Review of 'Rang De Basanti' -- Dir: Rakyesh omprakash Mehra
When a movie transcends a cinematic experience to take a preachy and patronising tone, it is always an agony to the viewer, especially when the message isn't properly delivered. Rang De Basanti (RDB) by taking the route of a 'movie with a message', joins the league of those could-have-been-a-great-picture movies. The recent additions being Prakash Jha's Apaharan and John Mathew Mathan's Shikar. (Note: Earlier, Prakash Jha's Gangajal and Mathan's Sarfarosh did a wonderful job of what a 'movie with a message' should be like!)
RDB's first half is so promising that by the interval time audience anticipations are very high. But any aspirations of leaving the cinema hall with a smug feeling are dampened in the second half, as a very unoriginal way to solve the 'problems of a great nation' are unfolded. What starts as a film grasping the pulse of today's youth, starts drifting away into fathomless mediocrity when a panacea to the nation's ailments is proposed. As the movie continues with many of those cliche`s that are being nourished by Bollywood, it leaves lot wanting to classify it as a great picture. Yes, RDB is lot better than the banal stuff thrown at us these days, but it is certainly not what it is being hyped to be.
This review might appear a tirade, but to give a fair picture I must acknowledge that RDB certainly has some flashes of brilliance. The way the story of pre-Independence revolutionaries is juxtaposed with the life of protagonists is really a delight to watch. Mehra did justice to today's youth, when he showed the fears, cynicism, rising fundamentalism, and aspirations of the young graduates. The scene where Aamir Khan expresses his innermost fears in a drunkard's rambling is really good. Even though he completed his graduation years ago, he is unwilling to leave the college campus, as he fears that coming out into the real world might make him a nobody. He fears that he can't live up to the expectations people and he himself have on him. This helplessness of not being able to do anything once one comes out of college into real world strikes the chord with today's graduates. The brilliant cinematography and youthful music adds to the aura and leaves behind a charming memorabilia.
Where RDB recreates the mood of the youth and the nation today, it fails in building upon it. It tries to fit in a Dil Chahta Hai and a Yuva into a single space, and misses out on both the counts. It tries to provide a solution to the youth's angst but ends up giving something which the film itself declares ain't a solution but just a wake up call. This wake up call whimpers, lingers for a while and dies. If RDB wanted the audience to do something, it should have shown what it thought was that something to be done. But saying all the while that something needs to be done and not showing it certainly leaves the film incomplete. The movie ends with a message that youth join IAS, police or army and do good to the country! Thank you, but then why didn't it show how IAS, police or army did that something. Why were the audience shown antics, which can only be termed youthful brashness at best and utter foolishness at worst. RDB miserably fails at its message, if there was one in the first place.
Talking in terms of a cinematic experience, it has lots of cliche`s in it. To name a few..
1) The introduction of an English woman in the theme, one can certainly draw an inference of inducing potency from outside, if not our recent fashion with angrezi actresses in Bollywood.
2) Our filmmakers' fascination with Punjab. I have started wondering if non-punjabis are second rated Indians after all..
3) IAS, Police, Army..as the only national saviours.
4) Intense hatred of anything that is political. Politicians depicted as corrupt.
5) Bangles, sacred threads getting untied certainly means that something misfortunate is going to happen.
6) Muslim families leading their lives on edge. (Maybe it is justified in the movie as it wanted to get a gross aggregate picture. But still?)
Well, inspite of all these...the first half is certainly youthful and fun. All one can say is..
If u want a youthful movie..DCH was lot more fun.
If u want a pre-Independence revolutionary movie..Legend of Bhagat Singh is well researched.
If u want a message-movie..Yuva fits the bill.
You want all the three..go for RDB. But don't expect it to be the best. It has all three but certainly not the best of all the three.
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5 comments:
Your choice of words is exquisite, as always :-) I do not know how the movie is being hyped out there, but I felt it did a good job at juxtaposing the Indian polity of today with that of the 1920s -- Freedom being the theme. Where once we rallied for "Freedom from the British", we need to rally now for "Freedom from Corruption". Though not a novel contribution of RDB -- for the parallel was drawn before in movies like "Bharateeyudu" -- I feel the issue merits repetition, and RDB is well made in this respect.
I too felt that the ending was quite lame. The protagonists could have been given a trial, where they could have voiced their opinions (as was done with Bhagat Singh et. al.) The parallel could have been taken a bit further to good effect, and I felt the movie lost on this count.
Yeah man, i agree with what u have said. Nice that there is no desperate attempt or bias in ur stance. And that makes a good blogger.
The previous comment, is written very very nicely. It was so nice that i have to write the name of the person who has posted the comment. His name is sandeep nitta
hi sid & sandy..
fun to see ur responses.
yeah..it's a pity the ending wasn't much better. anyway RDB has been evoking lots of positive responses here. Remember the candle light procession in front of India Gate. There was a similar protest by people against the 'Jessica Lal' case verdict. I think RDB has succeeded in mobilising ppl for a cause to at least some extent.
I join. So happens.
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