Sometimes a movie comes along which forces you to ask yourselves tough questions. Who is a patriot? Conversely who is the enemy? Did our fight for independence end in 1948? Is the post-independence generation born in the 60’s, 70’s reduced to a bunch of hedonistic, self-seeking, cynical men and women smoking Marlboro’s and riding their dirt bikes?

RDB is a movie which raises all these questions. Producer / director/ screenplay writer Rakeysh Mehra has achieved the seemingly impossible, a brilliant juxtaposition of a patriotic fairy tale which we all grew up listening to; but whom nobody could bring to life for us, with a contemporary theme of modern day life. In doing so he has managed to bring out the anguish of the modern day Indian youth who wants to improve things but is bogged down by the “system”, by their own apathy, by doting parents who want their children to “escape” to the west.

Weaving the two tales together is a story of friendship, sacrifice and of a headstrong Englishwoman who knows enough to learn the colourful parts of Hindi as part of her training to shoot a documentary in a strange land with she has an almost mystical bond. Interspersed in the film are songs which for once do not detract from the story. The screenplay is taut and doesn’t slacken till the end of the film, the dialogues are crisp and contemporary; especially one where DJ (Aamir) says that we (Indian youth) are caught with one leg in the past and the other in future, which is why we are pissing away our present. Nicely said !!

Anyway saying anymore would give it away. Hats off to Rakeysh Mehra and Aamir Khan (may their tribe increase). Everyone has done a brilliant job. I would be very surprised if RDB does not make it to the Oscar nominations next year. As for winning the foreign film Oscar we will have to wait for a loooong time for that to happen, and thats only because I doubt if the Oscar committees have people who will understand the subtle nuances of the movie.

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I have only 2 cents to contribute, not a cent more, not a cent less ;-)

I went to the theater this weekend to watch RDB...really liked the way director wanted to convey the message ....superb photography and brilliant acting from the young guys(including 25 year old Aamir .
Good to see this kind of movie after a long gap (Prahar and Ankush).

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ani

Good movie with a Not so great ending

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Ashish

Guys in Canada...Try and see the following Movie

Jesus De Montreal (Jesus of Montreal)... There is a rumor going around that RDB is a copy of JOM !

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Most of the movies remains with you only until the closing credits start rolling down on the screen. Rarely do you come across a movie that haunts you for a long time after you leave the theatre. "Rang De Basanti" falls into the second category.

The story of the protoganist(s) taking law into their own hands is not new to silver screen. Amitabh has done it umpteen times during his "angry young" days, Om Puri did it in "Ardh Satya", Nana Patekar repeated the act in "Ankush" and "Prahaar". But it is the treatment and the contemporary touch given to "Rang De.." that makes it fall apart from the other movies.

This movie does not have the shallow patriotism of Manoj Kumar movies, neither it has the hollow feeling of morality depicted in "Dev" or "Bombay". It is a very down to earth movie that asks the same question again - the purpose of life of an average Indian and the corrupt system.

I entered the theatre expecting it to be some kind of either a biography of Chandrashekhar Azaad/Bhaghat Singh, or some antics of so called "collegeians". But right from the opening scnes do you realize that you are not watching a typical "run-of-the-mill" kind of movie. The setup of the movie is Delhi University - but there are no sissy principals, no stupid professors, students do not dance in the corridors. In fact, college is just used as a sort of backdrop to show the contemporary youth of India.

The story goes likes this. Sue, a movie-maker, who is grand-daughter of a jailor during British rule comes to India to make a movie based on lives of freedom fighters. She has a hand written diary, handed down by her grand-father,which accounts the details of last days of these freedom fighters. How she manages to shoot the movie and how the movie affects the life of the "actors" who enact the roles - forms the crux of the movie. Since I have not seen Denys Arcand's Jesus De Montreal, it would be difficult to tell as to how heavily does "Ran De.." borrows from "Jesus.." But for Indian spectators, "Rang De.." sure brings a change from the routine cinema.

Rakesh Mehra proves , that you do not need the lavish plains of Europe or Alpine backdrops to make a successful movie. There are no designer outfits, no lavish sets and homes, no BMWs. The actors are as "next door" as they can be. The good part is - there are no songs that ruin the pace of movie. Songs are only there when they are needed and do not obstruct the flow of the story.

The movie is in two parts - One that depicts the life of Chandrashekhar Azaad, Ram Prasad Bismil, Bhagat Singh and his fellow freedom fighters. The other part depicts the moral dilemma that the actors face after having gone into the "skin" of these characters. But these two parts are very cleverly interwoven, without any shoddy patchwork. The "past" has been deftly shot in the "sepia" , which really sets the tone of the "documentary". The story frequently switches between the past and the present, and this switch is very skilfully handled.

The photography is one of the foremost strength of this movie. Whether it is the friends hanging out in an old fort or whether it is the Golden Temple in Amritsar - the cameraman has done excellent job. It proves once again, that the good movies should be always seen in theatres, not on a TV.

All the actors have given their best. It is difficult to point out any particular performance. Although, I believe Aamir sometimes goes on top, re-enacting his "tapori" kind of role in Rangeela. Even though it is Soha Ali Khan's sixth movie (as per IMDB), her acting shows a lot of maturity. The only disappointment comes in form of Om Puri, who has a very brief role.

AR Rehman once again reaffirms his position as the topmost music directors of recent times. Music has a contemporary feel - yet it is not jarring to ears. Nowhere does the music overpowers the movie. Still it is very effectively used to set the mood of the movie.

To summarize, it is after long time - perhaps after "Lagaan", that Indian screen has seen such a masterpiece. Hope it sweeps all the awards during the next year, and maybe get nominated for Oscar. Let us keep our fingers crossed and pray....

Meghal

Saw last evening. Great one. Longtime NRIs must watch. It clearly shows our idiotic political system and people with psuedo values. Will the system change? Nah, not in my generation. May be 50 yrs from now.

Aamir Khan is tailor made for his role. Others like Atul Kulkarni do good job. Only exception was Soha Ali Khan. SHE CAN'T ACT, LOOKS UGLY EVEN AFTER A NOSE JOB. UNFIT TO BE IN A GOOD MOVIE. Shame on Sharmila Tagore who is pushing her stupid daughter in the bollywood.

As Meghal pointed out, u dont have to go to Europe or have fancy cars to make a good movie. Everything is right in India.

DIO

Being in music media, my eyes were reading RDB as R.D.Burman, instead of Rang De Basanti.

Duh !!!

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RJ Sonia
Radio Hangama
http://www.radiohangama.com