In the small town of Champaner (in the state of Gujarat, western India) during the height of the British Raj in 1893, Captain Andrew Russell, the commanding officer of the Champaner cantonment, has imposed high taxes ("Lagaan") on people from the local villages. They are unable to pay due to losses because of a prolonged drought. Led by Bhuvan, the villagers pay a visit to Raja Puran Singh to seek help. Near the palace, they witness a cricket match. Bhuvan mocks the game and gets into an argument with one of the British officers who insults them. Taking an instant dislike to Bhuvan, Russell offers to cancel the taxes of the whole province for three years if the villagers can defeat his men in a game of cricket. If the villagers lose, however, they will have to pay three times their current taxes. Bhuvan accepts this wager on behalf of the villagers in the province, despite their dissent.

Bhuvan begins to prepare the villagers for the match. He initially finds only five people willing to join the team. He is aided in his efforts by Russell's sister Elizabeth, who feels that her brother mistreated the villagers. As she teaches them the rules of the game, she falls in love with Bhuvan, much to the anguish of Gauri, who is also in love with him. After Bhuvan reciprocates Gauri's feelings, the woodcutter Lakha, who is in love with Gauri, grows jealous of Bhuvan and becomes a spy for Russell. He orders Lakha to join the villagers' team but not contribute in any way. Eventually, the villagers realise that winning equals freedom and one by one, they join the team. Short one player, Bhuvan invites an untouchable, Kachra, who can bowl spin. The villagers, conditioned by long-term prejudice against Dalits, refuse to play if Kachra joins the team. Bhuvan chastises the villagers and convinces them to accept Kachra.

On the first day, Russell wins the toss and elects to bat, giving the British officers a strong start. Bhuvan brings Kachra to bowl only to find that Kachra has somehow lost his ability to spin the ball — new cricket balls do not spin as well as worn-down ones (which the team have been practising with). In addition, as part of his agreement with Russell, Lakha deliberately drops many catches. Later that evening, Elizabeth notices Lakha meeting with Russell and immediately informs Bhuvan of Lakha's deception. Rather than allow the villagers to kill him, Bhuvan offers Lakha the chance to redeem himself.

The next day Lakha redeems himself by taking a diving one-handed catch. However, the British score 295 runs, losing only three wickets by the lunch break. Kachra is brought back to bowl with a now-worn ball, and takes a hat-trick, which sparks the collapse of the British batting side. The villagers soon start their innings after the British are dismissed for 322 runs. Bhuvan and Deva, a Sikh who has played cricket earlier when he was a British sepoy, give their team a solid start. Deva misses out on his half-century when a straight-drive from Bhuvan ricochets off the bowler's hand onto the stumps at the non-striker's end, where Deva is backing up too far. When Lakha comes on to bat, he is hit on the head by a bouncer and falls onto his stumps. Other batsmen get out rashly trying to score a boundary off each delivery. Ismail retires hurt as he is hit on the leg. The villagers' team ends the day with four batsmen out of action with barely a third of the required runs on board. In desperation, the villagers pray for success.

On the third and final day, Bhuvan passes his century, while most of the later wickets fall. Ismail returns to bat with the help of a runner and passes his half-century, reducing the target to 30 runs of 18 balls. The game comes down to the last over with Kachra on strike. With one ball remaining and the team down five runs, Kachra knocks the ball a short distance, managing a single. However, the umpire signals no-ball. Bhuvan returns to bat and hits the ball high in the air towards the boundary. Russell runs backwards and catches it, believing that his team has won, until he realises that he has caught the ball beyond the boundary, giving six runs, and therefore victory, to Bhuvan's team. Even as they celebrate the victory, the drought ends as a rainstorm erupts.

Bhuvan's defeat of the British team leads to the disbanding of the cantonment. In addition, Russell is forced to pay the taxes for the whole province and is transferred to Central Africa. After realizing that Bhuvan loves Gauri, Elizabeth returns to London. Heartbroken, she remains unmarried for the rest of her life. It is revealed, during the epilogue, that Bhuvan and Gauri get married. But despite the historic triumph, Bhuvan's name was lost in the pages of history.

• Aamir Khan as Bhuvan. Ashutosh first thought of having Shah Rukh Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Bobby Deol and Abhishek Bachchan for the role of Bhuvan. After Bachchan chose to enter cinema with J. P. Dutta's Refugee (2000), Aamir was approached with the idea.
• Gracy Singh as Gauri. Several actresses had offered to act in the film, but Aamir needed someone who matched the description of the character given in the script. After considering Rani Mukerji who did not have dates, Sonali Bendre, Nandita Das and Ameesha Patel for the role, Ashutosh selected Gracy Singh for the female lead because he was convinced that she was a good actress and dancer and resembled actress Vyjayanthimala. Singh, a newcomer, devoted all her time to the film.
• Rachel Shelley as Elizabeth Russell
• Paul Blackthorne as Captain Andrew Russell. Since the script also demanded a British cast, Ashutosh and Aamir hired Danielle Roffe as one of the casting directors. After Danielle and Ashutosh screen-tested many, Shelley and Blackthorne were chosen for the prime roles. Overall, the film cast 15 foreign actors.
• Suhasini Mulay as Yashodama, Bhuvan's mother
• Kulbhushan Kharbanda as Raja Puran Singh
• Rajendra Gupta as Mukhiya Ji
• Raghubir Yadav as Bhura (seamer), the poultry farmer. Yadav played the role of the legendary Haji Nasruddin in the teleplay Mullah Nasiruddin and has given many memorable performances such as Mungerilal Ke Haseen Sapne. Yadav was selected based on his performance in Earth (1998). He had undergone an appendectomy operation in-between the filming schedule and returned to complete some of his scenes.
• Rajesh Vivek as Guran (seamer), the fortune teller. Vivek was spotted by Ashutosh in the film Junoon (1978). His liking for cricket helped him in his role.
• Raj Zutshi as Ismail (batsman), the potter. Zutshi's friendship with Aamir and association in several films brought him the role after the auditions.
• Pradeep Rawat as Deva Singh Sodhi (all-rounder), a Sikh sepoy. Rawat's association with Aamir in Sarfarosh (1999) brought him the role of Deva which was initially intended for Mukesh Rishi. Rawat claimed that it was the highest ever compensation he received in his career.
• Akhilendra Mishra as Arjan (batsman), the blacksmith. He is insulted by Captain Russell, as he fixes horse-shoe on the Captain's Horse and involuntarily hurts the animal. Captain who is enraged by the reprimand he received from his seniors for arranging a Cricket Match with the villagers for avoiding taxes, is furious to find his favourite animal hurt and he beats Arjan. After which Arjan joins the team of Bhuvan. Mishra has acted as "Ekku" Kroor Singh in the Teleserial Chandrakanta and also in the film The Legend of Bhagat Singh (2002) as Chandra Shekhar Azad alongside Ajay Devgn who performed the role of Bhagat Singh.
• Daya Shankar Pandey as Goli (seamer), the man with the largest piece of land. Pandey, who preferred the role of Kachra, was known to Aamir and Ashutosh through previous films (Pehla Nasha (1993), Baazi (1995) and Ghulam (1998)). Pandey credited Ashutosh for his acting in the film, saying that Ashutosh and he would discuss the required emotions and expressions before shooting.
• Shrivallabh Vyas as Ishwar (wicket-keeper), the vaidya (doctor) in the village and Gauri's father.
• Yashpal Sharma as Lakha (batsman), the woodcutter. Sharma was chosen by Ashutosh after his portrayal in Samar (1999). He said it was a good experience working with Aamir and Ashutosh during the film.
• Amin Hajee as Bagha (batsman), the mute drummer. Hajee earlier worked in a film with Ashutosh. The friendly association brought Ashutosh to him with the script, which he liked, and thereafter he successfully auditioned for his role. His knowledge of mute people and some assistance from a music band helped him better prepare for his role. Ashutosh, who believed that Amin was like Sylvester Stallone, would refer to him as Stallone during filming.
• Aditya Lakhia as Kachra (spinner), the untouchable. Lakhia's association with Ashutosh in Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa (1993) and Pehla Nasha (1993) brought him this role. He read the book Everybody Loves a Good Drought by P. Sainath to better understand and portray his character.
• Javed Khan as Ram Singh, Indian who works with British and helps Elizabeth in translating villagers language.
• A. K. Hangal as Shambu Kaka
• John Rowe as Colonel Boyer
• David Gant as Major Warren
• Jeremy Child as Major Cotton

Origins

Lagaan was inspired by a 1957 Indian film, Naya Daur, starring Dilip Kumar.

Director Ashutosh Gowariker has stated that it was almost impossible to make Lagaan. Gowariker went to Aamir, who agreed to participate after hearing the detailed script. Even after securing Khan, Ashutosh had trouble finding a producer. Producers who showed interest in the script wanted budget cuts as well as script modifications. Eventually, Aamir agreed to Ashutosh's suggestion that he'd produce the film. Aamir corroborated this by saying that the faith he had in Ashutosh, the story and script of the film, and the opportunity of starting his own production company inspired him to produce Lagaan. He also said that by being a producer himself, he was able to give greater creative freedom to Ashutosh. He cited an example:

"If the director tells the producer that he wants 50 camels, the latter will probably say, 'Why not 25? Can't you manage with 25 camels?' Whereas, if he is telling me the same thing... I will not waste time asking him questions because I am also creatively aware why he needs them."

Jhamu Sughand co-produced the film because he liked the emotional and patriotic story.^{Request for Download movie Lagaan: Once Upon A Time In India by quiz}

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