie and half of us were out during interval. Never seen the second half till now.
 
I think there was a point when there was fierce competition between which movie had the longest title.

I *think* DDLJ won it.
 
Coach Carter was awesome.

Lagaan is probably the only Indian movie I've seen more than three times (Hungama, Rang de Basanti and K3G[no homo] are probably up there as well) :yk

agreed with RDB but K3G? i used every bit of my patience to sit through it but i couldn't (not even upto the interval!). It was a torture!
 
My Top 10

Rudy
Cindarella Man
Damned United
The Blind Side
BASEketball
We are Marshall
Friday Night Lights
Slap Shot
Jerry Maguire
Senna
 
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Aamir Khan's Laagan has completed 21 years of its release on June 15. And, to mark the special occasion, Aamir Khan hosted a reunion party at his residence.

From Ashutosh Gowariker, Pradeep Rawat, Yashpal Sharma, and Daya Shankar Pandey to Akhilendra Mishra, Rajesh Vivek Upadhyay, Amin Gazi, Rajendranath Zutshi, Raja Awasthi, Pradeep Ram Singh Rawat, Team Laagan assembled under one roof to make it a memorable affair.

How do we know all this? All thanks to the video shared by Aamir's production house on Instagram. Former India cricketers Irfan Pathan and Aakash Chopra were also part of the get-together. Well, it doesn't end here. There was a foosball competition too. It was Aamir and Ashutosh Gowariker vs Irfan Pathan and Aakash Chopra. We also caught a glimpse of Aamir channelling his inner Bhuvan, the iconic character he played in the film. In the background, we can hear Laagan's title song.

Fans, just like us, couldn't keep calm after seeing the video. A person called the video “amazing”. Another fan wrote, “Favourite movie ever.” Irfan Pathan has also dropped a comment under the picture. He wrote, "What a lovely evening."

Ashutosh Gowariker too shared a set of throwback pictures from the shooting days on Twitter. He has also penned note for all the love that Laagan has received over the years. He wrote, “Extremely humbled by the love that Laagan receives continuously from everyone, especially across social media. I take the opportunity in this 21st year of Lagaan to once again thank Aamir and the amazing cast and crew, that is responsible for all this love.”

Lagaan is one of the most iconic films in Indian cinema. It was the last movie from India that sealed a berth in the Oscar nominations. The storyline revolves around a village where the locals were oppressed by high tax rates. The plot was set in the Victorian era.

Lagaan's stellar star cast also featured Rajesh Vivek, Gracy Singh, Rajendra Gupta, Kulbhushan Kharbanda Raghubir Yadav among others.

Coming back to Aamir Khan and his upcoming projects. He will be next seen in Laal Singh Chaddha alongside Kareena Kapoor. The movie, which is a Hindi adaptation of Hollywood classic Forrest Gump, also stars Mona Singh and Nagarjuna Akkineni. It will release on August 11.

NDTV
 
South Asians make terrible sports movies generally.

Dangal, Iqbal, Lagaan, Chak de, Jersey, Paan Singh Tomar are few exceptions.

My top 5

Rocky
Sandlot
Moneyball
Trouble with the curve
Invictus

Hollywood does extremely well with Baseball ones.
 
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