Rang de Basanti: Color me fades
Having an omelet amongst a crossfire of college jokes, a dhaba get together over parathas stuffed with youth crackers, late night bike rides or tearing your shirts open in the wide open spaces of virgin Indian expanse, political froth over countless beers, the new kids on the block are having fun with a devil may care attitude. It’s here that Sue, one who wants to make a documentary on the freedom revolutionaries, finds her actors for the documentary.
Saying that the way the campus youth is captured on camera, is good, would be an understatement. A gross understatement. It seems like Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, the director of RANG DE BASANTI, did his homework by placing secretly hidden cameras on a University campus to get a major chunk of his script. Homework well done.
Needless to say, the story, as long as it sticks to the bunch of college teens playing around - is a butt kicking, knock you off your chair piece in the movie. And Mehra seems to have progressed in the art and craft of movie-making by leaps and bounds from his previous venture, an earnest effort, borderline amateurish, indigestibly influenced (Fallen), stumbling over itself movie called Aks. RANG DE BASANTI shows the director has gone back to basics and re-learnt the fundamental tools – the art of story telling, but with a catch.
Arguably, RANG DE BASANTI also shows the director’s creative adaptability of modifying the art and science of melodrama, the tug your heart over and over scenes, a skill - perfected by the elite company of Sanjay Leela Bansali, Karan Johar, Aditya Chopra amongst a few others. The difference is that, that art is used by the elite company to break down the tear dams of Pappu, Chottu, Auntijee, Mummyjee and other gentle souls we know in our social environment. Here, Mehra walks on dangerous territory and modifies the art of “boohoo I’m gonna cry†for the youth. You would be blind and deaf to have not noticed the net result…he succeeds at it. Examples?
Watching the old mother and the teens being beaten black and blue by the Rapid Action Force, is sure to ignite volcanic outbursts from anyone. Or the “Sigh I’m stuck in the taxi†Sue, crying over the live broadcast of her lover’s plight could scratch your heart to bleed. The problem lies when you start drawing parallels to Bhansali-Johar-Chopra’s similar modus operandi where the bahu or saas cries over the family falling apart or some shitty reason, thereby elbowing the viewer to fish out his/her tissues. Mehra does that in a youth environment, cleverly and efficiently.
When the story moves from the “everything is so fun and frolic†to a twist, here’s where Kamlesh Pandey (script) and Mehra turn to a black and white point of view. All college students are good, the politicians - wily and corrupt. Their solution? Seen in many a movie done by many including Mr. Amitabh Bachchan. Now the current generation may not have seen an “Inquilab†in the 80s, so RANG DE BASANTI represents what Bachchan did in that movie. Fresh ideas for the college crowd. Microwaved a millionth time for others. Earnest intentions, stale solutions.
Comparing the politicians to the British, and encouraging the youth to become what the youth of the 1930s were (revolutionaries) is Mehra and Pandey’s idea to awaken a generation. Fair enough.
But Mehra and his platform could well be the fundamentalist local college leader’s fiery speeches at the college canteen, heated enough, to ignite the hearts of the most timid of souls. Two hours earlier you received a tongue lashing over the phone from your Dad for having received poor grades. Now after the fiery canteen bhashan you are ready to pack your bags and head with the fired up group to Kashmir to fight for human rights. Your empty pockets and the fact that your snoozing brain, wakes up and takes over the thought process from your ever emotional heart, helps to get you back on track.
The local college leader is now replaced by Mehra and the college canteen by RANG DE BASANTI. The effect the speech had on you in college, is similar to what happens to you after the movie. You are not 20 anymore, but the blood raising, hair standing out effect is clear and visible. With watery eyes you walk to your car, ready with 20 pages of what and how you are going to review the movie. It’s a bloody Classic, a Masterpiece. WAIT! Ever so often, a movie can have that effect on a reviewer or an aspiring reviewer, wherein the flood of emotional arousing capability of the movie drags the reviewer with it. The tools and the macroscopic ability to watch the movie from a neutral pedestal lost in the flood.
Which meant that, after watching the 1pm to 4pm show of RANG DE BASANTI at your local theater, you are back again to watch the 6pm to 9pm show. This time with a clearer head; with blood pressure and heart thumps that have returned back to normal. And you are glad, the aspiring reviewer, that you did.
But the creativity and out of the box ideas in the movie have to be and must be, noted. This is probably the first movie in Bollywood where scenes of pre independence India do not involve jingoistic speeches on desh-bhakti or a one man army killing the entire British Regiment. Move over Mr. Manoj Kumar to Mr. J.P. Dutta. RANG DE BASANTI brings in a new brand of conveying desh-bhakti to ignite your hearts minus the over the roof over the top speeches.
And this “new†way of delivering history on celluloid is quite simple and has an ability to have profound effects. It’s called a documentary. Simply capturing what happened in the past, without getting into preaching and pounding the viewer with the director and writer’s heavy views. That’s what Spielberg did in Schindler’s List and more recently, to some extent in Munich. Mehra does the same in RANG DE BASANTI, to a large extent.
The fact that Mehra wants to do a side by side comparison table on the youth in 1930s and the youth of today is not lost on you. His approach to this is what makes it a commendable effort. In the beginning there is a considerable distance between the scenes and characters of the past and those of the present. And when “Khalbali†plays in the present as well as in the past showing Bhagat Singh’s hunger strike, the boiling point has been achieved. As the movie progresses the distance between the two parallels grows shorter and shorter until towards the climax where the past and the present come in together to fuse into one.
The dialogues are crisp and surprisingly have the ability to tell an entire story in one liners. On being asked by his dad “Why did you do it?†– the son simply asks back “Why did you do it?â€, or the opening scene where the lady goes “Gandhi sells more that Bhagat Singh et. allâ€, while the ghetto like understanding of the current state of sorry affairs is quite visible in “One leg’s in the past, the other in the future and we pee on our presentâ€. Or when Ashfaqullah wants to know the whereabouts of Bismil “Where is my Ram?†Clear depth. Amazing play of words by Prasoon Joshi and Rensil D’Silva.
Mehra does play with your emotions with natural ease. One moment he seems to be telling you that “Alls well that ends wellâ€, ok buddy you are relieved, the next instant “Fuck no it isn’tâ€â€¦a second later “Thank you Jesus. It’s all gonna be fineâ€â€¦seconds later “Fuck me…shitâ€â€¦until you are plain putty in the hands of Mehra.
The reasons (or the lack of it) of the director to take the movie where it went are conveyed in the climax where the youth explain to the radio listeners why they did for what they did. What was that about? Jingoistic speech over a sore throat and “I forgot my vitamins today†energy? An effort to let us know why your food’s been microwaved the hundredth time? And was it necessary to show the hand in hand, breathing our last breaths of the Muslim and the Hindu fundamentalist in the climax? What the hell was Mehra trying to show? Closet gay revolutionaries?
No review of RANG DE BASANTI can be complete without giving a salute to the editing. The screenplay is tough and a great challenge for any editor. P.S. Bharthi comes out with flying colors.
Binod Pradhan, my favorite cinematographer, is in his element. Sometimes I feel that he can do no wrong.
The crew in the back is quite ably supported by the cast in front of the camera. Aamir Khan is to put it quite simply, Aamir Khan. He comes in, becomes DJ and leaves you hypnotized. Here’s one actor who is not at all afraid to take a back seat and let the others occupy the screen space. He has his big times in quite a few scenes in the movie especially the breakdown over the dinner table. Atul Kulkarni plays well to put it mildly. Notice his fiery recital of “Sarfaroshi ki tammannaâ€. Here’s an actor with an ability to display controlled intensity. Kunal Kapoor and Sharman Joshi hit it right on target. The side-splitters and the bonding amongst the group wouldn’t have had the impact without these two. Siddharth from the Madras Industry is an amazing find. And I never knew Soha Ali Khan Pataudi could act so natural. Likewise for Alice Pattern as Sue.
A.R. Rahman is back (after a long time) and in his element with Khalbali, Roobaroo, Paathshaali and the rest. It was an amazing idea to play the historic past against the background music of the present. Identification, Mehra’s key strength in the movie, is loud and clear with Khalbali playing against the revolutionaries’ torture scenes while the current generation dances to the same tunes over beer. If any reviewer feels the music is below par, they should be stripped and their bottom spanked. Personal Agendas or what?
In the end, RANG DE BASANTI is a commendable effort by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, minus the shortcuts and stale solutions the script takes towards the later part.
Technically, yes, this is another milestone in Indian Cinema.
Story wise, if only our local leader in the college canteen could paint with more practical colors and not just black and white…and if Mehra could unlearn what he has from the elite Bhansali-Johar-Chopra team, it could help matters, and provide more constructive definite scripts. EmotionCakes-lite anyone?
A minus. What the hell…Go ahead and watch this cut above the rest product, even if it’s your second or third viewing.
P.S. What the hell happens to the documentary in the end? Lost? Forgotten? Or something else which Mehra had no interest to pursue after?
January 29th, 2006 at 7:17 pm
This is why I read your reviews!!! I have nothing else to say to you - the King of Movie reviewers. Nobody has been able to give the insight and inner workings of Rang De Basanti like you have. Hats off!!!!
January 29th, 2006 at 7:32 pm
What happened to the documentary at the end ???? Vanished alongwith the [edited...spoiler] ????? Same thought occured at last
January 29th, 2006 at 8:45 pm
I thought the movie was pathetic - the first half was good, the second half just lost its way completely. The idea that Mehra conveys is stupid, and the way they go about it is even stupidier. I didnt know killing defense ministers was just school kid play.
Good one - and yes, I am concerned abt that bloddy documentary hehehe - whatever happened to it!
Suyog
January 29th, 2006 at 9:44 pm
You know what’s great about your reviews ozzie boss? You can disect a movie in layman’s terms and critique a movie in a way nobody else has. “Presenting history in a documentary format” - who else has reviewed RDB in this way and mentioned these words? You are simply a brilliant genius movie critic.
January 29th, 2006 at 10:27 pm
Good review… However, one part which frustrated me in the movie was the climax where they show people on the news channel criticising the system etc… I thought that was totally needless and spoiled the climax a bit… it should have ended with the frozen shot of the 2 guys laughing …
January 30th, 2006 at 7:55 am
[...] But I guess, not everyone loves it. Oz plays spoilsport in this hoopla about the next ‘great Indian movie’. [...]
January 30th, 2006 at 9:46 am
Y’know Oz, for your moment in the sun, you had more or less already decided to diss this movie out before you saw it. I could feel it, just about feel it coming in the air.
Like one desperate to look different kid in the GD. You did, well, but your appreciation comes across.
Only human, after all!
:)
January 30th, 2006 at 9:55 am
- Rakesh, Thank you Sir!
- Manoj, Yeah what happened to it? Wasn’t that the foundation based upon which the whole film was built on?
- Suyog, That’s right. But you have the give the guy credit besides the cinematic liberties he may have taken.
- Prashant, *Bowing* thank you Sir.
- Nirav, there can be a million ways to remake Rang De Basanti, now that everyone has seen it. If Mehra felt that’s the way the movie should end, then he must be right at that point of making the movie.
- Prakriti, If you wanna have a logical debate on the architecture of Rang De Basanti, I’m game. But emotional accusations find no place in ozzone. And I haven’t dissed the movie. Pointing the script’s shortcomings is what I have done from a neutral pedestal.
January 30th, 2006 at 10:17 am
[Following is an insightful and indepth comment from Satyam at Naachgaana.com in response to my post on Rang De Basanti]
This is a well written piece. I dissent on the idea that Mehra anywhere puts forth a viable political project. The closest you get to an answer is — join the civil service, politics etc. Similarly he does well to question received notions of patriotism but I am unsure whether an alternative is really ever offered. In fact it might even be said that the film is rather startlingly muddled to the extent that the director wants to keep the idea of a patriotism alive whereas the story as it evolves seems to suggest that this very concept is inherently flawed. Mehra presumably wants a thoughtful, less jingoistic patriotism, an instrumental one almost that will enable his characters to simply care for the country and lead them on the ICS route! This might be a contradiction in terms. I don’t know if watching the climax one should come away with the sense that there are a few bad apples like the Defence Minister in the system, or that the whole system is corrupt and needs to be changed (Mehra certainly believes this), or just that the nation-state inevitable requires the kind of monopoly on violence that is on display in the climax scene. The point could almost be that the ‘patriots’ of the past erred precisely in insisting on a nation without any real sense of what such a nation might entail. Calling for independence is one thing, putting forth a blueprint for governance quite another. Mehra though wants this ‘infinite regress’ where the characters of his film can quite literally double into the ‘historical characters’ (perhaps we are not too far from Aks here!). Finally this procedure allows Mehra to shred all contexts ironically where he tries to preserve them. So Bhagat Singh is simply equal to his acts of violence, and the present generation can bring about the change by resorting to those very acts in very literal fashion. What Bhagat Singh might have stood for, what contexts defined him etc doesn’t matter very much. Mehra very much misses the irony. In the mythologized version of indepence history people like Bhagat sing and Azaad create the new nation by simply defying the British. Without proper contexts this is just a child’s version of history. In Mehra’s present therefore the project is always doomed from the start since he is only establshing the potency of myth more than anything else.
January 30th, 2006 at 10:22 am
Guru…I don’t feel like watching the ..movie at all now
thanks..
yawwwn.
January 30th, 2006 at 10:46 am
Fantastic review! Makes me wanna see … for all the pros and cons.
January 30th, 2006 at 11:56 am
Oz, as already mentioned, I am a fan of the site. Am not one of the club which propagates that Mehta did an amazing social or political documentary on the movie. All I said, and you gotta go back and read my comment, nothing more and nothing less, that you had already made up your mind to diss the movie even before you saw it, to deliberately look for the flaws before they presented themselves infront of u.
As for writing an ‘insightful’ and ‘indepth’ comment to your review, dude I work as a manager for 12 hours a day. Enough insightfulness and depth for me for the day. If you are pointing out that comments which aren’t smooth in praise for your posts, or which do not have “a logical debate on the architecture of a movie”, aren’t welcome, you are getting a step too far.
A large part of a movie is the emotions it generates in a person. If as a reviewer, you are about to disown that part of cinema, welllll then.. best of luck!
As already pointed, my views on the movie are here
http://theevilp.blogspot.com/2006/01/rang-de-basanti-45-stars.html
January 30th, 2006 at 12:34 pm
As usual jhakaas review boss! But one beef with you…no mention how hot Alice Patten is!
January 30th, 2006 at 1:01 pm
- Prakriti, the [indept insight] comment wasn’t meant solely for you. your 2nd comment is merely turning out to be a rant, so i have nothing else to say if you aren’t gonna justify your “false accusations” on DesiTrain.
- Jiten, Thanks Sir! Where the hell have you been?
January 30th, 2006 at 2:18 pm
its N. Chandra’s “Ankush” repackaged for the y2k generation.
January 31st, 2006 at 5:33 am
[...] I heard uniformly good reviews about Rang De Basanti. I thus went with lots of expectations, and, sadly. the movie is not upto my expectations. The tagline is A Generation Awakens; it looked like it was such a forced awakening (assuming that the generation was sleeping in the first place). The first half was fine — apart from a few caricatures (of Laxman Pandey, for example). But towards the end of the film, it was not clear as to whether DJ et al wanted to go for armed revolution or for peaceful protests — and, that faltering is the main flaw in the movie. Having said that, the performance of all the actors (especially Atul Kulkarni, Kiron Kher, Alice Patten, and Soha Ali Khan), the wonderful music (my favourite being the Guru Vaani), and nice camera and editing is what makes the movie great, and the first half greater (I am not the only one who feels let down by the movie. Here is Uma and here is desitrain (link via Desi Pundit)). Bottomline - Watch the first half, and endure the second — but don’t miss it. [...]
February 1st, 2006 at 1:22 am
I saw the movie a day before it released and came out confused. Didnt know what to tell anyone about it. Your review (although a bit long) has captured it brilliantly! Will keep coming back for more
February 1st, 2006 at 9:18 am
i usually read ur posts…and each time i think..this guy is such an ass ..too bloody full of himself….but i still keep coming back..lol…coz well one word its timepass…
February 12th, 2006 at 11:17 am
Dude…ur review is simply awesome. I watched the movie on the day it was released. I found it so good that i couldn’t stop myself from watching it again. Great work done Mehra. My Appreciation goes to the entire team..
February 13th, 2006 at 8:08 am
I watched the camera print..in my desp to watch it..I must admit in the whole murky movie print, I only cried when Atul Kulkarni and his friend died ….
I think atul’s acting just left an indelible mark on me..in the whole movie he stood out and he was the only truth that belonged to Basanti.
February 17th, 2006 at 10:05 pm
First timer here - I read you Sir jee gig for Zinda while watching the movie - loved it - cracked me up:) i came across on your site while searching on google to see which movie is Zinda copied from … anyways, should be talking about RDB here. The movie truly is a Classic! I am a big Aamir Khan fan … I went to watch the movie for him…and was impressed by the complete team - everyone did a good job! A.R Rahman is an back with his best again \:d/
February 19th, 2006 at 8:24 pm
that is a great review…..
however there is one question for which I have not yet been able to get an answer.
Is there any specific significance to the song Rang de Basanti in relation with Bhagat Singh…. if so could you pls enlighten me as to what it is.
Thanks
February 20th, 2006 at 6:53 am
Vitaspeak, Nandu, Akshant, RdB, Rosie, Thank you all! See you guys more and more at Desi Train :)
SS, The title of the movie is from the initial lines of an original poem - Bhagat Singh’s favorite and I believe he sang this poem on his way to the gallows “Mera Rang de Basanti Chola, Rang de basanti chola…” Watch Manoj Kumar’s Shaheed, this song has been given a very sweet tune in the movie.
February 25th, 2006 at 2:16 am
Yeah, the film is fresh but not so good..even idealistic.
But how did the IAF let it pass as it is?
Have you noticed the skinny IAF cadets that bring in Madhavan’s body to the pyre?
Gosh, no youngman would liked to be carried by such people, even `extras’.
The director needs a lot to learn
March 3rd, 2006 at 9:01 pm
Hi All,
I have bit different reaction to this movie.
1. I remembered why Ganesh Charturthi was started it was to get people together and give them some of the revolutionary ideas and I can see the Movie mimic the same.
2. Sue ( Character says do what you feel is right and do it with lot of passion)
3. There were people who did what was right at that time and didn’t have any kind of repentant feeling for it, how many of such are here? raises that question.
4. Most people went to see the movie and not the message Logical brain asks question how can they kill DM so easily but emotional brain doesn’t question the Holy Book Bhagat Gita/ Kuran/Bible how can such a thing happen;but everyone likes to take the message and believe in GOD. Understanding the message made me difficult to watch it as there was 1st question that came me how I am supporting the system to detriotiate with me doing things that were done like bribing a motor school ( now they don’t call it by that name; it called fees) to get me IDP. I am sure noone is pure but seems like we r not trying hard! So I am trying hard don’t know about you.
5. Some of the people said they liked 1st Part becoz there was comedy, masala stuff fair enuf film is for entertainment. Second part is not good cause because how can one kill his own father, DM, who listens to radio so early in the morning?, etc because that is some thing serious so logical brain starts working but then I can ask how is first part so good? DJ is in same university no problems from his parents? who is funding their daily party?do these students study at all which i think I never saw them and thats what indian are made to do in most of colleges? If u can buy this part I don’t see any issues in buying the second part as well.
6. Moral is join Politics or civil services who said its not possible for everyone but even when u r where u r can u help clean the system, thats what the message is even though they r college guys they can’t stop US from attacking Iraq its just tooo big for them but they do whatever is in their limits or bit above limit.
7. Now some people thought what about documentary the same “?” came to my mind, but when i thought more about it i smiled to myself; all along why is Sue’s grandfather writing in because he saw something he didn’t in his life a revolutionary mind with not a single tinge of shame and trying to clean the system, he wanted to share it with someone and so he noted down in his diary; now why is Sue wants to make a Documentary because its her grandfather story no because she wants to reach bigger audience media so that people know believing in something right and doing/giving ur life for it worth it! in that process she reached much larger section as boys did something which reached the whole of the nation if the documentary would have been succes it would have been/not been watched as she has no sponsor remember the first of scenes but this boy’s valor is spread all over the country, so she doesn’t plan that but her passion to reach out bhagat singh would not have sold because of no relevance to today’s day ( although I am wrong cause bhagat singh Ajay devgan’s movie did play well but they gave a message that there si so much to din today’s society). while what the boy’s did to Sue’s documentary Mehra’s movie did rather than another bhagat singh movie but sadly not all understood it because no one wants to says they are also polluting the system!.
8. So lastly I feel there r 2 kinds of people some who accept the system as it is quietly, polluting it or someone who speaks loads about its worst part and accepting, polluting it.
I am in search of some clever people who will change the system slowly as I am planning to do not because of this movie but because I always feel why doing something right doesn’t count and the answer is COUNT of people standing for truth!
March 5th, 2006 at 9:27 pm
- Manish Sabnis, Appreciate your long comments here. It shows the emotion you have invested in this movie. Just one thing - I may be fair in saying that I am “just” a bit sophisticated in philosophy, the human mind and movies. Based on that I found it hard to grasp and understand many of your points and what you were trying to put across the table. I’m not sure about other readers, but I - just didn’t get it.
March 13th, 2006 at 8:04 pm
Hi Oz,
there are 8 points out there, so let me know which points u didn’t understand I can explain it to u if u care to listen, else have a good life!
u can mail me ur “?s” chesscrazy@rediffmail.com
April 2nd, 2006 at 11:02 am
its the time to change the system n take things into our own hands rather jus commenting n not doing any things..i was in kinda tears when i saw that movie … by thinking that its all so corrupted here but still i m like handicaped and cant do anything for it .. :(..
April 14th, 2006 at 8:05 pm
HI suyong
Reg the documentary which Sue was making.. Mehra intellegently show that it was complete before they die. Watch the Movie’s initial reels… where Bhagat Singh, Sukh dev and Raj Guru was hanged… It is in Sepia Tone.. and all the Sepia Tone are the images from the documentary..Mehra clevery shows this when Bhagat Sight wake up dreaming about Jaliawala Bagh and Putting the letter under the pillow of his parents….
So she completes the documentary and may be after that the Ajay die in plane crash and they take the drastic Step…
I really loved this Movie.. there are many many things which is silently conveyed… Check out when the soldiers sorrounded the Air Building and one of the commanders says, ” I dont want any survivers”.. It means they already got orders from the top that these boys should be killed wether they do good or bad, the petty polititians think them as a threat… so nothing change from the British Raj.. At that time also they think bhagat singh was a threat and they killed him…
A lot of things i need to write about this movie… a lot.. will write it when i get enough time.
Cheers
Raj
May 27th, 2006 at 10:55 am
[...] Desitrain [...]
June 20th, 2006 at 3:59 am
lal salam
September 4th, 2006 at 10:29 pm
does anyone know where the shooting location is for the “jump in the water” scene?
September 4th, 2006 at 10:30 pm
you can write to me on john.ensfield@yahoo.co.uk
thanks!
November 18th, 2006 at 4:41 pm
i was watching RDB again but I had director’s commentary on this time. he explains the reasons behind each scenes, how he shot each scenes, etc.
“Binod Pradhan, my favorite cinematographer, is in his element. Sometimes I feel that he can do no wrong.”
that’s what Mehra had to say about him. you would find interesting how binod captured Classroom scene at night and Be A Rebel scene - where he had to get rid of the public from the image - since there were so many onlookers. there are more interesting bits…
his comments are interesting. i think, all dvds should have this feature.
Regarding what happened to Sue’s documentary… i think she ended up making RDB