Movie Review: Rang de Basanti
Rakesh Omprakash Mehra’s 2006 film, Rang de Basanti, combines the stories of a modern-day group of friends and a pre-independence era group of freedom fighters. Rang de Basanti was nominated and won several awards, including its nomination for an award in 2007 from the British Academy of Television and Arts.
Sue (Alice Patten) is a novice British filmmaker who, inspired by her grandfather’s journal, goes to India to make a documentary based on the lives of pre-independence freedom fighters, Chandrashekhar Azad (Aamir Khan), Bhagat Singh (Siddharth), Rajguru (Sharman Joshi), Ashfaqullah Khan (Kunal Kapoor) and Ramprasad Bismil (Atul Kulkarni). Sue’s grandfather had been an officer in the British army who captured, tortured and eventually killed some of the freedom fighters. Once in India, Sue meets a group of self-described rebels and casts them in her film. Daljeet/DJ becomes Azad, Karan R. Singhania is cast as Bhagat Singh, Sukhi as Rajguru, Aslam for Khan and Laxman as Bismil completes Sue’s cast. However, when their friend dies in plane crash due to faulty parts provided by the India government, the group of friends, who had once cared about nothing but drinking and staying out of trouble, begin to embody their historical counterparts in a plot to avenge their friend and inspire a generation.
Rang de Basanti is riddled with irony. Sue, who is quintessentially British, is the granddaughter of a colonial British jailer who worked against the revolutionary movement in the 1920s. Yet, Sue chastises DJ and his friends for not caring enough about their history. Despite her unforgettable connection to the colonial past, Sue lectures the boys on the importance of remembering the men who died for their freedom. However, as DJ, Karan and the others begin to embody their historical counterparts, Sue fades into the background of their lives. When they decide to kill the Defense Minister, Sue is noticeably absent from the meeting; even through it was her movie that inspired their bold decision.
DJ and his friends are, at first, carefree and uninterested in the problems facing their country. They are quick to join in the corruption as they bribe police officers to avoid punishment. Karan even excitedly anticipates going to America for school and leaving the problems of India. When Ajay enters as a patriotic pilot in the Indian Air Force, everyone seems eager to refute the notion that anyone would be willing to die for the country. Dejected, the boys imply that the corruption is rampant from the head of the government trickling down to even the local police force. Karan leads the others in a decisively anti-government, anti-army mentality. Ajay is the opposite believing that by joining the army; anyone could make a difference and fix what is wrong in the country. He is adamant that it would be an honor to die for the country. When his plane malfunctions due to substandard parts, Ajay proves his dedication to his country by sacrificing his life to save civilians. Following Ajay’s death and subsequent dishonoring by the government, DJ, Karan and their friends are inspired to fight the corruption and kill the Defense Minister and Karan’s father who they see as responsible for the faulty parts that led to Ajay’s plane crash. However, during Karan’s final speech at the radio station, he admits that killing the Defense Minster was not the best choice of action, acknowledging that politicians are elected by the people. Karan implores the youth to take appropriate actions to fight what they see as wrong in the country. Instead of murder, Karan encourages joining the military, police and take other government positions. News interviews near the end of the film showed that Karan succeeded to inspire a generation to do what he, just a few days prior, was steadfastly against. Despite blaming the government and military for Ajay’s death and the police for the beating of Ajay’s mother at a peaceful protest, Karan passionately pleads for people to join those agencies as a way to fight the corruption inherent within them.
Rang de Basanti is an inspiring political film taking aim at unbridled political corruption and the lackadaisical and apathetic attitude of the youth.
Works Cited
"Rang De Basanti (2006)." The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Web. Apr. 2010.
Rang De Basanti. Dir. Rakesh Mehra. Perf. Aamir Khan, Siddharth. 2006. DVD.
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