I can safely begin by saying that I did not watch this film with any preconceived expectations due to Rang De Basanti. Viewed as a completely new & oven-frsh product, the trailers were a marvellous montage of some of THE most soul-stirring music ever heard & world-class imagery.
This, in fact was the undoing of the film. Superb trailers, not-so-magnificent final product. The cast is almost perfect, and that is saying a LOT for the casting, considering the newness of Sonam Kapoor (a phantasmagoric Saawariya notwithstanding), the complete scene-stealer & powerhouse talent of Divya Dutta, the unimaginably talented Atul Kulkarni, the quirky brilliance of Pawan Malhotra, the semi art-school Supriya Pathak, the unburnished gold of Waheeda Rehman, the superbly nuanced Rishi Kapoor, and the ever-classic Om Puri among others.
Abhishek was, sadly, so-not-there. His performance was way too disinterested, uninvolved, and forced at best in some scenes. He was, in one word, ACTING, and not being the character. The director’s first choice for the role, Akshay Kumar, would have been an even bigger disaster. Obviously, the lead character’s choice is driven by market concerns, and sadly affects the film VERY adversely in this case. MehraJi, take a raincheck. Abhishek isn’t there yet. And you are yet to reach Main Ratnam’s oeuvre to be able to extract performances from even the likes of Abhishek, Manisha Koirala, Esha Deol etc. Get the drift?
The film was exhilarating at moments, and left MUCH to be desired at some. In the end, one is left with a very incomplete feeling. Yes, the film even detracts from its fantabulous music score due to its inability to hit the high notes required for conceiving a very clear storyline. All in all, a fabulous collage of images which still manage to stay as standalone images with an unbelievably gorgeous background score as well. But, the impact is....yes, missing.