Jan 30, 2006 08:31 PM
1371 Views
(Updated Feb 13, 2006 04:53 PM)
....ever wondered if akash, sameer and sid (of DCH.) were NOT in their make believe worlds ? ...and happened to be a lot less affluent? Rang De ......is the answer, and how!
A british film maker comes to india to shoot a docu-drama on five-freedom fighters.
Friend Soha khan puts her up at delhi unversity and helps roll out the film. She starts auditioning of students for the roles . Meets lots of bad actors.....(of course, what did she expect? its DU, and not Natl School of Drama or FTII ).....none of the students fit her bill and she gets to meet aamir , sidharth, kunal, sharmaan - who are basically chilling out one evening ....and in their lives as well.
one bumpy motor cycle ride later, Sue (who? the film maker) decides these are her best bets for the roles of Chandrashekhar Azad (Aamir Khan), Bhagat Singh (Siddarth), Ashfaqullah Khan (Kunal Kapoor), Rajguru (Sharamn Joshi) ......the fact that she doesnst have funds helps her decide fast, that too without nay a screen test....
the guys arent too kicked of this role-play but (probably to impress the gori-mem) neverthlessagree ....as they take the roles the transformation begins... outward/inward as they ge to the characters' skins. atul kulkarni , a sincere-but misguided politicial novice joins the crowd.....
Madhavan is soha's finance, pilot /patriot with the IAF and his i-love-india dialogues. Well, to cut a long story - or madhavan's - short, he dies in a MIG air crash . The defence minister, when asked about safety of MIGs calls maddy irresponsible , though he (maddy) had passed from the airforce academy with flying(pun intended) colours.
....our gang get going and take up the cause to clear his name. they put up a fight and get taken in by the system. ...Well, up to here the movie is fine. some good performances. . a 'cool dude' look at india.. atypical of multiplex crowd. ...
so, what happens next? well, heres where rakesh falters. after being 'different' up to here he rehashes the same old predictable stuff, which till now he was AVOIDING... and the down hill sojourn starts . ....he sucumbs to the tried and tested path of instant gratification. Lo and behold, the defence minister is gunned down, with the easiness of taking candy from a baby. (of course some logic of morning time -no security - is thrown in for good measure. but mr mehra it cant be sooo bad that u have two-gum chewing youngsters dump bullets at the countrys defence minister and get away with - literally- murder !). From an old amitabh film it wd have been okey, but not in this!
...........well the story goes on, the guys do an on-air confession (some novelty, this!), coupled with some farcial jokes from the RJ ('you have become famous yaar' , '.... I will play some songs till the police arrive' ) , and the almost-sadistic gunning down of the protogonists by the police, which is compared to the j.wala bagh episode.
so, what do we have here? lets start with positives. mehra's made a film sans vulgarity, got some decent performances from the cast. Will speak of Aamir later, good actor that he is. Soha reminds u of Saif, but can 'safe'ly be sure of choosing acting as her vocation .watch out for her, she is natural. so are kunal kapoor and sharman apt for their parts. madhavan/atul kulkarni/kiran kher/ghte 'gori memsaab' all turn in fine cameos .......
...but the guy to watch is sidharth. probably 'cos he gets the most well-rounded character. Ttrouble at home/a lost girlfriend/ pining for zoha ...his character has shades. watch him where madhavan proposes to soha, this angle of story is kept very low that u almost wonder if its there... and then the moral dilemma of having a culprit at home.Sidharth has carried the role with his restrained performance and come out trumps.
so what is it we dont like? well in toto what was raykesh trying to make? a farcial take off on the system? ...jaane bhi do yaron?...adding to it some pop corn entertainement? a satire? sadly it fails making it neither Dil chahta hain nor a no-holds barred Zanjeer. rakesh mehra, its back to drawing board for u.
Aamir khan- neat job. BUT the clipped performances, the more-than-perfect postures are getting a little 'too much' ' ........once, just once , probably he needs to do a film just like that....to RELAX.......enjoy..... one is reminded of what the legendary Laurece oliver told Dustin Hoffman (another method /good actor) . Story goes when Hoffman told oliver that he couldnt get his expressions (of panting ) right , oliver said 'TRY ACTING'. . meaning relax and be spontaneous rather than (just) being a method actor....so amir shd do a DJ (the character he plays) and chill in a film. stop trying to be perfect and then let the natural stuff flow.
my verdict- this would be fine for multiplexes. you know what I mean . the right cocktail. masti n meaning. humour n serious. the post - lib we are like this only, welcome to india generation. .its got the right attitude for the crowd. ...but for the rest of india , well I wouldnt bet on it.
