Movie Review: Rang De Basanti

SPOILER WARNING

To Ik Pair Future te... isiliye to present pe moot rahe hain hum!

Words of wisdom, it would seem... or just another gimmicky line? Whatever it is, it fits the movie well. Rang De Basanti is a movie you should watch. Great characters, terrific music, slick and a strong concept.

Along the way, though, one cannot help but feel that a bit of the same-old same-old has crept in. The fight against the machine, the 'awakening' of the generation and most revolutionary acts within the movie happen because of a personal loss. This is completely against the parallel concept wherein the revolutionaries take to arms to rise against the general oppression of a people.

Warning again... spoiler ahead. To avoid, go here!

The story runs parallel to the creation of the revolutionaries and how the rulers of the Raj compare with our leaders of today. Nice concept and rather well executed as well.

***** MAJOR SPOILER WARNING *******

But come the climax and without reason, the paramilitary forces (Black Cat Commandos) decide to shoot all the leading men. In the All India Radio Office in New Delhi. Why they were not arrested is anyone's guess. My guess is that the ending was what it was simply because it had to be different. To be fair to the director, any other ending would have appeared tried and tested and well, expected. In that sense, this is a good ending.

The characterisation and the way they live up to their characters throughout the movie is commendable. So no jerks there!

Throughout the movie, though, something was constantly amiss. What, I still cannot put a finger on. Maybe soon.

Aamir Khan (DJ) is brilliant. Kunal Kapoor (Aslam) is very good. Atul Kulkarni (Laxman Pandey) needs to tone down his acting. Sharman Joshi (Sukhi) needs to not ham so much. Siddharth (as Karan Singhania) is strong, sublte and underplayed very well. R Madhavan (as Ajay in a bit role) is controlled. Alice Patten (Sue) is good but never seemed comfortable in her role. Soha Ali Khan (Sonia) is an absolute surprise package. Others include Om Puri (wasted as Aslam's father), Kirron Kher (good character as DJ's mother), Waheeda Rehman (ok, as Ajay's mother), Anupam Kher (as Karan's father, average) and Mohan Agashe (as the defence minister, whatever) are ok.

Overall, I would rate this a 7/10 more for the idea and the acting than the execution. The music, separately, rates an 8/10. So perhaps an overall rating of 7.5/10.

Was it worth the Rs 300 tickets I bought? Most definitely.

Official site.