Lagaan, the Indian movie about cricket which had been nominated in the Best Foreign Film category, failed to win the Oscar at the Academy Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday. Bosnia's No Man's Land, an outsider, won the award ahead of the favourite, France's Amelie. Set in the 19th century, Lagaan depicts the fight of local villagers against the might of the British Empire. In order to escape punitive taxes, the peasants challenge the British to a cricket match - and win.

The three-and-a-half hour long movie has an entire hour devoted to the actual match, and incorporates much of the excitement and controversy of modern-day cricket – ball tampering, chucking, and match-fixing, all form part of the action – with Bhuvan (played by Aamir Khan) hitting the winning runs off the last ball.

The film features British actors Rachel Shelley and Paul Blackthorne, and has been a huge hit worldwide. Apart from being a box-office success in India, it also won an award at the Locarno film festival in Switzerland earlier this year.

Lagaan was only the third Bollywood movie ever to be nominated for best foreign film at the Oscars. Unfortunately, it wasn't a case of third-time-lucky; neither of the earlier nominations had won either.

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd