Just when you thought you had seen it all

Rating: 10/10 (4 February 2006)

"Saare politicians KO line mein khade kar ke goli se udaa dena chahiye".
That line said by the first caller makes the climax of Rang De Basanti work. It throws back at us the hollowness of our words. You only have to hear the audience laugh. We are laughing at ourselves. It is so outrageous and yet so.. so.. believable. I feel a sense of pride in the fact that I belong to a society where a film like Rang De Basanti is made and then shown openly. The film gets away with murder. It is surprising that it didn't create more controversy than it actually did. Perhaps, because the film is making a point here, an argument which is not easy to refute.
Films have been made before on similar anti-establishment themes. One has always enjoyed watching Hu Tu Tu every time it's shown on TV. Hazaaron Khwahishein Aisi was, I thought, one of the best movies of last year. But after Rang De Basanti, these films now smack of intellectual elitism. You really don't need to be a student of political science or a kurta-wearing socialist to think and talk about revolutions and changing societies. The characters here are you and me and your friends in the neighbourhood. One of them, in fact, is a self-confessed loser.
The film asks a lot of questions at various levels, some very subtle. For instance, Bhagat Singh and Rajguru can court arrest in British occupied India and expect a fair trial so as to be able to put forth their point. But our characters from 21st century India can't even dream of doing the same. They have to instead..
Perhaps too much is being read into it. It is only a film after all. A commercial venture out there to make a profit. But then what is it that makes people think and debate issues? Books? Lectures? Newspaper articles? Then why not films? Why not films with songs? Why not films with songs and a superstar? One had always believed that words are more effective than visuals. Rang De Basanti shows you the power of imagery. The effect created would have been impossible with the written or the spoken word.
Dean Jones was recently saying to Sivaramakrishnan that we tend to use words like 'great' and 'genius' too liberally. So I will restrain myself. But, Rang De Basanti is my all time favourite movie. Even in terms of pure cinematic experience. Just when you thought you had seen it all.
That was my two pence worth.
From the receiving end of 'Look who's talking' ARIF ATTAR