The colours of patriotism are many! To some, patriotism is standing up to and fighting against the aggressor nations. To some others, patriotism is not just that but, also, fighting against the enemies within who work like Trojans and Termites. These internal enemies are people who camouflage themselves successfully by occupying respectable, important, and powerful posts. From here, they clandestinely implement their personal agenda and also use the official machinery as a springboard to launch their nefarious designs.
To me, a true patriot is one who is honest in all his dealings. He will never take a step that may go against the interests of his country. To such a person patriotism comes naturally. To the corrupt individual, however, patriotism is just a name. This person can sell away our country, our self-respect, and our freedom for a few coppers.
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RDB is the story of a happy go-lucky bunch of college mates enjoying their carefree life and oblivious of the fact that they owe their freedom to the likes of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Chandrasekhar Azad, Ashfaq, and many such selfless freedom fighters who sacrificed their lives in the process of freeing India and making it a better place for us to live. Their philosophy, if it can ever be called that, is reflected in their cynical attitude ’’nights are dark, days are darker, bhangra rocks and live life, stop analysing’’.
Sue (Alice patten) inherits a diary from her grandfather, who was the one to have given orders of hanging of these legendary martyrs, which is full of unstinting praise for the courage, mental strength, and the clarity of thought these martyrs had. The diary has such an impact on Sue that she applies for funds to a British Institute to make a documentary on these freedom fighters. But, her case is rejected by a none too enthusiastic screening panel on the grounds of a funds crunch. Rebuffed, Sue decides to make the documentary on her own of course with a little help from her Indian friend Sonia (Soha Ali Khan).
India turns out to be a strange experience for Sue and she is more perturbed than annoyed at the Indian youths’ complete lack of values and respect for their country’s martyrs. Low on funds, Sue and Sonia try to woo the college youth for a ‘all are welcome’ kind of an audition which turns out to be a complete disaster. Even, Sonia’s friends DJ (Aamir Khan), Aslam (Kunal Kapoor), Karan (Siddharth) and Sukhi (Sharman Joshi) poke fun at her ‘misplaced beliefs’. Shaken and disappointed, Sue decides to pack up her bags and go back to her country. Ultimately, better sense prevails and the motley group including a political extremist Laxman (Atul Kulkarni), realising her sincerity, decide to help her in making the documentary even if they are unwilling characters in a largely ‘over the head’ script.
As the project takes shape, this motley gang of no-gooders begins to get into the skin of their characters and start living them.
The untimely death of Sonia’s fiancé Ajay (R Madhavan), while flying a Mig21 that crashes. The subsequent cover up exercise by the Defence Minister and his cronies who shift the blame squarely on Ajay’s abilities to fly the craft acts as a catalyst in kindling the flame of patriotism in the cold hearts of this cynical gang. From this point the movie moves at a slick pace and leaves you dumbfounded at what even a harmless fun loving group of young men can do to ‘right’ a ‘wrong’. If you want to know the rest of the story, I suggest you go and watch the film yourself.
D.J. (Aamir Khan), a mischief lover and a prankster, has a roving eye. Has a phobia of getting lost in the ‘faceless’ crowd. He prefers the security, recognition, and the protected life the college campus has to offer.
Ameer Khan fits perfectly for this role even though in my opinion he is a shade too old for it.
Laxman (Atul Kulkarni), the man with the smouldering eyes. A man with strong beliefs as to how today’s young generation should conduct itself. He seems to be a man with a mission trying to make the country an ideal one even if he has to resort to violence at times.
Atul Kulkarni proves with his acting prowess that he is no less than a Nana Patekar or a Naseeruddin Shah.
Aslam (Kunal Kapoor), a man who believes that he is as much a part of this country as anyone else but is rudely reminded every now and then that he doesn’t belong here. His confusion is further confounded by his own family’s beliefs nurtured by fear, insecurity, and a combination of personal experiences.
Kunal does full justice to the role of a man who is so confused that he doubts his own roots.
Karan (Siddharth) is the poor little rich boy. Brought up in high society, this boy actually begins to hate it and turns a loner. He is forever at loggerheads with his father who is too busy making money and God knows what for.
Sukhi (Sharman Joshi) is the clown in the group. His utterly nonsensical comments can make one cry, or laugh. Not very comfortable speaking English he makes up for it in choice Haryanvi. He is the stress buster in the group.
Sharman Joshi has come a long way since the Style days. I quite liked his performance.
Sonia (Soha Ali Khan), the indian friend of Sue. She is resourceful, optimistic, and a patriot to the core. She is in love with Ajay, a flight lieutenant in the Indian Airforce. She also prefers to hang out with boys rather than be with her own gender.
I am seeing Soha for the first time on the screen and I thought she acted with the ease of a professional. She is pretty and graceful. I think she has a great future if she takes to acting seriously.
R Madhavan, Kiron Kher, Anupam Kher, Waheeda Rehaman, KK Raina, and Om Puri have brief roles in the film but have acted with conviction, nevertheless.
Sue (Alice Patten) is the producer of the documentary on the lives of freedom fighters. She is in love with India. Her first impressions of India aren’t to her liking but during the making of the documentary she observes many things that change her opinion about the country. Can she stop herself from falling in love with the irrepressible DJ?
This is Alice’s first feature film and she has performed exceedingly well. In fact, I believe she is an important cog in the success of RBD. The English Theatre artist is beginning to get a lot of media attention in England. However, she is not keen on taking another Bollywood assignment in the near future. . After that, she will get busy in the West End play ‘Hamlet’ in which she plays the character of Ophelia.
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Rang De Basanti has been made in both Hindi and English. The English version is titled ’Paint It Yellow’. Both the versions were released simultaneously world-wide on January 26th.
I found the music of ARR a little too loud and jarring. The songs are hummable, but will be forgotten soon.
Screen play and editing are the virtues of this film. Three hours don’t seem like a drag. Great effort by Rakeysh Om Prakash Mehra (Director) and Ronnie Screwala (Producer).
The first half is a breeze with wholesome entertainment and with some great one-liners. The second half gets a little serious but that is only in comparison to the first half. The end is definitely tragic. The movie is bound to make you feel sombre and introspective as you prepare to leave at the end.
Definitely, one of the better films to have come out of Bollywood!