Rang De Basanti

Director: Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra
Writers:Renzil D’Silva , Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra
Stars:Aamir Khan, Siddharth, Sharman Joshi,Kunal Kapoor,Atul Kulkarni,Alice Patten,Soha Ali Khan,Madhavan,Anupam Kher,Kiron Kher

There are some movies which are best because of either Acotr or Director or Music but then you have RDB – A master class from Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra he has done some brilliant direction with hand picking the characters which couldn’t have been better; Amir again raised the bars in acting and Soha Ali Khan looked promising with some serious acting this time around. Last but not the least majic man A.R.Rehman his tunes touched tens of millions if not billions.

The movie revolves around a British girl Sue (Alice Patten), whose grandfather was warden in the jail where Bhagat Singh was hanged. Sue arrives in India to make a film on the life and deeds of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, with her only accomplice in India, Sonia (Soha Ali Khan). After meeting the happy-go-lucky DJ (Amir Khan), she decides to sign him and his vagabond friends as the main characters of her film. DJ and his friends Karan (Sidharth), Aslam (Kunal Kapoor) and Sukhi (Sharman Joshi) start working for her only for fun sake, not at all believing in the quintessence of the legend of Bhagat Singh. Laxman Panday (Atul Kulkarni), their once biggest adversary, also joins them in their film playing Bismal Ram from history after he impresses Sue with his knowledge and belief in the legend.

The more they progress with their film production and get to know more about the freedom fighter, their beliefs start changing. Just at that perfect time, calamity strikes when their fifth friend and Sonia’s fiancé, Ajay (Madhavan) an air force pilot, dies in a plane crash. The government officials attempt to hide their corruption in purchasing aircraft spare parts and put the blame on ‘incapability’ of Ajay. DJ and his friends stand against the government to save the reputation of Ajay, only to be tortured by police and Ajay’s mother (Waheeda Rehman) getting caught in stupor. The gang gets up to seek vengeance from the government and to tell the real story to the world in a Bhagat Singh style. They succeed, but only after paying a very high cost.

The script is the strongest one Indian Cinema has seen in recent times, but hats off to the director Rakeysh Mehra for the perfect execution and justice to the script. Certainly, Bollywood could not afford another Mangal Panday, which also had strong script but fell short in execution. Sequences, treatment and especially the connect between history and present is so neatly done that it keeps the viewers glued to the screen. If the humor element in the first half makes you laugh aloud, you find it impossible not to feel the pain our heroes go through in the second half. In addition, it will be unfair not to mention the editing and background score by A.R. Rehman. A word of praise for cinematographer Binod Pradhan for his innovative camera angles particularly in the sequence when Ajay proposes to Sonia.

This movie is a must watch. It’s a film with a message though. Where Mani Ratnam with his Yuva failed, Rakesh Mehra, has come trumps with this truly landmark film. The direction is superb and the story truly unique. The screenplay is great, in that it effectively weaves together different themes including, today’s indifferent youth who do not care if their nation goes to the dogs, the revolutionaries of the Independence movement, the corruption in politics and how the youth can change things if they did their bit.

One remembers the Bhagat Singh overkill of movies a few years back. All those movies told the stories of the revolutionaries. But they were fairy tales which had no relation to the contemporary youth or India. Their stories were unique to their time, so we thought after seeing those movies. I even used to fancy how it would have been nice if we could be in that generation and have fought like Bhagat Singh did. But I never imagined that a revolution was possible in this era, when we were being ruled by our own elected representatives. But this film shows how the situation is no different.

Of special mention is an exceptional sequence where, the Jallianwala Masacre is shown, and suddenly General Dwyer, the infamous villain, is replaced by the guilty Defence Minister, who orders the police force to fire. Then the Ajay, the fighter pilot is shown walking towards the firing policemen, smiling, and when he gets hit, says something about his jacket getting torn. That’s a satirical look at how things haven’t changed. A classic sequence indeed.

Don’t forget to watch this movie.