Wow. Review on Rang De Basanti

When this movie came out, I didn't bother to go see it regardless of it doing so well at the box office. Yet again, I failed to listen to my instincts and read the bad reviews. But then, I bought it, and let me just say, first of all before I continue...I take my hat off too AR Rahman, the music, to put it lightly, simply ROCKED!! So, without much further ado, let me delve into what turned out to be one of the best movies I've watched recently.

The Basic Story:

An English film maker (Sue) goes off to India to make a documentary about India's revolutionaries against her sponsor's wishes. Once there, she meets up with her contact (Sonia) in India who is to help her with making the movie. In the process, Sonia introduces her to her group of friends, Karan, DJ, Aslam, Sukhi and Ajay. Anyway, without going into too much detail, Sue gets the guys to act in her movie and we're basically shown how a group of young college students who care for nothing but the next thrill transform into patriots in their own right. What happens to change their minds and attitudes? Well, you'll have to watch Rang de Basanti to find out.

The Cast:

Let me start off by saying whoever put this group of people together in one movie is an absolute genius!! they gelled so well together you'd swear they've all been friends forever. First on the list:

Sue- played beautifully by Alice Patten. She's strong in her beliefs and really believes in what she's doing. She's got to be one of the very few Western actresses cast in a Hindi movie who actually can act.

Sonia -played by Soha Ali Khan. I was actually quite disappointed that she didn't get as much screen time as the rest, after all, she was also part of the movie, and the events that led to the climax, affected the more. However, I will say that the little screen time she had, she was wonderful in.

Aslam -played by Kunar Kapoor. He mostly showed his emotion through his eyes, and you can actually feel his anger and hurt on his face.

Sukhi -played by Sharman Joshi. He was actually my favourite charecter and I especially loved the way his charecter was introduced. His transition form carefree uni student to revolutionery was evident and believable.

Laxman Pandey -played by Atul Kulkani. I've actually never seen this guy before this movie and let me say, the way he recited the poem touched me immensely.

Karan -played my Siddharth. Well, he certainly got a lot of scope for his role and throughout the movie you can actually see his struggles within himself, especially at one of the crucial points in the movie. Well played and very well emoted charector

DJ -played by Aamir Khan. This man just gets better with every movie!! Normally a SRK fan, I think (and other SRK fans might kill me for this) but my loyalties are rapidly shifting in the Aamir Khan direction. He breaths life into a charecter and at times you forget that you're watching a movie. He is simply spot-on in every scene, and makes you want to just keep watching. A trully fine performance by Aamir Khan.

The rest of the supporting cast was good, Kirron Kher's entry was a riot!! Anupam Kher, is really just that, he didn't get much screen time either, but made the best of what he had.

in all honesty, those are the only cast members worth mentioning.

The Verdict:

This movie kept my eyes glued to the screen with every scene...but..yes there are some flaws, I felt that in the second half, it became a bit shaky. I mean I understand why they felt the need for justice, but to go to such lengths to obtain it gives the viewer mixed feelings about their fate. I loved the first half of this movie it was, to put it lightly, brilliant, and not to worry, the shaky second half is also worth buying a copy of this movie for. My advice...Go now and get your copy, it's worth it and more.