ABSTRACT
The narrative arc of Lagaan is driven by muscular villager Bhuvan’s acceptance of British Captain Russell’s seemingly impossible proposition that if the villagers of Champaner defeat the British in a cricket match they will be forgiven taxes ( lagaan ) for three years; if they lose, however, they will have to pay triple the amount. Bhuvan accepts this challenge not in a cringing manner, but gazing boldly at Russell. Throughout the film, he expresses a martial vigour and defiance in the face of overwhelming odds. In Mangal Pandey: The Rising , the same actor’s (Amir Khan) virile and strong body dominates the opening scene as he gazes at the audience through the loop of a noose and calls to the people of India to arise in rebellion, and in Rang De Basanti, the white heroine Sue McKinley comes to India in search of heroes she read about in her grandfather’s diary. Her grandfather who was a police officer during the Raj, marvelled at the bravery of five young men – Chandrasekhar Azad, Bhagat Singh, Ashfaq Khan, Rajguru, and Ramprasad Bismil – who not only accepted death fearlessly but were steadfastly patriotic until the end. Sue finds her heroes in the contemporary figures of Ajay Rathod, an Indian Air Force pilot, who sacrifices his life for his nation and DJ or Daljeet Singh – again embodied by actor Aamir Khan – who leads his comrades in a fight against political corruption and ends up dying in the name of patriotism. In all three narratives, muscular male bodies signify strength and fortitude.
