Rang De Basanti Director: Rakeysh Mehra Cast: Aamir Khan, Siddharth, Sharman Joshi, Kunal Kapoor, Soha Ali Khan, Atul KulkarnI Verdict: ****
W e have one foot in the past and one in the future but we are peeing on our present, says DJ (Aamir Khan) in Rang De Basanti. As crass as that may sound, it pretty much hits the nail on the head. Kamlesh Pandey’s story and Rakeysh Mehra (Aks) and Rensil D’Silva’s screenplay have set the foundations for a remarkable and commendable film. In an age of cheap imitations and blatant plagiarism, in a time of creative drought and vulgar consumerism, it is heartening to see original, responsible and sincere cinema. Set in Delhi, focusing on a group of carefree students reconciled to the state of the nation and most concer ned only about their next beer and paratha, the film traces the coming of age journey of five friends. DJ has been out of college five years but is too afraid to face adulthood; Karan (Siddharth) is the angry young son of a rich businessman, an introvert but fiercely loyal; Aslam (Kunal Kapoor) is tor n between moder nity and tradition; Sukhi (Sharman Joshi), whose one ambition is to lose his virginity; and Sonia (Soha Ali Khan), an idealist engaged to the righteous F lt Lt Ajay Rathod (Madhavan). To this g roup, party politics means debating which beer to order and finding the next whisky bar. In contrast is their adversary, Laxman Pandey (Atul Kulkarni). His motivations are upholding Indian values and traditions, through a saffron tint. The entry of British filmmaker Sue (Alice Patten) into their lives is like setting a cat loose among pigeons. Ar med with her g randfather’s diary, which documents his experiences when he served as a police officer during the British rule in India, Sue’s project is to make a film on the Indian revolutionaries through a reenactment of the events recorded in the diary. In DJ, Karan, Sukhi, Aslam, Sonia and Laxman she finds her Chandrashekhar Azad, Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and so on. Shifting between sepia tones of the past and current day colours, through the film within the film for mat parallel stories unravel as the experiences and principles of the revolutionaries in 1930s British India begin to awaken the complacent youth of today. Triggered by the crash of a MiG21 and the political cover up that follows, the cast of Sue’s film are roused from their complacency and find a mission which leads to a radical, violent and unsettling climax. Though the film addresses apathy, deeprooted corruption, failure of the system and patriotism, the end does not justify the means. Violence and murder and the doctrine of an eye for an eye cannot be condoned, and depicting the law as having zero accountability is rather exaggerated. Having said that, Rang De Basanti is a brave ef fort that spares no punches. It’s a film you cannot be indif ferent towards. Mehra puts together a technically fantastic team where each department, especially cinematography (Binod Pradhan), music (A R Rahman), styling (Arjun Bhasin, Lovleen Bains), other than story and screenplay stand out. A big thumbs up to the casting too. A true ensemble cast, which is led by Aamir Khan, but not dominated by him — credit to him for staying in character and having the grace to give the other actors space to make a significant impact. The performances are a revelation and the actors from different linguistic regions (Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, the South) merge effortlessly. Rang De Basanti is a hopeful film, perhaps not for the state of our nation, but certainly for the state of our film industry. Thank god for originality and for the courage of the filmmakers’ convictions. Explore, Experience, Enjoy A.R.Rahman - The Man, The Music, The Magic. Only at arrahmanfans.com - The definitive A.R.Rahman e-community. Homepage: http://www.arrahmanfans.com Admin: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/arrahmanfans/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
