Once upon a time in India, there was a cricket match. How is that for a promo line? Say what you will, Lagaan, a very prim and propah film has been undone by its publicity.

Seriously, the entire first half falls flat on its face because of this. One cannot help but think that this little cricket joke is being carried a bit too far. Come on, where is the (in)famous British oppression? The famine, the drought? The lagaan, the peasant's revolt? The hero in an unlikely Aamir? Where is all this? It's a period film - they spent an unrivalled 25 crores on it - seems unlikely that this 4 hour feature is nothing but a) a setup for a cricket match and b) a cricket match. But it is exactly that. Its either three-fold Lagaan or victory in a first time cricket match between Avadhi speaking villagers and the British Raj. A multi-racial love-triangle as well. If I give anything more away here - Aamir Khan will probably sue me. Why all this secrecy, this misleading promotional campaign? Its almost as if its some dark secret, like the producers just wanted the initials to pull it off (Lagaan has broken even, even before its release). Did the producers think that cricket by itself set in pre-independence era is not a convincing idea for the public at large? Are they, somewhere along the line, I dare say, scared that the idea may not appeal to all? Rather a serious Brit Raj vs. Indian peasants lookey will get an all expectant audience into their theater seats, handkerchief ready and all? Perhaps. There really seems no other logical explanation to this - so much have the producers been fiery about it - that they have gone ahead and sued the rather sensitive looking (and beautiful) Rachel Shelley, because somewhere, probably not even on the continent of its release, she mentioned the word "cricket." (one could be wrong here - she possibly could've simply blown the cover, kitchen-sink and all on a primetime Zee TV interview - but then again its not Upperstall's job to be factually correct to the last tittle, we simply go watch the film and comment. Period.)

In essence, you don't go to watch Lagaan expecting a light, oft funny, and seriously shallow and near-sighted story about cricket in 18-whatever. You go to see a Mughal-e-Azam or a Devdas, and for the first hour and a half are squirming in your seat… Surely this is not it! It can't be that simple! Did he say "cricket"? So, once your mind has wrestled with and been beaten by this fact, you can sit back and enjoy the film, because it is truly remarkable.

The film is well directed. The long takes in the song sequences, and otherwise work very well. However, the seven camera setup during the match hardly shows. The match, thus, itself could've easily been better and camera-wise, more dramatic. Music is great and well used and the lyrics unforced. It is used to set the pace well in the second half. among the songs, Mitwa and Ghanana Ghanana in particular, are well written and composed. On the other hand, the Avadhi is hard to adjust to, and the publicity surrounding Bhuj goes against the film as the fictional Champaner is set in central India (probably UP) while costumes are strictly Gujarati. A bit of a confusion there.

Hey, you don't get to watch this sort of stuff in contemporary Indian cinema, and that is a huge plus here. Sure, the story is shallow and doesn't make you think even for a second as its unfolds easily like a bedtime story. But the director has clung on it, not letting go. It's a one-track, do-or-die film. No items, no nonsense. I got a story let's stick to it. By golly, Gowariker stuck to it, without giving it any leeway for 4 hours, songs notwithstanding. That's commendable. Sure, but at the end of it all, the story could've been slightly more substantial. And its not like you didn't know what's going to happen in the end (what happens in the end of a Hindi phillum on cricket? - the hero hits a six on the last ball - duh!) And intermittently, you keep coming across the most clichéd clichés. Like the revolt of the team against the inclusion of an untouchable, like the Brits talk on the field, like the end. Come to think of it - have you ever seen a film dealing with cricket where the winning side bowls last?

The graph of the film is odd. Its unconventional to say the least. Mostly the film is on a high (it's a semi-comedy for chrissakes) and the lows are quite contrived. Its not like you sit back and take-off into a flight extraordinaire - its more like you start already mid-air and are 4 hours away from a dramatic landing. One extremely well thought of moment in the film and worth mentionining is the depiction of what probably was the first version of night cricket. There should've been more of these, instead of things like the discovery world's first spin bowler in the form of a cripple.

Performances are good. Gracy Singh, however, is the world's most ordinary heroine (that's still a superlative) - the Brits are as amusing as they are charming with their Hindi. Blackthorne is pretty convincing, Shelley is pretty. Khan puts in everything he's got and more. The hard work put in shows in this film and this is not restricted to the cast, the crew would have been pretty dogged about their jobs to produce something of such fine quality. So, all said and done - this is perhaps one of the significant moments in 21st century Indian cinema as all expensive experiments - that work - usually are.