Rang De Basanti: Movie Review
"Rang De Basanti" is a thorough entertainer, no two ways about that. But words like "The best three hours of the Indian Cinema", "An Inspiring Film", "A Generation Awakes" etc. are stretching it a bit too far. The acting, screen play, technique, camera work and all are simply superb. But I don't have many superlatives for the 'solution' given in the film. The first half is very engrossing! Rakyesh Mehra has read the pulse of the youth very well and the characters are sketched very realistically. I'm sure we all have met people like them and can relate very well to their anger against the corrupt system. Many of us crib incessantly about the hopeless state of India and how nothing can be done, knowing that its we who has to do something. That's why we can connect so well to the directionless, indifferent, devil-may-care youth portrayed in the film. But when film descend from a broad perspective to particularities, the script falters. The parallels drawn between the two stories, one in 1920s and one contemporary, seems a bit far-fetched. I'm not ready to accept that the impulsive decision to bump off a mean minister can be kept in the same league as the movement carried on by revolutionaries like Azad, Bhagat Singh, Dutt etc. The problem is - the buck is passed in the end of the movie. "Join Police, IAS, Politics"; may be they should watch Shool, Gangaa Jal, Sarfarosh etc.
To give the due credit to the film, it has atleast got the questions right if not the answers. Still, I won't call it inspiring. Let's forget about the big picture for a while, the movie depicts 5 young people, incised by one personal tragedy and further pissed off by the apathy shown by the authority. Solution, they picked up guns and bumped off a minister. Remember "Ghayal"? or countless movies by Dharamendra where Sadashiv Amrapurkar was the corrupt minister invariently? RDB is a notch above them for sure, but not for the script! Moreover, the young "guns" were not even showed to be sure about the whole thing, still they convicted the minister following their instincts and guillotined him. Pick any "terrorist" organisation and at the root of its birth would be an atrocity. There is no dearth of examples - LTTE, ULFA, Kashmir. Our terrorists are martyrs for some. The point is, its not easy to justify violence! Even in the era of Bhagat Singh, they had a hard time making it clear to the nation (and to Gandhi ji) that they weren't just enthused by the hatred towards Brits.
About the broader picture, the blogosphere is literally painted "basanti". I've read recurrently that this films "made them think". Think about what? The hopelessness spread over the sarkari machinery? Didn't they already think about it when they were asked to bribe a traffic wala? The target audiance - college going, 20 somethings - more or less arrive at the conclusion that its either "do-it-yourself" or "STFU", by this time. At the best, this film would present the questions again to them, wrapped up with out-of-this-world presentation.
As I said earlier, the movie is a thorough entertainer; not to be missed! Perhaps my expectations were a bit too high with the movie; still the first halfl kept up with it. Just don't go in expecting enlightenment and stuff.
(Written for InFiCA.)
Update: Check out the reviews done by Chandrahas & Uma. Whatever I wanted to say, they've said it better.
10 comments:
second half lets one down. but the first half in itself was enuff to think about. Atul Kulkarni's delivery of the poetry to "Su" had my skin crawling. I cudnt identify with the drasticity of the solution but some solution is needed. thats for sure. 5 yrs down the line....abhi thodi aukat bana len :)
I found that part of the movie was made as realistically as some other parts were unrealistic. Though the flow of the movie was really smooth.
Aamir was looking so old!!
Even I didnt like the part about them killing the defence minister... but then in the end they admitted that it might have been a mistake. Taking this into account, acc to me.. the movie is almost flawless.
@Ritesh: Isn't it like writing "its dangerous" on cigerette packets? The difference is, while smoking is a personal call, violence can't be tolerated like smoking.
Obviously it is not the same as the ciggeratte examples. The film does not justify their action as being parallel to that by Bhagat Singh and company. In fact the frustration that follows their action of killing the minister is a great touch of the same realism that pervades the movie.
The film positively makes us think - not about the so obviously rampant corruption - but about the all pervading cynicism among youth about it and mostly about the real space that our martyers have in our life however old their history might be. Lastly in its own way it calls for Revolutionaries like Bhagat singh from among the youth to try to make a difference.
To cut a long story short - while I agree that the filn is definitely not the first ever three hours of inspiring stuff - but in the enthusiasm of proving that your review might be taking away a very genuinely deserved credit that it should (& I believe it will) make our youth sit back & think for a few moments.
Fair take but a bit harsh. How many of us are discussing any of the other movies in Bollywood? Whether RDB is good or bad, it clearly has provoked enough discussions on the web to show that it has mostly achieved its purpose. For that reason alone, I shall call it a superior product.
Also, I tend to agree that it wasn't trying to justify their actions. In fact, it made them realize that what they did was wrong.
If we draw a parallel with Yuva, Yuva actually showed that youth can make a difference by being patient and taking the constitutional path. RDB's men aren't patient; they want to do something fast.
Just to make it clear, I liked the movie but to put in tags like "a generation awakes" is not what I think it deserves.
thank god i hear voices of dissent over the supposedly 'generation inspiring' tags that have been given to it...the movie sucked..it was so-so in the 1st half..but the 'krantikari' analogy was hilarious...ppl in the hall were laughing when they showed the freedom fighters walking in when kunal kapoor and atul kulkarni die...... and lot of th movie doesnt make sense for e.g nobody shoots unarmed ppl even terrorists as they show in the last scene..
@Gammafunction: you might like these two reviews too -
http://middlestage.blogspot.com/2006/01/against-rang-de-basanti.html
http://indianwriting.blogspot.com/2006/01/rang-de-basanti-watch-out-spoilers.html
i loved this movie, what an exiting script and the roles fit in perfectly with the carecters. exelant!
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