Review of Rang De Basanti (2006) by S S — 15 Jul 2012

One of the most excellently made Hindi movies in a long time.... The movie excels in almost every aspect of film making. direction by Rakesh Om Prakash Mehra and AR Rahman's music are the standouts. A movie that started a revolution in the way that people in general started expressing their frustrations in a different way all altogether, aka candle light vigil which is derived from one of the key scenes in the movie. This movie came out when the MIG planes in the Indian army were under fire from the general public for killing the pilots inside them. It was notoriously known as the "widow maker". The movie starts off with a filmmaker from UK who wants to tell the story of Bhagat singh through her docu-drama, once she reaches India she meets these seemingly bunch of brats who are virtually carefree and hate the Indian political scenario. Then one of their friend dies in a MIG crash and their life is turned upside down. They try to change the system from the inside but fail miserably in their "legal" attempts. Unable to bear the frustration they change themselves into rebels to bring about a change in the government. What ensues after this forms the crux of the story but let me give you a heads up, it gets better from that point.... Starring a cast of new comers along with veteran actors and Aamir Khan as the gang's leader were all amazingly believable and did a great job at touching your emotional strings. The background draws you in at pivotal points in the movie. The interplay and comparison of these bunch of brats and Bhagat Singh's life is among the most entertaining parts of the movie as it captures their change from peaceful students to rebellious revolutionaries. The movie's climax has some of the best dialogues in the movie. A must watch and one of the greatest movie that bollywood has ever come up with. A masterpiece.

Its difficult to make a patriotic movie in India, in a way this movie is a satire of its own genre as most of the characters have the same view that modern audience have come to associate with patriotism but that soon changes through the commencement of the movie and the patriotic flare is ignited. Powered by some tremendous performances from the cast, beautiful music be AR Rahman and tremendously appealing lyrics by Prasoon Joshi not to forget Om Prakash Mehra at the helm. One of my all time favorite movies in Hindi, brilliant and memorable. A new breed of patriotism.

To cite a dialogue from the movie in a way that conveys what I want to say perfectly:

"There are two kinds of movies: Once that make a lot of noise and the ones that just fade away quietly...... Then I saw the third kind." Rang De Basanti.