Her interactions with Bhuvan and the villagers are intricately handled and executed wonderfully, and her inclusion in the O Rey Chori song is poetry on screen. But the cinematography, the lighting and make up is such that the characters come alive as physical presences which complement each other, as do Aamir Khan and Rachel Shelley. To light a face like Shelley's in the same frame as the villagers without making one or the other look considerably darker or awkwardly paler, is a difficult task in itself. Her crossover to Indian cinema, or indeed to this film, is delicately handled and a feat to be applauded. Apart from looking stunning she adds to whichever frame she is in with panache and style. Rachel Shelley makes her presence felt like an ethereal spirit. She acts with her eyes, eyebrows, nose, mouth, all of her and gives to the role of Gauri completely, giving a debut performance of high calibre. Gracey Singh performs ably and is also an extremely graceful dancer, as particularly evident in the Radha Kaise Na Jale song. His piercing eyes stare sharply like razor blades, cutting through the camera and leave a haunting impression on an unsuspecting audience, drawing them more and more deeper into his world. His portrayal is such that it puts you inside Bhuvan's psyche and enables the viewer to understand the character from his demeanour alone. His acting is superb and be it the conviction and fire in his eyes, the way he draws breaths from the air of the abode he calls home or even gulps at the atrocities he witnesses, he has become Bhuvan completely. A delightfully delicately handled scene and situation gives birth to the foundation which will resolve the triangle in a manner leaving warmth in the viewer's heart. The beauty of its predicament is that no one feels a loss by the end of the film, and director Ashutosh Gowariker beautifully justifies eternal love (but not necessarily requitted love) through drawing a comparison with the spiritual romance of the Hindu god Krishna and Radha. The romantic triangle between Bhuvan, Gauri and Elizabeth is expertly handled. By this time you are already a part of this world and your emotions have already been stirred, now they are put to the test as the events which will determine the entire crux of the film begin and get the viewer involved. The second half is less involved in justifying its characters and aims more towards culminating the scene which has been set in the first.
The characters are established, the situation presented and relationships etched, with each scene rhythmically flowing from one to the other in a continuos motion. Apart from familiarising the viewer with its characters, the first half also takes you back with its breathtakingly beautiful cinematography and fitting background score. The opening scenes are more congruent to joining a conversation midway, as from the moment you are thrust into 1893's India, you gain footing and a sense of atmosphere, feeling at ease as the camera pans across its setting for the movie, drifting into the journey that will hold your attention for the duration of the film. It makes you feel for the characters, believe in the villagers and draws you into the celluloid created world, while the second presents to you their turmoil, dawns on you what is at stake and whisks you away in a tornado of emotions and rising spirits.
The first half sets the scene beautifully, explaining what Lagaan is, introducing the characters and gradually pulling the audience into this period and place, literally taking the viewer into Champaner through cinematography which highlights the locales and sets which establish the standard of living. Gauri is the simple village girl who loyally stands behind the man she loves yet cannot profess her love to, while Elizabeth is the beautiful sister of the British Lieutenant and the complication who aids the village in their fight against injustice. The film revolves mainly around three characters namely Bhuvan (Aamir Khan), Gauri (debutante Gracey Singh) and Elizabeth (British actress Rachel Shelley), and deals with Bhuvan's spirited fight to defend what is his birthright, as he embroils the entire village into a magnitude of problems which inadvertently ends up being their only escape from the tyranny under which they reside. Indian actor Aamir Khan's home production is a cinematic experience which highlights Indian cinema to the hilt, while weaving a tale set in Champaner during the time of the British Empire's presence which deals with Lagaan (the tax of the land) and a village's upheaval against its oppressors. Sony Entertainment's Lagaan is more an experience than a movie.