fantasticguy
28-01-2006, 01:49 AM
This must be the usual Aamir Khan movie," said one skeptic as he walked up te stairs to the balcony area of Delhi's largest single screen movie hall. "The newspapers have already leaked the story," commented his friend. "Arre, it's the same - couple of carefree friends have all the fun till something drastic happens and changes their lives," added the third.
All the points were valid and yet once the Rang De Basanti (RDB) starts, you forget everything you had heard or thought about the movie before and are simply engrossed in the on-screen going-ons.
Director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra has done what a Prahar in the early 90s, Lakshya and Yuva in the recent past nor Aamir Khan's Mangal Pandey could not do — RDB successfully weds and weaves in a period film in the lives of the BPO youth.
Have no doubts, distributors UTV have a winner on their hands and RDB will see commercial success.
RDB is not about patriotism, or the angst of the youth and neither is it about timepass either. It's all three. Most of all it's about the characters.
From very-desi, very Punjabi DJ (Aamir Khan), rich disillusioned boy Karan (Siddharth Narayan), forever the kid Sukhi (Sharman Joshi), the nice and naughty Sonia (Soha ALi), the lost in his own world Aslam (Kunal Kapoor) and the righteously right wing Laxman Pandey (Atul Kulkarni)... and witnessing everthing unfold before her eyes is, Sue (Alice Payton).
The movie starts off in the pre-independence era with a hanging that has been chronicled in the diaries of the then-jailer McKinsey. Cut to the present, the same jailer's granddaughter — Sue — wants to make a documentary on the'Young Guns of India'. She comes to India — saddi Dilli — and meets Sonia and the rest of her gang. Predictably, she casts the whole lot in her documentary.
That's where the movie takes its first interesting turn. Dialogues by adman Prasoon Joshi are young and in the lingo that has become synonymous with the metro-youth of today. Liberal Hindi swear words, jerking each other's chain and generally an attitude towards life that says 'Talli ho jaayo, mast raho' (get drunk, have fun).
Scenes with DJ and Sukhi downing beer after beer, Karan constantly pulling at his cigarette and Karan's dad droning about his career are all too familiar. If Lakshya had Hrithik singing Main aisa kyon hoon, then RDB has the gang going Loose control!
However, what we liked was the way three separate stories unfold at the same time. You don't even mind the history lesson because of the now-in-past-now-in-present technique the director employs.
So if on one hand there is the story of Bismil, Azad and Chandrashekhar being enacted, there is a parallel thread where our carefree youth comes of age. Interestingly though, the movie does not simply portray the coming of age of the urban youth. Party activist Pandey — who for a change actually believes in his policies of Hindutva and not just for the money or power — also grows out of his presumptions about the 'westernised' youth when he realises that his concerns and theirs are the same.
The third story is of course the grandpa McKinsey witnessing the story of the five martyrs and in current times, the granddaughter witnessing that of these five people.
AR Rahman comes back with a score that befits the movie — while it is not vintage Rahman a la Roja, it's not too experimental as Yuva was either. The title track has already become popular and once the audience/listener begins associating the characters with the song, the music should only pick up.
The entire idea of using very contemporary bass and rhythm even in the scenes ofthe Kakori Kaand (where Azaad and co. loot a Brit train) adds a certain edginess to the scenes. Pace is a huge plus point with the movie — it moves from one scenario to another without letting the story or the speed of narration to lag.
Acting-wise, Aamir Khan is his usual self — you know he will twitch his brows, lift the corners of his mouth for that very practiced wicked grin etc etc. If nothing disappointing, nothing new there either. Kunal after a rather insipid Meenaxi; is good as Aslam, but unfortunately the boy runs the danger of being slotted into the kavi-type roles. Soha is nothing to write home about, and any other actress would have done just as fine. Kulkarni as usual delivers a power packed performance and even steals some scenes from Aamir. Siddharth as Karan stood out. Alice as Sue is fairly good; though full marks the director for not making her strip just because she is a gori actress!
However, if anyone thought this was an Aamir Khan movie, they were dead wrong. Almost every characters gets his fair screen share. That apart, there were allegations that the movie promotes violence and incites the youth to unlawfullnes. However, while the characters are shown taking the law in their hands, they dont get away...
The whole parallel drawn between fighting against the Raj and now fighting against the corrupt Raj is nice — but we have seen it before. But as Aamir/Dj says in the movie, "Everyone has a The End — what matters is what kind of a The End you have.'
So while we might have seen this militant patriotism before — When you cant fix it, you get rid of it — but not like this.
All these movies — Yuva, Yahan, Lakshay, Hu Tu Tu, Hindustani — have been about the people, particularly the youth, disgusted with the state of affairs in the country. Most of these movies have had the protagonists going after the goons with guns. Yet, one wonders...
These movies are not about killing corruption by blowing off the politicians. These are about joining the system and making a difference. But will they make a difference - or does the story end with mere box office success?
All the points were valid and yet once the Rang De Basanti (RDB) starts, you forget everything you had heard or thought about the movie before and are simply engrossed in the on-screen going-ons.
Director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra has done what a Prahar in the early 90s, Lakshya and Yuva in the recent past nor Aamir Khan's Mangal Pandey could not do — RDB successfully weds and weaves in a period film in the lives of the BPO youth.
Have no doubts, distributors UTV have a winner on their hands and RDB will see commercial success.
RDB is not about patriotism, or the angst of the youth and neither is it about timepass either. It's all three. Most of all it's about the characters.
From very-desi, very Punjabi DJ (Aamir Khan), rich disillusioned boy Karan (Siddharth Narayan), forever the kid Sukhi (Sharman Joshi), the nice and naughty Sonia (Soha ALi), the lost in his own world Aslam (Kunal Kapoor) and the righteously right wing Laxman Pandey (Atul Kulkarni)... and witnessing everthing unfold before her eyes is, Sue (Alice Payton).
The movie starts off in the pre-independence era with a hanging that has been chronicled in the diaries of the then-jailer McKinsey. Cut to the present, the same jailer's granddaughter — Sue — wants to make a documentary on the'Young Guns of India'. She comes to India — saddi Dilli — and meets Sonia and the rest of her gang. Predictably, she casts the whole lot in her documentary.
That's where the movie takes its first interesting turn. Dialogues by adman Prasoon Joshi are young and in the lingo that has become synonymous with the metro-youth of today. Liberal Hindi swear words, jerking each other's chain and generally an attitude towards life that says 'Talli ho jaayo, mast raho' (get drunk, have fun).
Scenes with DJ and Sukhi downing beer after beer, Karan constantly pulling at his cigarette and Karan's dad droning about his career are all too familiar. If Lakshya had Hrithik singing Main aisa kyon hoon, then RDB has the gang going Loose control!
However, what we liked was the way three separate stories unfold at the same time. You don't even mind the history lesson because of the now-in-past-now-in-present technique the director employs.
So if on one hand there is the story of Bismil, Azad and Chandrashekhar being enacted, there is a parallel thread where our carefree youth comes of age. Interestingly though, the movie does not simply portray the coming of age of the urban youth. Party activist Pandey — who for a change actually believes in his policies of Hindutva and not just for the money or power — also grows out of his presumptions about the 'westernised' youth when he realises that his concerns and theirs are the same.
The third story is of course the grandpa McKinsey witnessing the story of the five martyrs and in current times, the granddaughter witnessing that of these five people.
AR Rahman comes back with a score that befits the movie — while it is not vintage Rahman a la Roja, it's not too experimental as Yuva was either. The title track has already become popular and once the audience/listener begins associating the characters with the song, the music should only pick up.
The entire idea of using very contemporary bass and rhythm even in the scenes ofthe Kakori Kaand (where Azaad and co. loot a Brit train) adds a certain edginess to the scenes. Pace is a huge plus point with the movie — it moves from one scenario to another without letting the story or the speed of narration to lag.
Acting-wise, Aamir Khan is his usual self — you know he will twitch his brows, lift the corners of his mouth for that very practiced wicked grin etc etc. If nothing disappointing, nothing new there either. Kunal after a rather insipid Meenaxi; is good as Aslam, but unfortunately the boy runs the danger of being slotted into the kavi-type roles. Soha is nothing to write home about, and any other actress would have done just as fine. Kulkarni as usual delivers a power packed performance and even steals some scenes from Aamir. Siddharth as Karan stood out. Alice as Sue is fairly good; though full marks the director for not making her strip just because she is a gori actress!
However, if anyone thought this was an Aamir Khan movie, they were dead wrong. Almost every characters gets his fair screen share. That apart, there were allegations that the movie promotes violence and incites the youth to unlawfullnes. However, while the characters are shown taking the law in their hands, they dont get away...
The whole parallel drawn between fighting against the Raj and now fighting against the corrupt Raj is nice — but we have seen it before. But as Aamir/Dj says in the movie, "Everyone has a The End — what matters is what kind of a The End you have.'
So while we might have seen this militant patriotism before — When you cant fix it, you get rid of it — but not like this.
All these movies — Yuva, Yahan, Lakshay, Hu Tu Tu, Hindustani — have been about the people, particularly the youth, disgusted with the state of affairs in the country. Most of these movies have had the protagonists going after the goons with guns. Yet, one wonders...
These movies are not about killing corruption by blowing off the politicians. These are about joining the system and making a difference. But will they make a difference - or does the story end with mere box office success?