Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India [Import]

Various Artists (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 28, 2001)
• Format: Import
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B00005OC41
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #26,670 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Quality Bollywood Soundtrack, January 26, 2002

By 

C. Antal (Seattle, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (Audio CD)

Even without seeing this amazing film, you can appreciate the music. Many Bollywood soundtracks are unoriginal or make a botched attempt to mix Western esthetics (offensive synthesizers etc) with traditional Indian elements, but this soundtrack both defies convention and is loaded with songs that are at the same time modern and 100% Indian. Fabulous percussion parts show how traditional Indian rhythms can totally groove, and the slow songs bring you to tears even when you can't understand the words (though watching the movie will help those of us who don't speak Hindi). I loved the music so much after seeing the film without subtitles in India that I bought this soundtrack there; now that I've just seen the film w/ subtitles I can say that for most of the songs, the lyrics are great, too. One song is kind of marred by a horrid, cheesy English-language interlude, but otherwise it's all powerful, wonderful music. Good stuff. Check it out and you won't be disappointed.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Music, June 1, 2002

By 

Candy "yalegirl03" (New Haven, CT United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (Audio CD)

After I watched Lagaan for the first time, I had to find the music. The music is simply wonderful, from the wonderful vocals to the tabla drum which I love. It makes me want to dance listening to it. It is is a nice fusion of traditional Hindi score and western rythms, which I think speaks volumes about the movie's underlying theme of imperialism and colonization. Even though I don't understand Hindi, I also love the lyrics, as they sound beautiful off of the singers' tongues and watching the movie helps one to understand the songs as well. I would recommend it to anyone who likes world music, or just good music in general :)

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bollywood for the millenia!, July 11, 2002

By 

jacques g (Kona, HI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (Audio CD)

As the soundtrack to what may be regarded in years to come as the "Gone With The Wind" of 21st century world cinema, the soundtrack to Lagaan does not disappoint. In fact, for a cinematic genre that is so unequivocally linked to its musical score, Lagaan lives up to all expectations, serving up a potpourri of songs and melodies, beautifully composed, and flawlessly sung by some of the vocalist heroes and heroines of Bollywood: Sukhwinder Singh, Udit Narayan, Asha Bhonsle, Lata Mangeshkar, and Anuradha Shriram, to name a few. The opening number "Ghanan Ghanan" is a rousing number combining male and female vocals and a percussive beat, a foretelling of things to come. "Mitwa" follows by increasing the tempo up a notch, and is perhaps the most contemporary number in the album. Then comes the first jewel of the soundtrack, "Radha Kaise Na Jale," the song that accompanies the famous dance of the Gopis (which any Indian youngster will remember performing at their elementary school arts expo), a BEAUTIFUL song with an irresistible rhythmic beat. The second jewel, indeed the love anthem, is "O Rey Chhori," where Indian classical music meets and merges with Western symphonies (the few seconds when the Western female vocal, brilliantly done by Alka Yagnik, fades into the Indian percussion, is pure ecstasy!). The album ends with two symphonic numbers and the third jewel, "O Pallanhaare," a very spiritual and moving rendition of a prayer. Yes, this soundtrack is a MUST for fans of Bollywood music and worldbeat alike: a reaffirment of why we love the movies and music that is so uplifting, it crosses cultural boundaries.