There is indeed a hero and a patriot hidden inside every individual, as there is in the characters that Rakeysh Mehra so lovingly creates in his movie, ''Rang De Basanti''.
PLOT
Heroes may not be remembered as often as they should over time, but they are never completely forgotten, nor is their relevance lost over time. They are just waiting to be rediscovered, to be reincarnated... sometimes in the most unexpected of places, by the most unexpected of catalysts.
The catalyst in this story of heroes is Sue McKinnely (Alice Patten), a young British film-maker who discovers some ancient diaries of her grandfather, a loyal servant of the British Raj in the early 20th century, who writes with unstinting admiration about the young, martyred, extremist heroes of the Indian National Movement...Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, Chandrashekhar Azaad, Bismil, Ashfaqullah Khan, and others. Moved by what she reads, longing to discover the country and the men that her grandfather admired so much, Sue decides to visit India and make a documentary feature about those men.
While Sue finds herself immersed in the warmth of India, and accepted as soon as she arrives, Sue finds it tough going with her film at first. Without financial backing, she has to scout amongst young college goers in India to find her actors. She finds to her dismay that India is full of young men and women who identify more with Sue’s culture than their own glorious history!
With the help of her friend Sonia (Soha Ali Khan), she stumbles across a motley group of friends, who, while not well-versed with the subject of the documentary, at least have enough camaraderie between themselves to depict that of the revolutionaries. This group of friends consists of carefree, somewhat over-the hill student Daljit Singh or DJ (Aamir Khan), rich, dont care’ish Karan Singhania (Siddhartha), sensitive poet/painter Aslam (Kunal Kapur), and the empty headed, fun-loving Sukhi (Sharman Joshi).
On the surface, these young men seem to embody all the qualities of the cynical, directionless youth of India, the kind that shout from the rooftops, “Is country ka kuch nahin honewaala”, just before they quickly hot foot out of India to foreign lands, if they are able! But that is just on the surface. We get to see what lies beneath the cynicism and aimlessness…we get to see the fear DJ has of disappearing into the faceless millions outside his exalted college life, the orthodox upbringing of Aslam and the fear his family lives with pressing upon Aslam constantly, the neglectful upbringing of Karan by his well off but morally bankrupt father, and the lack of identity Sukhi has without his friends.
Sue starts shooting her film and the sceptical young men slowly find themselves being influenced by the subject of the film, finding out more about the heroes and times they are enacting. In contrast to their own lack of patriotism, they find an example of it right in front of their eyes, in their friend Ajay Rathod (Madhavan), a Lieutenant in the Indian Airforce. Sue also casts an intense, student leader Laxman Pandey (Atul Kulkarni) in her film..who also helps in changing the dynamic of the group.
While these men slowly find their belief systems changing, it takes a particularly devastating incident for them to be completely shaken out of their apathy, galvanize into action, and MAKE THEIR MARK in a world they had almost given up on even before they entered it.
MY THOUGHTS-
I couldn't possibly ''review'' this film and comment on ''acting performances'' and ''technical aspects''. This movie for me was about the story, the message, the sum rather than the parts.
I laughed with DJ and the gang, got absorbed in the heroics of Azad, Bhagat Singh and the revolutionaries, grieved with Sonia and Sue…in short, completely bought into the movie and experience of watching Rang De Basanti.
In addition to the emotional experience, so many questions arose in my mind as I was watching the movie…
“What makes the youth of India, even the privileged ones, so cynical about the country?”
“Is this cynicism deep rooted, or just a front for insecurity and lack of opportunities?”
“Are martyrs like Bhagat Singh really just relics from the past or are they lingering beneath the skin of each and every one of us, just waiting for an opportunity to make their way out?”
“If we had an enemy that had oppressed us for years, if it was an external force with a face (like the British Empire), instead of a vague entity like “Corruption”, would we be so apathetic?”
“If we had the choice to lead a short, truncated life of a martyr and hero, versus a long life of comfortable obscurity, which one would we choose?”
A movie that draws you into its core, makes you feel, think, question yourself, is a movie that is made straight from the heart, with an intention to communicate. An endeavor like that deserves the widest possible audience it can get. Sure there were minor things that could be corrected, edited…..but only the most cynical of viewers, (much like the films main protagonists were at the start of their journey), would shy away from the power of the message and write this film off.
