Smart Storytelling

Rating: 8/10 (29 January 2006)

this movie released 4 days back and from the second day till this evening i have watched the movie 3 times.'RANG DE BASANTI' doesn't leave any scope for excuses to not to watch the movie.
to tell the story in a few sentences it is a story about a group of urban friends from Delhi who are urged by an independent documentary filmmaker to act in a movie about the Indian revolutionaries fighting against the British empire in the 1920s. initially as they act they do not believe in the ideal-isms of freedom ,patriotism and revolution as incorporated in the film but as the story moves on they begin to come face to face with the sacrifices made in the past in the revolution.
as the story moves on the line between past and present becomes more and more blurred until it vanishes.here the friends become themselves the very characters they were playing in the documentary movie.the rest u have to see for yourselves.
the movie is actually 2 movies in one.we see about the revolutionaries BHAGAT SINGH ,RAJGURU,chandrasekhar AZAD,BISMIL etc in flashbacks.we get to see the KAKORI train robbery,the SAUNDERS murder,the SIMON demonstrations,the hunger strike by BHAGAT SINGH and others while in jail,the JALIANWALAH BAGH massacre and many other things. then we keep coming back to the present story of the group of friends.
the music by AR Rehman is"FANTABULOUS". it is one with the film.it lifts the film to a different level altogether.unlike other typical Hindi movies in here you never realize when the songs come and go.they are simply a part of the story.in fact sometimes you would even wish that they were a bit long.i don't know why it is ,may because of the songs themselves or simply the way they have been shot.
the photography is excellent.BINOD PRADHAN like his earlier movies has shown what a good cinematographer he is.
the acting was fantastic.not only did the seasoned actors like AAMIR KHAN,ATUL KULKARNI and R.MADHAVAN but the younger ones like SHARMAN,SOHA,KUNAL and SIDDHARTH have done a perfect job.even you have to take the hats off for the support actors ANUPAM KHAR,KIRON KHER,WAHEEDA REHMAN.a special mention has to be there for ALICE PATTEN .she has done a great job.
RAKEYSH OMPRAKASH MEHRA this is a movie of a lifetime.thank you for making it.