Lagaan as postcolonial movie

 Hello ! 

I am Nidhi Jethava and I am a student of MK Bhavnagar Bhavnagar university department of English. In this blog I am going to discuss postcolonial criticism in popular Bollywood movies. First is 'Lagaan'

So discuss some of the important aspects of movie which reveal this theory. 

Before discussing postcolonial theory in these movies,  I would like to give you a brief indication about  what does postcolonialism mean ?

About Postcolonialism. 

Postcolonialism, the historical period or state of affairs representing the aftermath of Western colonialism; the term can also be used to describe the concurrent project to reclaim and rethink the history and agency of people subordinated under various forms of imperialism. Postcolonialism signals a possible future of overcoming colonialism, yet new forms of domination or subordination can come in the wake of such changes, including new forms of global empire. Postcolonialism should not be confused with the claim that the world we live in now is actually devoid of colonialism.

Postcolonialism In ‘ Lagaan’ :- 

Lagaan (transl. Agricultural tax), released internationally as Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India, is a 2001 Indian Hindi-language epic musical sports film written and directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, and produced by and starring Aamir Khan, along with debutant Gracy Singh and British actors Rachel Shelley and Paul Blackthorne in supporting roles. Made on a then-unprecedented budget of ₹250 million (US$5.32 million), the movie was the maiden project from Aamir Khan Productions and was shot in villages near Bhuj. 

The film is set in 1893, during the late Victorian period of India's colonial British Raj. The story revolves around a small village in Central India, whose inhabitants, burdened by high taxes, and several years of drought, find themselves in an extraordinary situation as an arrogant British army officer challenges them to a game of cricket, as a wager to avoid paying the taxes they owe. The narrative spins around this situation as the villagers face the arduous task of learning a game that is alien to them and playing for a result that will change their village's destiny.

Lagaan released on 15 June 2001, clashing with Gadar: Ek Prem Katha starring Sunny Deol and Ameesha Patel. Lagaan received widespread critical acclaim and awards at international film festivals, as well as many Indian film awards. It became the third Indian film to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film after Mother India (1957) and Salaam Bombay! (1988).

In this Movie we can discuss postcolonial study with reference of four angles. 

1. Colonial historiography 

2. Nationalist historiography 

3. Marxist historiography

4. Subaltern studies  

So let’s discuss four angles in this movie. 

These four angles work like this. In the first circle center is colonial historiography. The first circle has the concept of White and black people means colonizer and colonized peoples. In this movie we meet this concept of white or west people.

Second phase is Nationalist approach and here the center is that east and west concept. Nationalist consider the whole concept over.

In the third circle Bhuvan( protagonist) plays a very vital role. He is the person who introduced the theory of decolonization. He is ready to play cricket and tries to save everyone from the paying texts. 

On the fourth circle characters like Kachara. And we can say family of Kachara. In all, this Cricket is the most important event. The whole movie is based on cricket and Lagaan events. 

Using 'Lagaan' as a case in point, this paper argues that popular Bollywood films with their appeal to the mass audience of uprooted peasants, factory workers, the unemployed, uneducated and poor can decolonize the imagination of the Indian masses. It points out that "Lagaan's" efforts at indigenization and interrogation of prescribed discourses of modernity and history deserve credit for making possible the creation of public debates within a culture where the majority of the population is non-literate, and is unable to partake in elite discussions of culture and modernity.

http://rangakalugampitiya.weebly.com/rangas-blog/cricket-and-decolonization-in-lagaan

  

Thank You..........