Rang De Basanti
Cast: Amir Khan, Soha Ali Khan, Siddharth, Atul Kulkarni, Anupam Kher: Music by A R Rahman: Directed by Rakyesh Omprakash Mehra



The first significant relief in watching this movie is it does not have a hero in the literal sense as followed in Indian films. The all-powerful, omnipotent 'Kutte Main Tere Koon Pee Javoonga' type or the highly charming guy who floors the girl in just one witty dialogue after which the girl goes after him batting her eyelids. As a matter of fact, there is 'one protagonist' around whom the story revolves. I consider this significant because it is an Amir Khan film. Amir is just one among the five college kids around whom the story revolves and there are two characters who have more meaty roles than him. I will not reveal those characters. Perhaps to meet the market demands, Amir just has few more silly one liners and gets to use some audacious Punjabi slangs, which others don't.

And somewhere along the movie, the director suddenly wakes up to realise that Amir is a bigger star than others, and gives him a very meaty task to do. Well, I'm okay with that too because according to the story he is more impetuous than others. It's only appropriate that he does it.

In Rang De Basanti, the songs are not full-blown songs and they come merely to progress the story. And what's more, they are not being 'sung' by the characters, neither running around the trees, nor barging into a discotheque. The dialogues are very everydayish and even the patriotism of the lead characters are driven by a need for a personal vengeance and not the pulp version. Thankfully they don't go saving their flag or sing in praise of their Mother India.

The historic parallel drawn initially in the movie is ballistic, considering how such tall figures in the realms of our freedom movement are being drawn with self-indulgent, drunken, and mediocre Gen Now. But every awakening requires a gruesome shakeup, which this young lot receives and although the incident which shakes up the carefree youth is quite cinematic and bordering on hyperbole, it is handled very sensitively. And suddenly, and joyfully, the parallel seems appropriate and even intelligent. Either ways, Rakyesh Omprakash Mehra's intentions of presenting a good cinema is never doubted thoughout the film.

Only in the climax you realise you are watching an Indian film. I didn't like the style it ended and it's obvious reference to Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid was a bit disappointing. But even the climax, which I thought was quite melodramatic, was laced with realism and never once the director let the basic attributes of the characters falter.

Above all, I'm quite delighted with the way the mainstream Hindi cinema is pushing the envelope these days. If Lagaan shook up your shackles, Black was delightfully welcomed albeit its hyperbole, Rang De Basanti is pushing the envolope of good cinema quite hard. The fact that all these are happening in the blockbuster mainstream arena is quite heartwarming. Rang De Basanti is not a breakthrough film. But it happily announces that such movies are just around the corner.