Claim: R. Madhavan was in the cast of a movie.

Rang De Basanti -LRB- -LSB- ˈrəŋɡ d̪eː bəˈsənt̪i -RSB- ; Colour it Saffron -RRB- is a 2006 Indian drama film written , produced and directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra . The literal meaning of the title can be translated as `` Paint me with the colours of spring '' . It features an ensemble cast comprising Aamir Khan , Siddharth Narayan , Soha Ali Khan , Kunal Kapoor , R. Madhavan , Sharman Joshi , Atul Kulkarni and British actress Alice Patten in the lead roles . Made on a budget of , it was shot in and around New Delhi . Upon release , the film broke all opening box office records in India . It was the highest-grossing film in its opening weekend in India and had the highest opening day collections for a Bollywood film . The film was well received and praised for strong screenplay and dialogues .   The story is about a British documentary filmmaker who is determined to make a film on Indian freedom fighters based on diary entries by her grandfather , a former officer of the Indian Imperial Police . Upon arriving in India , she asks a group of five young men to act in her film .   Rang De Basanti '' 's release faced stiff resistance from the Indian Defence Ministry and the Animal Welfare Board due to parts that depicted the use of MiG-21 fighter aircraft and a banned Indian horse race .   The film was released globally on 26 January 2006 , the Republic Day of India , it received critical acclaim winning National award for most popular film . It was subsequently nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2006 BAFTA Awards . Rang De Basanti was chosen as India 's official entry for the Golden Globe Awards and the Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film category , though it did not ultimately yield a nomination for either award . A. R. Rahman 's soundtrack , which earned positive reviews , had two of its tracks considered for an Academy Award nomination . The film was well received by critics and audiences for its production values and had a noticeable influence on Indian society . In India , Rang De Basanti '' did well at many of the Bollywood awards ceremonies , including a win for Best Movie at the Filmfare Awards . The film was declared `` Blockbuster '' by Box Office India .