For want of a battle... Review on Rang De Basanti

Cinema and nationalism have had a historically significant link in India. India is, for instance, the only country where the cinema industry precedes the independence from the British colonial power. The Indian Cinema Industry – especially Bollywood, has always remained a strongly contested and governed space, constantly watched over by the State apparatus. Like the theatre in the Elizabethan times, when the prince and the pauper could both afford the same entertainment for a fee, Cinema has been looked upon as the single most powerful secular space in independent India. The very act of watching movies, it would seem, is a re-enactment of a certain citizenship that reminds us – from the censorship certificate in the beginning of the movie, to the very imagination of the nation in the narrative of the filmic text – of our position in relation to the Indian Nation State.

Rang De Basanti, the latest release Aamir Khan, stretches this relationship between cinema, state and citizenship in a triad that is at once tense and taut. Aamir Khan seems to have perfected the art of making these connections better than either Mani Ratnam (Yuva) or Shah Rukh Khan (Swades). In Rang De Basanti, a movie about four college students in Delhi University who get caught up in making a documentary based on the chronicles of an English man in India during the colonial rule and his encounters with the Indian revolutionaries, pioneered by a British woman who has left her career to follow her dream and passion in making the documentary, Aamir Khan presents a movie that is more than a movie – it is a spectacle, a glorious celebration of cinema, a tribute to the art of movie making, and an impressive revisiting of the Indian history to draw parallels with the contemporary Indian political milieu.

The Plot: The plot is layered and yet deceptively simple. Sue, the grand daughter of a British Colonial Saheb, catches hold of her grandfather’s diary. Inspired by the tales she reads in those chronicles, she comes to India and begins to shoot a documentary, restructuring the life of those four revolutionaries who had martyred themselves in the name of freedom. Working on a shoe string budget, she comes across four friends – lost, purposeless, critical of the country and unwilling to move a finger for anything other than partying and dancing- who she casts in the documentary. And as these four start shooting for the film, they seek a purpose in life. Caught in the drama and the heroism of history, they slowly find themselves transforming. The transformation finds a catalyst in the death of their closest friend – an Indian Air Force pilot – who loses his life in a crashed MIG 21 airplane. What follows is their attempt at seeking justice, invoking the law and eventual resort to terrorist like activities. The movie moves through fairly predictable – but shocking because of the predictability – moves to reach a culmination that is reminiscent of Hazaron Khwahishein Aisi.

The Direction: Aamir Khan seems to have the knack of getting the best out of non-first time directors. After Ashutosh Gowariker’s stint with Lagaan, Rakeysh Mehra’s directorial un-debut is as brilliant as it can get. He has managed an exquisite balance of humour, pathos, drama, tragedy and above all, the dignity of human life, in a movie that is not only complex – mixing time and people like never before – but also a movie that is sensitively nuanced and so subtly layered with the strife of life in India. Addressing issues of communalism, political apathy, strife, corruption, the ennui of the contemporary youth and national terrorism, Rang De Basanti still manages to move out of the ‘pappa don’t preach’ model and stand as a movie worth its weight in hype. Mehra, with breath taking vision, an astounding editing team, nerve chilling music and a glorious camera crew that captures the colours of emotions and the hues of thoughts in shots and sequences that carry the pace of the movie at an even rate.

The performers: Rang De Basanti is also unusual because it is not the story of one person. The usual Hindi structure of a main hero and a collection of side kicks is completely subverted, as even Aamir Khan does not get the lime light and the four friends along with the two women who inspire them for the movie, get equal amounts of space and time to give, what for each of them, must be the performance of a life time. Aamir Khan is, as usual, etched in perfection – subdued and larger than life and intense and mellow, Khan proves over and over again that he can take any role heads on and deliver it with perfection. Soha Ali Khan Pataudi is formidable in the confidence and screen presence she oozes in her debut movie. Effervescent, intriguing, sharp and shimmery, she starts where Sharmila Tagore left and is possibly going to be one of the biggest talents to look out for. She seems to have it all – the glamour, the glitz, the histrionics, the moves and the rare ability to act. Anupam Kher, Waheeda Rehman and Kiron Kher are in roles which were short but effectual. Alice Patten, with her newly learn hindi is adorable. Siddhartha, Kunal Kapoor and Sherman Joshi, are all believable and lovable, each giving what was expected of them. Atul Kulkarni as Lakshman Pandey is the surprise spice - different from his other performances and perfect in execution.

Music: A. R. Rahman scores again with his scores, as he created melodies and rhythms which have the sounds of international epics. There is no doubt that Rang De Basanti was packaged for the Oscars and in stead of relying on the Indian sounds and instruments, Rahman presents us with a score that can easily contest with the likes of Howard Shore. Elements of trance, of jazz, of opera and of western classical music are all present in the movie and make it a pleasure to soak in the sound bytes. The music is also on the foreground – replacing textual narrative at some of the most intense moments in the movie – and carries the burden of the narrative with ease and splendour.

One of the biggest strength about the movie is that it makes us preach at ourselves. Giving out a strong message of the necessity of the Indian youth to be involved in the politics of their times, it allows the audience to react to the situations rather than be looked down upon and talked to. Frame after frame, as the plot progresses, one could sense the growing unease and the guilt that slowly spread across the watching audiences as they related to the situations on the screen and took collective responsibility for the apathy of the nation. The movie also gives an entire new colour to the understanding of terrorism and paints them as revolutionaries asking for freedom and their right to live. Running for a full three hours, the movie still remains a spectacular journey of sight and sound, of shadows and echoes that shall haunt you well after the movie is over. Watch it at least once, if not more.

P.S. Thanks to all the fault finders. Without you, I would have felt very bored.I have now edited to the best of my knowledge.