Lagaan versus Slumdog millionaire.

Two films that raced to the Oscar's final list from India with a gap of a couple of years or so between them were' Lagaan' and 'Slum dog millionaire.'

Lagaan inspires patriotic fervour whilst Slum dog showcases the triumph of the individual. Poverty forms the backdrop of both the films.

In Lagaan the characters are untidily clad and live in a bare ,arid and poor village. Their conditions evoke pity and sympathy but the graphic potrayal of gutters and a child dripping with sewage in Slum dog evokes only disgust and revulsion.

The former is in tune with our culture and can be appreciated by all Indians who possess the collective memory of the humiliations heaped on them by their colonial masters'.Cricket ' which has become one of the most important factor in unifying the current generation has been skilfully used as a tool of defiance and patriotism ,by the Indian director of the film.

The latter is in sync with Western notion of India and the way they want to see India.That despite a enviable growth rate of 7 to 8 % in times of global recession and its economic boom, India is only eligible for a Nobel in 'Filth' .The British director has risen to the occasion admirablly and has lavished his Western audiences with mouth watering scenes.

In Lagaan the portrayal of poverty is as aesthetic and idyllic as the writings of R.K.Narayanan whereas in Slumdog, it is crude and revolting, as is portrayed in Adiga'S and other Indian Booker prize winner's writings.

Lagaan lost the race .The Slum dog went on to win the Oscars .But I'll bat for Lagaan any day.











lavished his Western audiences with mouth watering scenes.