Rang De Basanti- A Generation Awakens

Rang De Basanti, the movie which gained popularity not only for the story line that depicts both reality and lost patriotism but also for invoking the feeling thereafter. None of the movies in the past had such a large impact on youth and nationalists alike. Such was the charm and charisma of the film in 2006 that it crossed the national boundaries and impacted the global youth. The film is still so relevant and more than perfect in today’s times that it feels new every time I watch it. And I believe that most of us would agree to this statement. The more you watch it, the more you feel attached to it and fall in love with it.

Rakesh Omprakash Mehra had genuinely hit the right chords of Indian hearts by showcasing corruption in the Indian political system and showing it so brilliantly. We, as Indians have very genuinely agreed to the fact that there is corruption in every minutest atom in the life of an Indian and sadly we have started adjusting to it and finding solace in living with it. We tend to hate politics, call it the drain or the pit where nobody would like to fall and dirty themselves. We condemn and criticise things like anything but would not make a single effort to change things. Sadly the fourth pillar of democracy too has been doing this for long.

Tagged under the genre of drama and comedy, the movie shows profoundness throughout and is able to capture the audience’s attention without a blink. The crowd of cast includes Aamir Khan, Sharman Joshi, Soha Ali Khan, Alice Patten, R. Madhavan, Siddhartha Narayan, Waheeda Rehman, Anupam Kher, Kiron Kher and Atul Kulkarni and all of them made a substantial difference. The film plot revolves around a young woman, Sue, from London who spots a diary of her grandfather who was in the British Police Force posted in India during British Rule in India. Motivated by her grandfather’s writing about Indian revolutionaries, she plans to make a film depicting their life story. She comes down to Delhi for the same and sights the same level of energy in her friend Sonia and her friends- DJ, Karan, Sukhi, Aslam and finally Laxman Pandey. Each one of them represents the youth of day perfectly and the actors have done full justice with their role.

Throughout the shooting of documentary, this generation ‘Y’ refuses to associate themselves with the characters of the past. A youth who believes that patriotism is something that looks good in only history chapters and has no connection with the corrupted India. The film portrays modern youth running parallel with the freedom fighters which intersects at vital points. As the film moves on, a moment in their life turns to be the chemical phenomena that change their life completely yet there had been a slow change of mindset. It transforms them from carefree youth to responsible youth binding the past and future in one spirit. How and what change is behind it, it lays engrossed perfectly in the second half.

Though the film is not inspired from any real life experience, yet there are ingredients from the life of the director, Rakesh Mehra itself and his friends. The film is also tribute to MIG fighters and AIR force who lost their lives in technical fault of the airplane which they were flying. A.R.Rehman’s music as always has been the best with some really foot tapping numbers, Masti ki Pathshala which became the college anthem and topped the chartbusters for long. While another number Ru-ba-ru gives the feeling of enlightenment and freedom from within, Tu bin btaye perfectly portrays trust and selfless love of the lovers. Luka Chupi by Lata Mangeshkar portrays the hide and seek game by a mother and child which undoubtedly goes best with the cinematography.

The Art direction and cinematography of Binod Pradhan leaves speechless leading every frame to perfection. The use of sepia tones to bring contrast to the past and future leaves the viewers stunned. Similarly, the use of natural lighting gives a no make up feel to the lighting. It has been able to perfectly lift the script making no moment dull. Similarly lyrics and dialogues by Prasoon Joshi has a touch of daily used language but unexplored heart.

The film made a social impact beyond director’s vision and encapsulated the whole of India, particularly youth. These type of emotion was showcased in Priyadarshani Mattoo Case and a march against Reservation followed by innumerable same cases.

The movie has been hauled for depicting activism by critics however the message run clear that there the Mc Donald’s and designer wear generation of the country needs to stand up for what is right. It believes that there are only two ways of living life; either accept conditions as they exist or take responsibility to change them. A good movie is one that opens the windows of the viewers mind and adds to their understanding. Rang De Basanti is successful in doing this. As the tagline says ‘A generation awakens’, the film is a light hearted youthful drama which gained applauds from both the critics and audience alike.

Indian Films vs Hollywood

The never-ending debate goes on. But is the competition really there? Or are they just two complementing terms written on either side of a word? The story behind the Indian Film Industry (the biggest in the world) is that of broadening horizons and vertiginous ambition. It has always been home to what Salman Rushdie has called the “epico-mythico-tragico-comico-super-sexy-high-masala-art”.

This is Indian Film Industry, where even this hyperbolic prose seems understated. Hollywood, on the other hand, is the movie industry of the West which usually aims to satisfy its audiences with one storyline, one track in a very effective manner. The viewers, chiefly Indian, throng a theatre to experience a mixed cinematic experience of family, romance, drama, action, clearly proving that the main notion of Hollywood’s one track storyline is against the expectations of Bollywood followers. This is the reason why Indian films are twenty times harder to make as compared to their western counterparts.

But somewhere the two really differ, and unfortunately for the worse, is the organization. Despite the hype surrounding Indian Film Industry’s increasing influence in the world movie industry, it is a long way from being a threat to Hollywood’s influence. In terms of revenues, the success of Hollywood movies does not depend on ticket sales alone. It follows the time-tested ‘franchise-formula’ where a major part of the revenue comes from other segments like TV networks, magazines, home-videos, merchandising etc. Bollywood has toyed with the same line with Hum Tum and Waqt, but it is a crtitical resource that needs to be exploited very carefully to contribute to the the profits: something which Indian filmmakers still needs to learn.

Another facet is the financing. Till a few years ago, 70 per cent of the money the for movies made in Mumbai came as liquid cash from traders in real-estate, jewellery and the Mumbai underworld or unnacounted money. Even though with time things have improved, the financing of Bollywood movies is still a shady business coming largely from the non-organised sector and with virtually no financing from the banking sector. This is unlike Hollywood, where production studios and the organised sector treat it as an industry and there exists a well-established network, a well-channelised flow of funds and accounting of sources of such funds. The Indian Film Industry was officially recognised as an ‘industry’ by the government only in 1998, introducing regulations for accountability but there are miles to go before achieving such a status.

With the laws and statutes governing the Indian version, autonomy in functioning is a long road to walk. With A. Ramadoss breathing down their necks by disallowing creativity in myriad forms, and the Animal Welfare Board creating hurdles in filming animals, half the time of the producers is spent on fulfilling obligations and making rounds of government offices. The same can also be said for the Censor Board which fails to realise the changes in the average Indian cinemagoer’s psyche and mentality, and the Religious Comittees with their claims of their religion being portrayed in bad light.

Now moving to a little on the wild side, towards the jhatkas and matkas! The Big H has been unfortunate for it has never experienced a salute to an item number. And love-making scenes in Hollywood are not characterised by suggestive sounds and flowers banging against each other. Furthermore, there is no Rajnikanth or anyone similar for miles, who has the audacity to try to keep the audience captivated with nail-biting (read popcorn throwing) action sequences.

Whatever said and done, it cannot be denied that the Indian Film Industry is catching up with a surge in talent and creativity. Movies other than mainstream cinema are being tried and tested with success. This is where we should learn from our distant cousin: there is no strict format for success. Even today, movies such as Monsoon Wedding, Loins of Punjab, Bride and Prejudice, which portray the human way of thinking in the world scenario today and do not cater to the average mixed-emotion Indian, are hitting cinemas. Kissing and nudity is being accepted; going against the norms of life is not new. But with the continuing anger and hostility against nudity, fanaticism against religion, never-ending obligations and management problems, it will just remain a business. The idea of good cinema still seems far-fetched.

Dostana: A Failed Attempt

One line: Don’t bother watching.

After a “hard” night, two virile 30 something men wake up in a beautiful apartment in Miami and exchange pleasantries over cereal and orange juice.

They manage to get into the same cab and almost have a fight, but it turns out they are going to the same place. Turns out they both have been thrown out of their apartments and now need one desperately (What a coincidence!)

They go and meet this Sindhi aunty who wants to rent out an apartment but who will definitely not rent it out to two handsome and virile young men. She has a niece that she is taking care of… duniya kya sochegi? And all that… (This is THE United States of America after all!)

They suddenly hit upon a brilliant (?) idea… Why not pretend to be gay! Then the aunty shouldn’t have any issues renting the place to them…

Aunty happened to be quite right in having reservations of having men in the house, her niece contrary to our heroes’ expectations, turns out to be quite hot. But now they have committed to being gay and so they must play out the charade.The three get along with each other very well and become the best of friends. And inevitably both fall for the girl.

There is also the question of getting a green card, which turns out to be very easy if you are gay and in a relationship… so the two carry their game into the US immigration offices too.

The rest of the movie answers some important questions. Which of them will get the girl? Or, will the two guys really fall in love with each other and live happily ever after? And will they get the green card?

There is absolute inconsistency in how the two guys behave with each other when they are pretending to be gay. Sometimes they are effeminate, all gyrating hips and girly… other times they are very macho and gay in an extremely hunky way. They can’t seem to make up their minds. This back and forth in their behaviour was quite sickening and I am pretty sure no one consulted any gay while making this movie. Whatever authenticity could have been there was utterly obliterated.

And if they wanted to spoof being gay that too was lost, because for half of the movie they behave like two men completely in charge of themselves and in love with each other.

In the mix, there is also a very British Indian mother who needs to come to terms with her son’s gayness, a gay boss, another straight divorced boss with a kid from a previous marriage who can’t act at all and the Miami Beach.

The music is catchy but the lyrics are quite nonsensical. The dances are typical Hindi movie stuff, timed forced physical exercises with no grace, no style and no panache what so ever. Please simply fast forward.

So why should you watch the movie if you want to do that at all?

Well, you get to see John Abraham almost nude for most of the movie, and you get to see part of his bum right in the beginning. This may seem very interesting to girls who drool over John and maybe to the gays as well.

Abhishek Bachchan is a pretty good actor and the chemistry between the two guys (and the girl) is very good indeed. A much better story line, more research and a better informed, more enthusiastic director could have made this movie really rock.

Priyanka Chopra is very pretty and her innocence bubbles away throughout the movie making you smile, until she starts to dance and completely spoils it.

Very funny moments occur very few times; about four times according to my count so please watch very carefully otherwise you might miss them. Please do laugh.

So, unless you are in an airplane, and there is only the News on all the other channels and you simply can’t sleep and the only movie they are showing is this one, and you have options to fast forward all the music and dancing, and you are utterly bored and really, absolutely don’t even want to think, and you desperately need to get a sneak peek of John Abrahams bum, then watch this movie if you must.

You have been warned!