Lagaan, a story of a battle without bloodshed. This was how producer Aamir Khan described his first film. But quite honestly, Lagaan is more of a cricket match than a battle. The price is the lagaan (tax), which the losing team has to pay up or the winning team, forfeit.

Set in 1893 in Champaner, a small village in Central India, Lagaan is the story of unusual circumstances thrust upon ordinary people. A tale of grit and determination to fight against the injustice and oppression, it tells the story of a village where it has not rained since a year.

Since the villagers depend on the rain for their crops, they are unable to pay the ruler their annual lagaan (tax). But they are even more shocked when dugna lagaan (two taxes) are levied on them.

Bhuvan (Aamir Khan) is a young farmer who takes up the challenge of saving his village by accepting an offer, which forms the crux of the story. He is helped by Elizabeth (Rachel Shelley), Captain Russell's (Paul Blackthorne) sister. She is in love with Bhuvan and goes all out to help the villagers, despite her brother's opposition. Gauri (Gracy Singh) is a perky village damsel who loves Bhuvan and believes in him.

Bhuvan takes on the impossible challenge of defeating the British in a game of cricket, which is Captain Russell's alternative to the villagers paying tax. The deal is that if the villagers defeat the British, they will be pardoned lagaan for three consecutive years, but if they lose, they have to pay up three times the lagaan durng the same year. Assisted by his villagers, Bhuvan forms a team of eleven with hopes and dreams to win this cricket game, which is a do-or-die situation.

Lagaan is Aamir's 25-crore dream, which took two years to complete. Refusing to stick to commercial norms, Aamir has taken the risk of making a story which is pretty unusual in today's times. The film has some definite plus points like A R Rahman's music, which has taken the country by storm.

Other aspects worth applauding are Nitin Desai's art direction, Bhanu Athaiya's detailed period costumes, Javed Akhtar's wonderful lyrics and well picturised songs. Saroj Khan's superb choreography of Radha kaise na jale deserves a mention. Technically, director Ashutosh Gowariker has taken great care to elicit first-rate inputs from the crew.

Of the cast, Aamir Khan as Bhuvan is very convincing. He is earnest in his portrayal, and is the lifeline of the film. Gracy Singh is the surprise packet. Bubbly and charming, she has terrific screen presence, dances like a dream and is tailormade to play Gauri. The rest of the cast, including the British actors and their Indian counterparts (Raghubir Yadav, Aditya Lakhia, Rajesh Vivek, Amin Hajee, Yashpal Sharma) have all put in their best.

Despite all these efforts, the fact that Lagaan is three hours and 40 minutes long might work against it. It might seem a little slow in places, but overall it hooks the viewer completely.

The cricket sequences are gripping. You feel like you are watching a India-Pakistan cricket match. And, this time the team does not let us down. Neither has Aamir Khan. As a producer and as an actor, he has hit a six.