Rang De Basanti review :
It was on a lazy Republic day holiday in 2006 that I went to watch this film at Movietime Starcity, Matunga. The show was just about half full and the audience was as confused as I was by the end of it. Merging black and white montage with present day, non linear format presentation and a non popular ending was something we least expected from this Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's follow up to his experimental debut Aks (2001).
I came home with a bewildered frame of mind and awarded the film a 2.5 star rating in my review (Yup, I used to review films even in those days). The next day, the film refused to leave my mind. Why? How? What if? Such questions kept erupting in my mind and I went in again at the same theatre for Sunday evening show.
This time, I could not only understand Rang De Basanti for what it was but also appreciate it for its real worth. Director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra had made a masterpiece which obviously, had proved to be too abstract for me in its first viewing purely as it was something never seen before.
Rang De Basanti picked up through strong word of mouth and emerged a box office success - something it so rightly deserved. My respect for Aamir Khan went up multifold when he let his co-actor Siddharth get full focus in the crucial climactic talk from the radio station. Very few actors in Bollywood would've allowed their colleague to hog the limelight in the climax without feeling insecure. Kudos Aamir!!
Regards, Sumeet Nadkarni.
It was on a lazy Republic day holiday in 2006 that I went to watch this film at Movietime Starcity, Matunga. The show was just about half full and the audience was as confused as I was by the end of it. Merging black and white montage with present day, non linear format presentation and a non popular ending was something we least expected from this Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's follow up to his experimental debut Aks (2001).
I came home with a bewildered frame of mind and awarded the film a 2.5 star rating in my review (Yup, I used to review films even in those days). The next day, the film refused to leave my mind. Why? How? What if? Such questions kept erupting in my mind and I went in again at the same theatre for Sunday evening show.
This time, I could not only understand Rang De Basanti for what it was but also appreciate it for its real worth. Director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra had made a masterpiece which obviously, had proved to be too abstract for me in its first viewing purely as it was something never seen before.
Rang De Basanti picked up through strong word of mouth and emerged a box office success - something it so rightly deserved. My respect for Aamir Khan went up multifold when he let his co-actor Siddharth get full focus in the crucial climactic talk from the radio station. Very few actors in Bollywood would've allowed their colleague to hog the limelight in the climax without feeling insecure. Kudos Aamir!!
Regards, Sumeet Nadkarni.