Happy Republic Day + Rang de Basanti

"Aaj bhi jiska khoon na khaula, khoon nahi wo paani hai

jo desh ke kaam na aaye, wo bekaar jawani hain."

RDB opens with the above lines, striking your conscience straight away and setting the tone for things to come. But what a brilliant cinematic experience it gives. Aamir khan resurrects himself after the independence day debacle (Mangal Pandey) with Rang de Basanti on republic day! And he must gratefully thank rake(y)sh mehra (director), kamlesh pandey (story) and prasoon joshi (dialogues) for giving him this wonderful opportunity. Actually all the cast members should!

So what do I like about this film?

The ending. (I see readers eager to "comment" me out of the blogging world!) No, its not the ending, but the message. And the makers have made a sincere effort to put it across with entertainment and emotion without being too preachy about it. The desire to awaken this "materialistic" generation and make them fight the situation, comes across.

The regural patriotic movie: It is based on the freedom struggle, where you see stories of great courage of heroes dying for India. And right at the end, some central character will curse you for turning it into a gutter. Point taken, but not too seriously.

RDB: It relates the youth of the freedom struggle and today. Bhagat Singh and Co. had an obvious motive: freedom. They were ready to give their lives for it. Whereas today's youth can't seem to fathom the need to correct the whole bleak scenario in our country (leave alone giving up their lives!) Those who can, cross the borders. Those who stay, adjust and become part of the system. RDB tells the story of such a group of youngsters, whose lives take a turn after their friend's death. And inspired by the documentary they are making, they take matters in their own hands. Relating the youth of these two different genarations in seemingly similar state of affairs is the masterstroke of RDB's script.

All the actors have done a marvellous job. Surprisingly its not an aamir khan film (as has been hammered onto us by the media). Its about the group of friends. The film boasts of some of the funniest lines heard in hindi cinema. The characters of DJ (aamir) and Sukhi (sharman) steal the show with their antics. Siddharth and Atul Kulkarni give power packed performances. Kunal Kapoor and Soha Ali Khan are good. The veterans do a good job as expected. Madhavan hams.

The film stands out owing to the technical brilliance of Rakeysh Mehra (Aks fame) and Binod Pradhan. The final product looks great on the big screen. Rahman's music is youthful, backed by some meaningful lyrics. (but I still miss those "telephone dhun mai hasne wali" days :D)

And finally, the ending. Critics have panned it for being outlandish and well, some other cooked up reasons. But let me tell you this, its a 100 times better than your regular grand fight scene at the end or rahul giving up pooja for raj.

Ratings are a must for film reviewing they say.

My rating: go watch it!