5 star rating: Accomplished and Universally Appealing. This is The Way Bollywood Films Should be Made. – BBC
4 star rating: One of The Greatest Films of This Decade. Sunday Mid Day
Since its launch on January 26, it (Rang De Basanti) has seeped through the veins of this country like a viral, hinting at a contiguous idealism, a common youthful energy that binds the patriots of old with the aesthetes of today. Sleeping idealists : the young have loved the self-image. It has made them feel noble, rung a note of hope. Accustomed to seeing their vacuity constantly magnified on screen in saturated colours and designer labels, stunned by the constant affirmation around them — in films, newspapers, TV channels — that they are pleasure-seeking automatons committed to little but self-love, they have thrilled to the suggestion that they could in fact be Bhagat Singh's in waiting.
By Tehelka
RANG DE BASANTI “ A Generation Awakens “
Directed by: Rakeysh O. Mehra
Produced by: Rakeysh O. Mehra and Ronnie Screwvala
Screenplay: Renzil D’Silva, Rakeysh O. Mehra
Cinematography: Binod Pradhan
Music: A. R. Rehman
Cast:
Aamir Khan: DJ / Chandrashekhar Azad
Siddharth: Karan / Bhagat Singh
Sharman Joshi: Sukhi / Rajguru
Kunal Kapoor: Aslam / Ashfaqullah Khan
Atul Kulkarni: Laxman Panday / Ramprasad Bismil
Allice Patten: Sue
Soha Ali Khan: Sonia / Durga Vohra
R. Madhavan: Flt. Lft. Ajay Rathod
Waheeda Rehman: Ajays’ mother
Kiron Kher: Mitro / DJ’s mother
Rakeysh O. Mehra takes us to a new level of awareness and self-discovery through cinema in a stunning masterpiece called Rang De Basanti.
Rang De Basanti challenges anyone to name a film made anywhere in the last fifteen years or so to hold on to this one. As an entertainer it is superb, as purposeful film it goes even further. It is simply awesome. As a fearless, bold crusader for just causes it is beyond compare. The whole team deserves to be congratulated.
Plot:
The director shows us two different time periods in the movie, one is contemporary / current setting revolving around a group of friends, who are aimless but also fearless. Another period is of pre-independent India, revolving around freedom fighters like Chandrashekhar Azad, Bhagat Singh and Ashfaqullah Khan etc. In the film, both the 1930s British India and the India today run parallel and intersect with each other at crucial points.
Sue (Alice Patten) wants to make a documentary film on the autobiographical diary of her grandfather who was a soldier in the British Army.
Unable to find funds in UK she arrives in India where she comes across a bunch of students from the Delhi University and finds the cast of her film in them. Initially reluctant, she convinces the group to play freedom-fighters Bhagat Singh (Siddharth), Chandrashekhar Azad (Aamir Khan), Rajguru (Sharman Joshi), Ashfaqullah Khan (Kunal Kapoor) and Ram Prasad Bismil (Atul Kulkarni) for her document-drama dream. Through the making of the film, these directionless students are imbibed with a sense of responsibility towards their country.
Message:
Rang De Basanti clearly gives message to the youth of India in particular and to the youth of the whole world in general that to rise against corruption and nepotism and start taking responsibility towards them and towards their country.
Performances:
Aamir Khan: Another mind blowing performance by this thinking actor. As DJ, he made an impact by portraying a beer-guzzler, senseless and live-for-today type character, 16 years younger than his age. He was witty and humorous and at the same time as Chandrashekhar Azad, he delivered applausable performance of a real life hero. Check this dialogue out ''ek paav past mein, ek paav future mein, isi liye hum apne present par moot raha hai'' (one leg is on the past, one on future, that's why we are pissing on our present). And when Aamir utters it in a frivolous fashion onscreen it sounds more tongue-in-cheek than cheesy. What else to say about this great Khan, he is truly an Ace Khan. Way ahead of King Khan (SRK).
Siddharth: He is young, fresh and looks like lambee race-ka-ghora. Very few can give such a fine performance. Portraying two characters in a movie is not a joke and when you have actors like Aamir Khan, Anupam Kher, Atul Kulkarni etc. around. Nothing like it. Very well played Siddharth, as Karan and Bhagat Singh.
Kunal Kapoor: His dialogue delivery as Aslam and Ashfaqullah Khan was awesome. He truly made an impact here. Must have done the hard work of going and living like a Muslim.
Atul Kulkarni: What to say about him. He is aggressive yet cool minded. You can give any character to him and he will come out superbly and you have no choice but to applause. He portrayed as Laxman Panday and Bismil. Both the characters delivered like a perfectionist.
Sharman Joshi: I start laughing the moment I see him on the screen. He is a real entertainer. He will go a long way. As Sukhi and as Rajguru, two different characters, and one mind-blowing performance by Mr. Sharman Joshi. Well done.
Soha Ali Khan: She is a charmer. I never knew she is so pretty. She truly has all the genes of her mother Sharmila Tagore. A real life-like performance by her. She will get due credits in this movie.
Allice Patten: How can I forget her. She started it all. By coming to India and by taking those non-responsible boys to perform in her documentary as real life heroes in the contemporary times. She is pretty. Well her acting is damn good and I found her impossible to resist to watch her deliver dialogues in Hindi in her night-class hindi style.
Kiron Kher: As Mitro, DJ’s mother, she played full justice to her character. Although, very short role for her stature, but still she delivered the magic of her grace.
Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra deserves full praise for making a movie that certainly raises the bar for filmmakers in Bollywood. There is not a single dull moment in ‘Rang De Basanti’.
Cinematography by Binod Pradhan is top notch. The editing is slick.
Let it be said that ‘Rang De Basanti’ is an impressive movie that definitely ought to be seen again and again and again. For awakening and for top-notch entertainment.
Thanks for reading.
