As I trudged into the Cinema Hall to watch the latest Aamir Khan flick, despite all the good reviews RDB had garnered, I still had a few niggling doubts- Is this movie going to be some preachy, sermonising movie about Patriotism which the Hindi Film Industry routinely doles out? Another movie where they cajole Generation Y to go out and make a difference to the nation? Another movie, where Aamir Khan tries to dominate every frame he is visible in? and most importantly, is this going to be another ‘experimental’ movie from Director Rakesh Mehra after the mind-bending ‘Aks’. But 1 hr into the movie and I knew I was watching a movie gem and not ‘another movie’. RDB is refreshing, engaging and captivating-utterly novel in its concept and execution. A genuinely ‘Hat ke’ movie.
A movie about a motley crowd of 5 guys and a girl who are as different from each other as chalk from cheese. Their credo if they have one is to ‘have fun’ by doing stuff which ranges from goofy (getting drunk on the ramparts of a fort) to mundane (eating while watching TV). Into this group walks a young, feisty ‘firang gori’ and Aamir’s ‘Soni Kudi’ determined to shoot a documentary on pre-Independence India’s young revolutionaries-Bhagat Singh, Chandrashekhar Azad and co. She acts as the catalyst of the group and brings to fore their latent patriotism when confronted with a tragedy. That in a nutshell is essentially the story of RDB.
However what makes the movie special is its amazing ability to address fundamentally serious issues like the rampant corruption, lack of idealism, youth angst, alienation of the minorities etc. in a ‘non-serious’ manner. RDB is that rare ‘issue based’ serious movie which refuses to take itself seriously for even a second and that I guess is what makes the movie a winner from the moment Alicia Patten mouths the unforgettable ‘Ma ki $%$£$’!The movie’s irreverent attitude is highlighted by the crisp, dew-fresh dialogues penned by ad-man Prasoon Joshi. Every character says something in the movie which stays with you long after the movie is over. The juxtaposition of past and present in the movie is marvellous though sometimes you do feel that the director wants to hammer down that point a little too much. The climax of the movie might not go down too well with some people as it’s a little too simplistic and ‘unreal’ as the characters in the movie keep saying at the end but where before have you seen an ending where the protagonist jokes about the colour of his unborn children (Bacchon ki Badi Tension hai, pata nahin, Gore honge ya Kaale!!) just before he is to die!
The ensemble cast (Aamir Khan, Kunal Kapoor, Sharman Joshi, Siddharth, Soha Ali, Atul Kulkarni) of the movie have come with some truly impressive performances. Special mention for Atul Kulkarni as the fundamentalist hardliner and Sharman Joshi as the desperate-as-they-come bachelor!!! However as expected its Aamir who shines the brightest with a truly virtuoso performance-where he hits just the right pitch to portray a range of emotions from ludicrous to mature, from mellow to angry. What makes this performance even more noteworthy is the graciousness and ease with which he lets himself become a part of the background and let his lesser known co-stars take the centre stage when the situation so demands.
RDB is technically awesome. Be it the brilliant cinematography of Binod Pradhan (Watch out for the way he has shot Paathshala song in the dead of the night and of course the signature shot of RDB with the 4 Friends reaching out to literally touch the sky) or amazing sound effects, the film gets it just right. This movie also marks the return of the maestro- A R Rahman who, after the rather indifferent score of Mangal Pandey is truly in his elements in RDB. The songs ranging from the boisterous ‘Rang De Basanti’ to the mellifluous ‘Luka Chupi’ are an absolute treat and the Background Music perfectly accentuates the mood of the film (The guitar riffs used for the dramatic Kakori train dacoity scene is a delight).
In a nutshell, RDB ROCKS….and it rocks big time…Absolutely worth a dekko for fans of genuinely ORIGINAL movie…..
Cheers!!!