‘Lagaan, perfect piece of work’

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">indians would like nothing better than to see <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">lagaan </span>win the oscars. but even if it doesn’t win the trophy, for me, the nomination is as good as victory. it is a film that you instinctively take to because it is one of the most brilliant films ever made. a perfect piece of work, flawless in every respect.if <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">lagaan </span>has reached such heights today, it is because of the singular efforts of one man - aamir khan. but its international success is a tragic reflection on the fragmented status of our film industry. a single individual had to produce, act, distribute, promote and sell his product all the way from mumbai to la. in fact, he had to almost establish a second home in la to sell <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">lagaan</span>. aamir’s film proves we have the potential to make a mark in the international arena. but the film industry needs a forum/group of like-minded people to take over a product and sell it as their own. we have to understand we are one industry. aamir had the guts and will-power to do it alone. he has shown us the way, like satyajit ray before him. ray too had the guts and hindsight to take his films to international festivals. not many were willing to sit through ray’s films, and in the beginning, there were hardly two people in the theatres. it’s only after they saw, went back and talked about the films, that others followed and ray became a legendary figure. aamir went through a similar experience in the us. he called the usher at the theatre, passers-by near his hotel and anyone who was willing, to come and see <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">lagaan</span>. now, one hopes he achieves success. <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">(as told to subhash k jha)</span> </div> </div>