Lagaan features in Time’s top 25 sports films

Time magazine has listed Aamir Khan's Oscar nominee Lagaan (2001) at number 14 in the list of the top 25 sports movies of all time. In a list dominated by American sports, the listing of Ashutosh Gowariker directed Lagaan (a film about cricket) comes as a cool whiff of breeze.

Lagaan is the story of the protagonist, (Aamir Khan) who leads the charge against the British for introducing a land tax on the farmers in the time of drought. The decision on whether the tax would be levied or not would depend on the fate of a cricket match to be played between the farmers and the British. AR Rahman"s music perfectly complemented the storyline.

About Lagaan, Time magazine has stated, “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. Surely the longest and most enthralling underdog-sports movie ever…"

The magazine also stated that the film has the “capability to win over Bollywood newcomers — to turn snickers into smiles, indulgence to rapture".

Other films on the list of top 25 sports films include; The Big Lebowski, Body and Soul, Breaking Away, Bill Durham, Caddyshack, The Damned United, Downhill Racer, Eight Men Out, Field of Dreams and The Freshman.