MOVIE REVIEW-Rang De Basanti
Starring: Aamir Khan, Atul Kulkarni, Alice Patten, Soha Ali Khan
Director: Rakeysh Mehra
Music Director: A.R. Rahman
After Black, here comes a movie that again stuns you with its cinematic vision. The brilliant analogy drawn in the film between today's youth and revolutionaries like Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, Rajguru and Ramprasad Bismil, together with director Rakeysh Mehra's unique style of storytelling has endeared the film to the young generation. Though the film partly talks of a bygone era, it succeeds in relating that to a stark present. The way situations, historical and current, are juxtaposed to drive home the point that nothing really has changed from those days of oppression under the British Raj, is truly stuff that classics are made of. The pertinent question the movie pops up is that even after gaining our independence, have we attained freedom from exploitation.
A young English filmmaker Sue (Alice Patten) arrives in India to make a film on Indian revolutionaries and their fight against the British Raj. Owing to a lack of funds, she recruits students from Delhi University to act in her docu-drama. The wanton gang metamorphoses as each plays out the life of a legend but the reel nationalism remains nascent till real life demands a revolution and blood. Indeed, the film doubles as a narrative on the changes in perspective and values that the young boys and girls acting in the documentary, go through as they shoot for the film. OK, the climax is a trifle far-fetched but we'll let that pass as dramatic licence.
The best thing about Rang De Basanti is that it makes a serious statement without losing out on the fun element. The dialogues are scintillating and the acting is tops. Aamir as a DJ who is also a university graduate, is as usual fantastic, but the others, including Sharman Joshi and Siddharth, deserve no less praise. A huge round of applause to all of them, including Soha Ali Khan. Madhavan makes an impact in an endearing cameo. The music is in tune with the youthful mood of the movie.
Watch Rang De Basanti to see Hindi cinema at its contemporary best.
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