I just watched this for the first time last weekend, and I really, REALLY enjoyed it. I'm not all that familiar with Bollywood cinema (current or otherwise), so I'm not sure how this film compares to others of the genre, but on it's own it's pretty great. I love how it feels exactly like some sort of epic fable, thus living up to the "Once Upon a Time..." subtitle.
At first, I was a little intimidated by the four hour running time, but I was never once bored while watching the film. I just found myself swept up in the story, to the point that I was actually getting pretty excited during the cricket match that makes up the film's third act. Also, the musical numbers are delightful, and the performances all range from decent to quite good. What's funny is that I only watched this was because a friend of mine brought over her copy of Saawariya, and there was a preview for Lagaan that inspired me to check it out.
Overall, this was a really pleasant discovery, and I now look forward to checking out some other Bollywood flicks to see how they compare.
At first, I was a little intimidated by the four hour running time, but I was never once bored while watching the film. I just found myself swept up in the story, to the point that I was actually getting pretty excited during the cricket match that makes up the film's third act. Also, the musical numbers are delightful, and the performances all range from decent to quite good. What's funny is that I only watched this was because a friend of mine brought over her copy of Saawariya, and there was a preview for Lagaan that inspired me to check it out.
Overall, this was a really pleasant discovery, and I now look forward to checking out some other Bollywood flicks to see how they compare.
