Mangal Pandey - The Rising Movie Reviews

Going into the theatre, for a movie like 'The Rising' you have lots of apprehensions, expectations, etc. First of all Aamir Khan's reputation precedes him , because after delivering hits like the subtle yet, inspiring 'Lagaan' & ultra-cool yet deep 'Dil Chahta Hai' you would have expected any other actor to capitalize on the success of the two movies.But, not so for our Mr.PERFECTIONIST. He waits for 4 long years to actually deliver a movie. I would say that was one hell of a labour.

But then on the other hand there was Ketan Mehta, another gentleman whose reputation precedes him. Not so long ago he gave us duds like 'Maya Memsaab' & 'Oh! Darling Yeh hai India'. Yes that was him. Well, nevermind.

One thing is for sure if you keep all these things in mind you are not going to enjoy a gem of a movie called 'THE RISING'.

Any preconcieved notion you carry into the theatre either about Aamir Khan or Ketan Mehta or anything else remotely related to the movie can damage the eventual experience of the movie on yourself. So, you have only yourself to blame.

So moving on, the movie starts with showing us what a charachter Mangal Pandey really was.He was a man of ideals , principles & trust. In simple words a brahmin you will never find in the real & present world. This is what the whole movie actually revolves around. The movie is about his pride & honour, his sense of responsibility towards fellow-men, his friendship regardless of any boundaries, his angst against the breach of trust & the powers that be and his eventual death.

One thing that the movie tells us is that Mangal Pandey was not a freedom fighter but he was a revolutionary who stirred the nation in his own way. Just as people choose their heroes , time chooses whom to make one. This is what the movie is all

about.

The script is taut but at very few moments lacks continuity and same can be said about the editing.The camera work is just what was needed for a movie like this.Music is A-grade A.R.Rehman. The interception of songs in the film is done in a very interesting manner, maybe, the only thing that can be compared to 'Lagaan'.

Ketan Mehta can lay the ghosts of his past to rest , he has done a fine job. Now lets see what he does next.

Rani Mukherjee, in a small but substantial role shines . Her expressions in the song ''Tumhari adaao pe'' actually reminds us of Rekha in Umrao Jaan.Ameesha Patel has a nothing role and it could have been done by any of the second string actresses, wouldn't have made a difference.

Aamir Khan as 'Mangal Pandey' is convincing but far from his personal best. The real surprise though is Toby Stevens who gives one heck of a performance even while speaking in Hindi. His disagreement with the superiors or his helplessness with

his friend is portrayed with great finesse.

A movie worth watching, an experience worth living.

18/08/2005

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I believe every Aamir Khan Fan would fume after reading the title of this article but only if he has not watched the movie. Mangal Pandey was released surrounded with much hype and even greater expectations from eager movie goers. This was a movie that everyone(atleast people whom I know) was keen on watching in a theatre to get best of the experience.

As soon as the movie was released I booked a ticket for the Saturday and was feeling myself lucky to get the tickets. Bought myself a big combo of corn and cola and was all set for some exciting time ahead, atleast thats what I thought.

I was fairly disappointed after watching the movie not because of lack of plot or bad acting but because of lack of entertainment in the movie. These days we do not associate Aamir Khan with regular churn outs that rest of bollywood gives, but thats exactly what this movie is all about with some skin bare, kisses(or should I say smooches), irrelevant songs. We can get this form of entertainment in the other tons of movies that are being released every year but thats not what we went for in a Aamir Khan movie.

Ok enough of criticising the movie let me now move on with the better part of the movie, all the actors in the movie have delivered very good and commendable performances. Aamir Khan as usual is at his sterling best. There are various situations in the movie that will make you smile(not laugh). The plot of the movie is original and most of the time sticked true to history but thats the reason the movie is devoid of entertainment.

Although true Aamir Khan fans should go ahead and watch the movie in a theatre but if you are not then this is a movie which you can afford to miss

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I SAW MANGAL PANDEY ON 15.08.2005 AND TELL YOU FRANKLY I ENJOY SO MUCH. THE MOVIE IS REALLY WELL BUT TELL YOU ONE THING THAT SONG ARE NOT NECESSERY TO PUT IN THIS TYPE OF MOVIES . YOU FEEL BORE WHEN SONG WILL COME. IT IS NOT REQUIRE TO PUT SONG IN EVERY FILM. I ALSO SEEN BLACK IT WAS GOOD WITHOUT SONG. ACTING OF AMIR KHAN IS NO DOUBT GOOD. HE IS ALWAYS GOOD IN ACTING. I ALSO LIKE THE WAY THEY PICTURISE REVOLT SCENE.YOU HAVE TO WATCH THIS MOVIE ONCE NOT AGAIN AND AGAIN, HA HA HA HA. OK LASTLY I TELL YOU TO GO TO THEATRE DO NOT WATCH ON HOME CD BECAUSE THE EFFECT THAT YOU ENJOY IN THEATRE OF THIS MOVIES IS NOT COMPARE TO HOME TV.ALSO ONE THING THAT THE ACTING OF RANI MUKHERJEE IS ALSO GOOD BUT SHE HAVE NOTHING TO DO MORE IN THIS MOVIE AND I FEEL HER CHARACTER IS INSERT IN THIS MOVIE FOR THE SONG ONLY. SHE HAS NOTHING TO DO MORE IN FILM. THE WHOLE FILM IS RUN ON AMIR KHAN'S CHARACTER AND I ALSO FEEL IF THEY SHOE MORE ROLE OF OTHER PERSONS LIKE LAXMI BAI, NANA SAHEB THE IT WILL LOOK BETTER. OK NO PROBLEM EACH PERSON HAS DIFFERENT POINT OF VIEWS SO FOR NOW GOOD BYE AND ENJOY MOVIE.REGARDS / JITESH

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I was looking forward to seeing Aamir Khan after four years. I had good memories of him. For example, ''Lagaan'' was a simple story, but was made brilliantly! It made you laugh, cry, and brought out the patriotism in every heart. And you LIKED Bhuvan and his spirit! You wanted to know him, hug him, cheer him on and join his team. Here, I did not want to hug Mangal. Actually, I want to slug Mangal.

The story is quite simple. It is about the time of the British Rule, and the East India Company, which rules a village. It is about the British mocking the Hindu faith and their unfair and often cruel treatment of Hindus. It is about a village man, Mangal, a British sepoy, who trusts that his masters, the British, would not lie to him. Mangal is very good friends with one of the British members of the East India Company, Gordon. Gordon spent a large portion of his life in India and is thus very attached to its people, expecially to Mangal. Gordon himself does not realize the unfairness and cruelty of his British colleagues towards the Hindus, and thus keeps convincing the Hindu sepoys that the Company is looking out for them. ''The Rising'' comes when Mangal realizes that the British are completely fooling the Hindus and what their reality is...I leave the rest of the story for you to see.

Let's talk about characterization and acting. Mangal Pandey played by Aamir Khan...Hmmm... Something is not right here... Either Aamir was not right for the role or the characterization was just not developed. You just did not ''feel'' for Mangal. He was robotic. And lets be honest. The look of a character is key. We loved Aamir's look as Bhuvan in Lagaan and Aakaash in Dil Chahtha Hai. See, let's face it. Aamir is well...small. He is a small, ''chikna'', very cute and boyish sort of a dude. The whole macho long hair, beard thing just makes him look yuck. To me personally, he was kind of repulsive, especially when he does his little head banging dances in some of the songs. He looks like the missing midgit member of Metallica. Basically, the character development was definitely NOT upto par.

Rani Mukherjee as Heera. Well, she did the best with what she got. She was a prostitute and played a prostitute. Nothing great about Rani here. I am a big fan of Rani, especially after Black and Bunty aur Babli. She just did not stick out here. The only thing that stuck out about her was her unusually large bust. A little toilet paper stuffed in the right places goes a long way... Amisha Patel. Amisha has been RAVING about herself (as usual) in this movie talking about her own natural no makeup beauty and blahhh blahhhhh...role of a lifetime...blahhhh blahhhh blahhhhhhhhh. So she is there in all of three scenes with Gordon. To me, she just came across as a ditz and is completely wasted in the movie. She plays a young girl, Jwala, whose very old husband dies and she is forced to follow the ''sati'' ritual. Gordon rescues her, and falls in love with her. The love between her and Gordon should have either been developed more, or completely cut out. The whole angle was just kind of thrown in to the movie.

I think the guy who played Gordon did the best job in the movie. His Hindi was great for a Britisher (unlike the usual dubbed Hindi on foreigners). His character was also the most etched out, and you actually ''felt'' for him. If anyone deserves any sort of award for this movie, it is this guy. I can just see it. The new Filmfare category: ''Best Debutant Hindi Speaking British Male''. Seriously though, he was very good! And the best part was, though he was British, he actually even THOUGHT in Hindi! Mindblowing!

The music was just awful. Rehman's music is usually genius, and this time it was just terrible. Over that, there were too many of these horrible songs and they were completely out of place in the movie. By the way, what was up with the very bad ''lesbian like'' song with the two dancing females? Something was a bit wrong with this song... A little too much female to female touching... And this is where Aamir Khan jumps in like a hairy, head banging mouse. Horrible. There is one song that is repeated at the beginning and end of the movie, ''Jaago Re''. Well, I know why it was repeated at the end, to awaken the sleeping audience.

If this movie does well, it will do so only because it was a patriotic film released near Independance Day. To its credit, it has a few patriotic moments and clever dialogues. But mind you, VERY few. Mangal Pandey could have been a brilliant film. Unfortunately, it wasn't. The characters and the various story lines were left hanging. Nothing was etched out properly. To me, the Rising has Fallen.

Because Independance Day has just passed, I think it is my civic duty as an ABCD (and pure Desi at heart) to point out how far us Indians have come. Wherever they are, whether it be America, Canada, or Europe, Indians have excelled in a Caucasian dominated society. They did not sit around and complain about being oppressed. They picked themselves up and worked their butts off. Now, not only are they walking shoulder to shoulder with Caucasians, but are actually ruling the roost in a Caucasian world! Indians are CEO's, Doctors, Lawyers, Engineers, excelling in Film, etc etc. You name it. The have done it and incredibly well! Keep going fellow Desis! Show them who we are! The Rising may have Fallen but the Desis shall keep Rising, wherever they are!!! Happy Independance Day!

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The core problem with Mangal Pandey is that it is neither an authentic rendition of true historical events (a la Ajay Devgan starrer Bhagat Singh) nor is it a tale of the triumph of the human spirit against all odds (a la Aamir's own earlier Lagaan). The film falls between these two stools and leaves the audience with a feeling of unfulfillment.

Human beings like to place each new person/place/movie/event they encounter into a familiar slot, much like a matching process. My guess is the audience hasn't been able to do that with this film. (True, they didn't do the same for many weeks with Sholay years back, but that's another story :) )

Will Mangal Pandey pick up in the next few days, after people have forgotten the initial disappointment? Will people forgive the huge hype created by the movie's marketing team and value the film for what it is, rather than what they expected it to be? Will the remedial promotions undertaken by the movie's marketers succeed in drawing the disenchanted crowds back into the theatre seats?

Only time will tell. But I reckon not likely.

Epilogue: My favourite piece from the movie's pre-launch hype was when someone said the film received a standing ovation at the Locarno festival. Well, in civilised societies, people stand up and applaud a piece of art out of sheer courtesy and decency!

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Truly a great film ... could well become a classic. Not without its share of flaws though. The narration is disjointed at places. Also it took me a while to get back into the story after getting caught up in Kirron kher's milky 70mm bosoms.

The history and period is recreated beautifully. The cinematography has a raw look as required by the setting. No polished, interior decorated havelis. The dialogue is economical. The acting is top notch, rahman's score gels perfectly (cant understand why its been trashed in reviews). Toby Stephens is a refreshing change in the line of English caricatures we've grown accustomed to seeing. Rani and Amisha really impress in the little screentime they have.

Over and above, the movie will be remembered for the towering performance by Aamir khan. An Indian 'braveheart' with fiery eyes, flaring nostrils and a piercing battle cry 'HALLA HO'. Sincere, a straight from the heart performance. Dont miss it.

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Well, after watching the movie, all I can say is - Aamir, forget the past and look forward to 'Rang de Basanti'. I cant believe he let go of Swades and many more movies and wasted 4 years, for this movie. Put in short, this movie sucks. When so much hype is attached to a movie, we expect it to rise to the stature of a Lagaan or a Braveheart. Instead, we are treated to a shoddily directed movie, which irritates at times.

Mangal Pandey, for all our we know from our social studies text books, was a Sepoy who was one of the first to rise against the British army, and over the cartridge issue. Other than that, there isnt any more information about him. So, the story writers didnt have a very strong story from the start. No wonder there is an unwanted love story between Amisha and Toby Stevens, not to mention 2 totally unwanted songs (both following some serious situations)

Aamir for his part is real good. But unfortunately (this is my opinion) he doesnt suit the role of a great hero. He just doest have the stature or commanding physique, not even with those big whiskers and long mane. The rest of the desi characters have precious little to do. We really dont care for a Brit to be taking center stage in a patritic movie. Toby Stevens is the typical ''one good Brit who helps the hero''. Also, the movie has the same old evil Brits who beat up Indians, call them names and mistreat them without a cause. Ho hum, havent we seen a million movies like this?

Another let down is A R Rehman. Man, did he really compose music for this movie? The songs are so boring. For an extravagant venture like this, it is surprising the director compromised so much on the music front. And the less said about the direction, the better.

The movie doesnt give you the josh and spirit that we expect from climaxes of such movies. I was waiting for it to come, waiting for the last scenes where there are lots of people, shouting, British guys getting kicked back, patriotic and moving music in the background - and hey, the movie just ended before all that came......What a let down!!!

Well, finally, there are very few positives in this film (I can think of only Aamir's acting as one) If you think that you wasted the holiday by not watching the movie, dont worry, you didnt miss much

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The wait is over and the film is here finally ….. let me be specific at the very outset. The film neither lives up to the expectations nor does it let us down.

It doesn’t let us down coz…

As usual our apna aamir bhai is in pukka form (let me confess….he is the only actor I genuinely admire ….to the extent of getting biased at times)…. and has done full justice to the role. I give him 10 out of 10. I seriously feel others should take a que or two from him (else we have actors who even after a decade of acting cant manage to emote K.K.K.Kiran and Paro differently). Tho he’s been critized for his perfectionism to the point of being called eccentric, but his performances speak volumes. Many critics (TOI) complained about aamir speaking less in the movie….but what they seem to have failed understanding is the character Mangal Pandey surely must have been a taciturn personality…..(else why do you think aamir spent a year researching this role)

The entire ambience created is so credible that you are actually taken to that era. Think the movie managed to get best out of art director, cinematographer, costume designer….

It doesn’t live up to the expectations coz….

Story telling and screenplay lacks the punch…..like that of Lagaan (sorry but the comparison is inevitable). May be the story of Mangal Pandey in reality lacks those many incidents that actually moves you and makes you get up and clap. The points in the movie which were supposed to give you goose-bumps hardly managed…e.g. where Mangal Pandey faces the whole british army alone… where rani makes him realize that he sells his soul to the company….when MP is hanged. The story couldn’t build up the excitement and emotions that it should have to make it an unforgettable experience…and that’s where Lagaan / Gadar scored. I couldn’t figure out whether it had to do with the brevity of the story or directorial abilities. But then we have seen movies like Braveheart (which was short and inspiring right???)

Some critics have pointed finger at the music…..but Rehman’s music takes time to actually grow in you. Specially the title track is good enough to change the atmosphere of the movie immediately.

Some things I didn’t like about the movie…….

Amisha Patel….she did that in Gadar… then in Aap Mujhe Achhe Lagne…..and now in this movie….. she needs some crying lessons.

Rani was not needed for the role….

Supporting cast didn’t get chance to grow through the movie except for Gordon

Climax left us waiting for more….(by the way what was Rani doing in that Sirdar attire???)

So lets keep our fingers crossed…

If the movie works then it will be only becoz of aamir khan …and if it doesn’t then blame it on the cost factor……

I don’t understand if you can make Lagaan in 10 – 15 crores then where did 50 crores (as claimed by Bobby Bedi) go where the grandiose-ness of the movies are almost comparable… may be army uniform (worth 20-30 crores!!!!) or is it the inflation in 4 yrs???

My advice to the one’s creating hue and cry bout the historical disparities in the movie…..take a chill pill guys …..its just a movie…there is glut of issues in India to cry slogans about….. The movie has not only glorified MP’s presence in the history but gone ahead and given it a well-deserved title of “first war of Independence”, which otherwise finds an inconspicuous mention in the history books as a mutiny.

All said and done… for me the movie was a total paise wasool …. after all you don’t get to see Aamir Khan very often.

......... Mangal Ho!

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Ok, so I lied about giving review writing a break. Par man ki baatein kissi se kahe bina adhur rehti hai… I’m sure you must have read a million reviews on this movie, but at least just read the beginning part of mine :)

Worldwide, this movie is called MANGAL PANDEY- The Rising, right? Wrong.

I was wondering why people here in the UK referred to the movie as just “The Rising”. I was surprised… no, actually I was shocked to see that the movie’s title had been changed into THE RISING – a ballad of Mangal Pandey. Why did they change it? It is from the fear of offending the British? But what is wrong with the original name? It is a truth which can not be ignored, even if sachchaai kadvi lagti hai or whatever. I don’t I am saying all this because a person like Mangal Pandey does not deserve to be forgotten, and he certainly does not deserve his name to be put in a mere subtitle, just because the people here don’t get taught Indian history.

After thinking of a good way to celebrate Indian Independence Day in Britain (should I laugh or cry?), I thought that this movie would be perfect, since I had been waiting to watch it ever since it released. And I’m glad I was able to watch the movie, because it was excellent.

The Story

The essence of this story is that it is based on fact. Shot back in the time where the British East India Company (made me remember history lessons in school) were ruling over and exploiting India and its people. Mangal Pandey, a sepoy of this company saves a captain, William Gordon, during a war against the Afghans. After this incident the two men become good friends. Gordon agrees that the British are not doing justice to the Indians, but he is unable to do anything about it. A particular scene I remember is the one where a waiter accidentally spills wine on a British women and then tries to help her clean it up. But he gets insulted and nearly beaten to death by a British solider. Didn’t seeing the way our countrymen were treated by the British make that flame of hatred burn in your heart?

Women have it no better. Special “prostitute houses” (not my exact words) were set up to fulfil the needs of the British soldiers. Heera is a prostitute in such a place. After Mangal nearly gets killed due to putting up a fight against a soldier who was taking Heera away, she falls in love with him. Gordon also falls in love with a widow, Jwala, whom he saves from a Sati (where a widow gets burnt alive along with her husband’s dead body at the funeral pyre).

The Indians seem to put up with the injustices against them, until they receive the news of a new cartoose being used in guns. This will be greased with the fat of cows and pigs – against the religions of the Hindus and the Muslims – and have to be bitten be use. Gordon passes on a lie saying that this news is untrue. On his word, Mangal bites and uses one. It is only later that he finds out the truth, and vows to burn the company to ashes. This starts of the full-fledged fight to freedom. Although Mangal was hanged, his actions were enough to cause a spark which lit a fire for the whole nation.

The Movie

Its very hard trying to summarise a story such as this and no review will ever be as good as watching it. That just gives you an idea of how the film must be. The direction (Ketan Mehta) was beautiful, especially for a movie like this. It had just the right amount of bloodshed in it (message conveyed with out it being too gory). Screenplay, action, and art direction was all superb.

The Acting

Aamir Khan never seemed to me like one of those Maa-rona-dhona-lets-get-a-Filmfare kind of actors. He always comes across like a true artist, someone who puts in full effort to actually become the character. He has done a variety of roles in his career, and, after coming back after a while, he does not fail to impress with this movie. He was portrayed perfectly. His character is the very essence of this film. You look at the character. You watch his actions and reactions. And you will find out exactly why I do not think Mangal Pandey deserves his name in a subtitle!

Toby Stephens (as captain William Gordon) was excellent as well, and fitted the role perfectly. His task was harder, as he had to speak Hindi. Although it did sound weird, I think he managed really well. The scenes he shared with Aamir and Amisha showed really good bonding with his co-stars. At the end you could see the pain on his face when he had to watch his once- friend get hanged.

Rani Mukherjee (as Heera) had a limited role, but she was brilliant as usual as the quick and feisty prostitute. Her character provided a glance into Mangal Pandey’s more romantic side. Rani and Aamir made a brilliant couple. The interactions between both of them were really sweet, especially at the end when she visits him in prison. Her dialogues were both clever and memorable – “Hum to sirf apne sharir bechte hai, sipahiji. Aap log to apna aatma bechte hai.”

Amisha Patel had even smaller a role than Rani, and even less to say. This is because her character was that of a widow, very shy and constantly scared of being killed by the rest of her society. She wore minimum make-up, and her hair was back to normal after being bleached blonde (thank-god!). Her pairing with Toby was unusual, and I heard a lot of whistles when she kisses him…

The Music

A.R. Rehman sound-tracked the film and all the songs in the movie were very well picturized:

“Tumhaari Adaaon Pe Main Vari Vari” was a really nice tune, and you can see the diversity of Rani’s expressions in this song. The costumes were bright and glittery.

“Rasiya” also had some mood-matched costumes, smooth choreography and pretty dancers!

So, definitely watch this movie. It is not some boring historical documentary. It is story of courage and freedom; something to watch and feel proud of the fact that you are an Indian.

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Mangal Pandey

In the backdrop of Modern Indian History the film takes you to a story of friendship, love, patriotism, rebellion and above all tale of Mutiny by Indian sepoys against the British rule in India.

Mangal Pandey is a little known hero of Indian History and reference available in the History books are very short. The film therefore doesn’t go deep into Mangal Pandey’s life. It rather revolves around a sepoy fighting for the British getting transformed into the first revolutionary to raise arms against them.

The Plot.

The movie’s first scene starts with a chained Mangal Pandey (Aamir Khan) being taken to the gallows. The hanging is postponed and the movie goes into flashback.

The low-ranking British officer William Gordon (Toby Stephens), reminiscences how his life saved during the Afghan battle by Mangal Pandey and they become friends since then – sharing friendly fights in akhada, going tipsy on Bhang, singing songs and playing pranks etc.

Mangal’s presence in the story is shown in some sporadic incidents in Mangal Pandey story. Like Mangal’s saving an Indian servent who was being beaten by a British. Further Mangal rescuing a prostitute (Rani Mukherjee) from the same officer.

Discontent arises in the Indians serving the British Army with the introduction of new cartridges that are laced with cow and pig fat. As the sepoys in the regiment are required to bite off the outer covering of the cartridge before loading the gun, the soldiers in the regiment refuse to use the new cartridge as the sentiments of Hindu and also Muslims are hurt. But Magal volunteers to use it only because he relies on the assurance given by his friend – Gorden.

later on to his disbelief the cartridges turn out to be laced with animal fat and Mangal is devastated. He ends his friendship with Gordon and starts planning an uprising with soldiers from another regiment. Support comes in from of some influential figures like Nawab Azimullah (Shahbaaz Khan) and Tatya Tope (Deepraj Rana).

The stage is set for a simultaneous uprising in all the regiments but the time and means in hand of Indian mutineers is very short. To make things worst the secret plan about timing of uprising also gets leaked. His own friends feels that not the uprising is not possible but Pandey’s angst against the British and his determination to fight back his freedom from the colonial rulers gets so strong that he single-handedly stands to fight against a whole regiment, only to be martyred later.

The screenplay.

Amir Khan is brilliant in his acting as Mangal Pandey. The costume, the backdrop, the language has nearly recreated the history.

Toby Stephens role as William Gordon is no less remarkable that Amir Khan, be it in the matter of saving a Sati (Amisha Patel) or outlining various shortcomings to his own bosses or playing as a friend to Mangal Pandey.

Rani Mukherjee as prostitute has done full justice to the role given to her and the dance number “tumhari adaaon pe mai vari vari…” is simply outstanding.

The atmosphere of the mid 1850s is recreated with near perfection. The cinematography (by Himman Dhamija), production design (Nitin Desai) and costumes (Lovleen Bains) authentically recreate the ambience of India of 1857 and grandeur of British Raj. Director Ketan Mehta deserves compliments for recreating history by visualizing the social atmosphere of mid 1850’s.

Flip Side

None from my side but one cannot stop Historians from accusing Amir Khan for tinkering with the History. They must keep in mind however that it is meant to be a commercial movie and not a historical documentary.

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What could have been the best way to commemorate the 58th Indian Independence, other than, watching “Mangal Pandey”, a movie based on our first war of independence. Before watching the movie, I had some pre-conceived notions about the film. Being an “Amir Khan” movie along with the grandeur of Ketan Mehta, I thought that the film would be an extravaganza, an epic and would have a heroic appeal of a larger than life character of Mangal Pandey. But when I left the hall, I had silent tears in my eyes, tears of pride for our first revolutionary, a character so aptly portrayed by Amir, minus any extravaganza, minus any glitz. It was a simple tale of one man’s courage which awakened the entire India.

The film is not a documentary, its not an epic, its just a beautiful tale of a sepoy’s courage and of our great awakening for freedom. The film can be compared to a big art exhibition, where every scene moves effortlessly from one canvas to the other without losing its rhythm with the loose ends bound by the fantastic narration by Om Puri, which provided a refreshing break from the usual Amitabh Bacchan presentation. The story encompasses lots of themes other than the progress of the central character, it depicts an understanding and deep friendship between an English captain and an Indian sepoy, social evils like sati pratha, untouchability & slave trade and also the underlying greed of the East India Company. The central theme of the film starts on a micro level with the greased cartridges controversy, but as the movie progresses a much larger, a macro panorama is unfolded through a courageous change of character in Amir Khan.

Though the film left me speechless with a superb acting of Amir and Toby Stephens, there are some flaws which might dampen the spirit of the movie, some unnecessary characters like that of Amisha Patel and Rani Mukherjee and the abrupt inclusion of a few songs disrupted the continuity of the film. The movie could have done without the songs, except perhaps the title song “Mangala Mangala”, sang in three different lyrics and tempo with a folk theme.

Overall, the movie was an honest attempt to portray history in a realistic term. Although, the movie might not appeal the masses, as it is not a mindless romantic comedy but truly a ballad of our glorious past, which would definitely make a true Indian sit back and analyze the meaning of freedom.

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Mangal Pandey is an average movie. The makers had a choice between going for a realistic portrayal of the historic events; or blowing the facts apart for dramatic appeal. That is a choice every period movie maker faces. And the job in this case becomes difficult because of a certain lack of detailed documentation on the hero, his life and the actual events.

What I found to be interesting, though, was the strange path the makers of this movie chose in between the extremes of documentary accuracy and fantastical hyperbole. They gave up on accuracy for trivial exaggerations, but couldn’t find it in them to twist it enough to give a climax worth remembering. It reminds me of a contestant I once saw on American Idol qualifiers. The talented girl gathered enough guts to enact a dance sequence along with her vocals in the no-instruments round, but the trio of Simon-Paula-Randy were hardly convinced. It was because she did her little dance thingy at the wrong times, and with an irresolute intensity. The outcome was a mishmash that made me feel that she could have done better without playing the dance card.

Mangal Pandey is for me the same story. Not enough distortion to produce a climax of significance. And climaxes make or break movies. It’s the climax that gave Independence Day its extra millions, and the lack of it that made War of the Worlds revenues dip into mediocrity. You play the nationality card, and you build up the story for a climactic battle, and then you show the battle as a hasty scroll of imagery! That is illegal in the world of climactonomics.

Okay, enough of Mangal bashing. There are a few things to watch out for in the movie, however. Aamir, his moustache and his overbearing preening of the same while receiving his death sentence, are worth a watch. That, and the catchy title song make the movie worth a view. And then there’s Rani Mukherjee. She's looking tremendous again, and her growth as a seasoned actor is clearly visible. The romance between Amisha and the firang could have been built upon better. A note to Amisha – Take it easy with the expressions. Its really not about getting your eyebrows as high as possible.

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Our country is full of half learned so called educated peoples who thrive upon the poor education and information of general mass that some times they go beyond the limits and make purely masala movies like Mangal Pandey...terming it as a grand historical pic movie etc etc.

Those who know Mangal Panday and a bit of Indian modern History will only bang his head after watching this movie and the maker must be sued legally for giving such a cheap information over the first fighter of the Independence.

After the freedom, no one was knowing much about this man, till a film maker and a businessman decided to harp over the newly find revolution in bollywood on the name of classic and great movies (Black, Veer-Zara, Sarkar, Page3, Mr. and Mrs. Aiyyar, Parineeta, Lagaan etc) being accepted open heartedly by the public.

The movie is heavily wronged with poor research over Mangal Pandey. The film maker forgot to tell from where Mangal Pandey was, Nagwa(also Nadwa ...a small Bhojpur village at the border of Eastern UP and Bihar). What made him join th british army. The fighter bacdrop of Nadwa and closeness of communities. Difference between Empire rule and East India Company???

No respect was shown to that piece of land!

Mangal Pandey was a strong brahmin man and enjoyed celebecy while he has been shown in an affair with a prostitute, which is just baseless and to the root level it has no validity.

Just to capitalise over Rani Mukherji and her pupolarity her 15 minute role was increased into fully itched characters important in Mangal Pandey's life!

Pity and shame for such peopels who ahve gone blind just to claim that they make good movie no matter what the disrespect they show for the fighter himself.

Mangal Pandey was shown as a drunkyard while he never did so. Just to add style to his character this misdeed was done.

mangal Pandey had not that much long hairs as was shown. the presence of all female character is baseless as well as so elaborated relationship with Toby.

I have nothing much to say about such a disgruntled movie, which has unpurified the persona of Mangal Pandey and on the name of history had came up with purely bollywood masala movie. The director has simply behaved like an uneducated non researcher businessman, disfiguring the story of first man against britishers.

Shame Shame Shame

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Dear Aamir,

This is a letter from a movie buff to a most versatile actor of country.First let me know why you choose either new directors or directors who had limited capabilities.

I did not remember when Ketan mEhta had given an average film last time leave apart afantastic film.

The script of Mangal Pandey tells you again & again that it is written by same guy Mr. Farookh Dhoondhy who had messed up also with Kisna(one more mediocre classic).The narrative tries too hard to satisfy all Bollywood masala apetite and ruining the soul of patriotism.Most part of the movie fails to define the pathetic conditions of Indian those times.

Exceelent performers like Rani & Amisha are wasted in order to fit front benchers desire.

Dialogues fail to evoke any emotion in audience.Cinematogarphy is good.The biggest disappointment after director & scriptwriter is Mr. Rehamn.I think this is the most average score from him in last some time.Except title track,all songs fail to capture your heart.Lyrics by Javed saab are good but let down by average music.

Now I want to ask a question to Mr. Aamir why he says that in order to do good performances,he can't do more than 1 movie at a time.Just see MR. SRK(Main Hoon Na,Veer-Zaara & Swades) & Mr. Big B(Black,BNB,Virrudh & Waqt) how they give 3-4 superhit movies every year as well as fantastic performances.Its all about keeping your fans happy & stretching your limits.

I still think that most of the sensibile(i already met a dozen) audience will like a real story of patriotism i.e. Swades over an imaginary & bad written Mangal pandey.I have more than respect for our martyr but not for a badly made & overpublicized movie.

Take care Mr. Aamir with Rakesh Om prakash Mehra(remember Aks!) also in next venture Rang De Basanti!

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it is damn good movie but I do not understand what role was played by rani & amisha. is amisha was there to show just as love girl to gorden or something else. there is one thig is bad with idian movie that they insert one unwanted song when the situation does not require ,it was shown here as rani was casted so that 2 songs can be filmed on her & that can take around 10 min of film( my opinion). indian shud know who was first rebellion for our freedom b'coz india is country which give title to those jiske saath public rahti hai, why do not they hav given any credit to mr. chandrashekhar azad, Khudiram bose or netsji ,reason: public was not with them or they became unknown with the time. acting by Amir Khan was too good to see, but it is not oscar nomition like movie or Lagaan type movie, its money worth to see the movie.

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Don't get me wrong. I am a huge Aamir Fan. Here's a brief review of the movie and the thoughts that came to my mind while watching it. (Watched it on the first release day itself).

1)Overall Impression: Not bad, but not good either. Not a very impressive movie. Not very gripping, has an all around slow pace, and doesn't manage to invoke much patriotism the way other freedom-related movies generally do. I would give it 3 stars. Or maybe barely 3 and a half stars out of 5. Just about. It's a likeable movie if watched with an open appreciative optimistic mind (Me). Pessimists and those who like to pass stupid comments and who have come with a group of friends with the sole purpose to have a good time won't appreciate this movie. It gives plenty of chances for youngsters to mock at. (referring to a large group of teenagers who were sitting next to me and constantly commenting that this movie was a mistake and that they should have gone for ''the island'' instead)

2) Direction: Poorly average. Lacked the finesse and substance that an epic movie of this proportions is expected to possess.

3) Acting:

a)Aamir Khan: Not satisfied with his role in this film- quantitywise. Not a very chunky role. Most of the times in the movie he is silent without much to say. Qualitywise his acting in this film is pretty good. Intense expressions and perfect emotions. Though not an ''outstanding performance''.

b)Toby Stephens: Has a pretty major role. Good performance by him.

c)Rani Mukherjee: very good screen presence. Gorgeous. Excellent expressions. But a pretty small role. would have liked to see more of her.

d)Amisha Patel:Huh? Why? A total Waste. She was not needed in this movie. Has barely a couple of minutes of screen time.

4)Minus Points of the movie:

a) Too long. With two absolutely unnecessary songs. Infact one song just magically appears at a time when u don't want a song. After seeing no nonsense concise films like Black, Sarkar and Viruddh without a single song - Sitting through a 3 hour song filled film is strenuos.

b) The foreigners speaking Hindi. Very funny. And at times hard to understand. but all credit to Toby for managing to speak so much hindi. he must have had a tough time learning his dialogues.

c) The hundreds of extras that were used in the movie were terrible. They took the seriousness out of some serious scenes. Infact some of them were actually smiling during scenes where a crowd had to charge in rebellion.

d) Dialogues: Some were dumb. Not powerful enough. Many hindi dialogues spoken by the britishers were riddled with 'double meanings' - enough to make a pervert giggle. But the ''Tu kootta Hai'' dialogue by a blood soaked aamir is a pretty good scene stealer. Had a nice impact.

e) The war scenes: Not very authentic. Had an artificial feel to them.

f) The disclaimer at the beginning of the movie- that most of the things about Mangal Pandey have been fictionalised for dramatisation. I would have liked a more realistic hard hitting story.

5)Plus Points of the movie:

a) Om Puri's narration was impressive.

b) The Music is pretty decent. Tha Mangal Mangal Track is pretty catchy. Main vari Vari is excellently picturised.

c) Many foreign actors shown- made the dominance of the East India Company More realistic.

d) The ending- where original footage of Mahatma Gandhi and other freedom fighters ahead of mangal pandey's time were used- gave a nice impression.

e) Showing Jhansi ki Rani, Bahadur Shah, Tatya Tope etc, reacting to Mangal's Rebellion was a nice touch- gave good info to the viewers: I didn't know that all of the were present during the same era.

f) Realistic Demonstration of Sati- With firm religious beliefs, typical young girl getting married to an old man who dies and wife has to be burnt is well shown.

6)Surprising Points:

Considering that this movie is a historical freedom struggle movie given a 'U' rating... I was not prepared for certain things.. which took me by surprise.

a) There are two actual scenes of breastfeeding. I was pretty pleased that breastfeeding was being shown on screen in a mainstream hindi movie. But the group of teenagers next to me found it funny and were chuckling everytime the mother pulled up her blouse to breastfeed the baby. I felt pretty irritated by their constant cheap unappreciating comments.

b) A fairly bold love making scene between 2 foreigners suddenly pops up out of nowhere. Not needed. No Nudity though. Again giggling from the group next to me.

c) The French kiss between toby and amisha - absolutely no chemistry. Very dumb.

d) The item song rasiyan- was shockingly and embarrassingly bold. Extreme Cleavage with constant closeups of heaving torsos. - hmm.. the song was nice and catchy, well picturised... but I don't think such an obvious sexual overtone in the song was necessary- especially when it doesn't fit into the theme of the movie. The group next to me had a gala time during this song.

e) The language used at times- did contain foul language. And the language used by the prostitutes - bold, but realistic.

f) The drunken and mischievous antics of aamir and toby shown when they get high on bhang- nice touch.. but slightly difficult to swallow. I Guess the disclaimer that the some parts of mangal's life have been dramatised comes in handy in such scenes.

Verdict: I liked it as a potentially interesting film with not so good direction. I recommend it to all of you to watch it once especially to appreciate the effort.

That completes my review.

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A story of a indian who was in the british army, who was brahmin and gets touched by achhut, who can see good and evil but doesnt realize British East India Company's intentions until he himself becomes achhut. as he realizes what the BEIC is really doing he transforms in to rebel.. sounds very simple story yet very dramatic... thats how I would summerize Mangal Pandey..

performances-

Aamir Khan: he is mangal pandey... he is under the skin of character and does it perfectly...... this guy can do anything and everything when it comes to doing variety of role.... he is amazing amazing amzing...he is great in emotional scenes, especially when he realizes his faith.he is great in showing anger towards the british when he realizes the secrets behind the kartoos...there is a scene where mangal pandey is shown fighting british army by himself, and he realizes he is going to lose so he tries to commit suicide..in that particular scene aamir's acting is unbelivable..this is the year's best performance along w/ Amitabh Bachchan's Black..

Toby Stephens: provides great support and he is the surprise in the film. the hindi dialogues seemed to come of very easy to him... an excellent performance from him too..he also shows his love(in friendly way of course) towards mangal

Rani Mukherjee: is not needed..the role is too small for her to do but whatever she does she does it well

Ameesha Patel: is also not needed... however she improves a little bit on her crying abilities.

The Music:

it is good music but the songs take alot away from the movie.. they seem to pop up out of nowhere.. especially rasiya and holi aayee re.. sometimes those pop up songs carry stories w/ them but not in this case.

there are many clapworthy scenes especially the climax and the marching of the army which is really treat to witness on big screen. the battle scenes are also worth watching on big screen. my personal favorite scene is when mangal pandey tries to kill himself..the fight between Capt. Hewson and Mangal is also good..

THE BADS:

the songs kill the movie... what could've been a perfect film is ruined by misplacement of songs... the ''romantic'' side of mangal and gordon ruins the movie even more

overall, the film is enjoyable in theater and must watch if u love patriotic drama.. 8/10

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THE RISING IS THE MOVIE WHICH WAS MOST AWAITING MOVIE FOR ME IN THIS YEAR BUT WHEN I WATCHED THE MOVIE I WAS SO DEPRESED BECAUSE THERE WAS NOT ANY EXITEMENT IN THE PEOPLE FOR THIS MOVIE.WHEN I WATCHED THE MOVIE IN THE HALL THEN THE CINEMA HALL WAS SEEMS LIKE THE CRICKET HALL STADIUM AND PUBLIC WAS ENJOYING THE MOVIE LIKE THE BIG INDIA vs PAKISTAN MATCHBUT IN THE RISING THE BOX WAS HOUSEFULL AND WHEN THE MOVIE STARTED AND WHEN FINISHED THERE WAS NEUTRAL RESPONSE FROM THE PUBLIC.

THERE IS THE BIG CHANGE IS SHOWN IN THE MOVIE AND THIS IS FAR AWAY FROM THE REAL LIFE OF THE MANGAL PANDEY.KETAN IS SAYING THAT THE ROLE OF RANI IS THE IMAGNATION FOR THIS MOVIE BUT THIS CHANGES THE WHOLE STORY WHICH WAS KNOWN BY EVERY INDIAN MY QUESTION IS ABOUT THE MOVIE-

1-WAS IT COMPULSORY TO SEEN THE MARRIGE OF MANGAL PANDEY WITH THE SEX WORKER HEERA?

WE ALL KNOW THAT MANGAL WAS BRAHMIN AND HE WAS DIED FOR HIS RELIGION AND HE MARRIED WITH THE SEX WORKER IT IS TOO HARD TO DIGEST.

IT IS NOT WRITTEN THE HISTORY.

2-WHY THE PEOPLE CONTRIBUTION ANDTHE SYMBOL OF THE KRANTI IS NOT SHOWN IN THE FILM?

IN THE HISTORY BOOKS IT IS GIVEN THAT THE ROTI AND LOTUS FLOWER WAS THE SYMBOL OF THE KRANTI SPREADING IN THE COUNTRY.IF ANYBODY WAS TAKE THE LOTUS IT MEANS THAT HE WILL STAND FOR HIS LAND OTERWISE THE ROTI GIVEN TO THE PEOPLE WHO NOT SUPPORTED THE KRANTI BY SAYING THAT UR CHILDREN WILLBEGG FOR THIS.

THIS IS NOT SHOWN IN THE FILM.

----->>>> IT WAS THE FILM OF THE SOLDIER BUT ANY WAR WAS NOT HILIGHTED IN THE MOVIEAND THE AFGANISTAN WAR TRAILOR WAS TOO SHORT IN THE FILM.

BUT SOME SHOTS IN THE MOVIE WHEN MANGAL STANDS AGAINST THE BRITISH SOLDIERS AND THE LAST FIGHT OF HIM WAS WAS EXCELLENT.

IN THE RISEING MOVIE SOMEWHERE KETAN TRY TO MAKE MANGAL AS A MAN OF EXTRA ORDINARY THINKING AND IT WAS TOO SILLY WHO WAS IN THE FAVOUR OF PUBLIC GOVT.

AMISHA WAS IN THIS FILM AND THIS IS OUT OF UNDERSTANDING THAT WHAT WAS SHE DOING IN THE MOVIE?

MY COMMENT ABOUT THIS MOVIE THAT THE EXCELLENT PERFORMENCE BY ALL LF STARS TOBY SPOKE GOOD HINDI AND HIS EXPRESSIONS WERE EXCELLENT.

THIS IS THE BIG LESSON FOR INDIAN STARS WHO ARE UNABLE TO SPEAK GOOD ENGLISH.

BUT THE PERSENTATION OF THE STORY IS NOT CORRECT AS DETAILED IN THE HISTORY.SOMEWHERE KETAN IS COMPLEATELY WRONG SO THE MOVIE IS PROTESTED IN THE BALIA THE BORNPLACE OF MANGAL PANDEY.KETAN TRIED TO MAKE THE MOVIE CLASSIC BUT IF HE ADDED MORE HISTORY AND THEN THE MOVIE CAN BE BETTER AND PEOPLE WERE NOT SLEEP IN THE HALL IF THE GRIP AND STORY WERE BETTER . THE FILM MOVES TOO SLOW.AND I THINK THAT THE MARRIGE SCENE OF MANGAL AND HEERA IS DELETED FROM MOVIE BECAUSE IT IS NOT GIVEN IN HISTORY .AND KETAN SHOUD NOT BE THE INTERFERE WITH THE LIFE OF THE PERSON WHO IS NATIONAL HERO OF INDIAN HISTORY.

NOW THIS IS PROVED AGAIN THAT WITHOUT GOOD STORY UNABLE TO MAKE GOOD FILM WILE THE PERFORMENCE OF STARCAST IS EXCELLENT.

IF U WANT THE MOVE OF OUR KRANTI THEN IT GOES LIKE KRANTI.

BUT MY BEST WISHES ARE WITH AAMIR AND THE FILM WIN THE OSCAR ON HIS BRILLIANT PERFORMENCE AND GOES WELL IN ALL COUNTRY.

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Mangal Panday has been an influential character of Indian history who stood against the British policies and showed that they dislike the policies.

I hope that Amir Khan would have done a great job by playing the roll of Mangal Panday and the movie will come out to be a hit. At this point, I am remembring another Khan who produced and directed a historical drama ''The sword of Tipu Sultan'' and he didn't only produce and direct it but also played the roll of Tipu Sultan with such an ability that one can wonder what's going on the screen.

That Khan was Mr. Sanjay Khan.

Ladies and Gentlemen

After studying the history of Muslim-India or India-Pak Subcontinent, even a stupid can tell that no one is responsible for India's freedom, it's neither Muslim League, nor Hindu Congress. It's neither Mangal Panday, nor Bhagat Singh. If Mr. Mangal Panday had been responsible for India's freedom then British would have left India anytime during his life, but Mangal Panday existed in 1857, and British left India in 1947, which happened 90 years after the existence of Mangal Panday, (so this means that the British had to wait 90 years to leave India while Mangal Panday was responsible for freedom) it doesn't make any sense.

Now the question is, Who freed India?

The answer is that no one did.

British decided to leave India when they had felt that they are unable to run this large continent anymore. After the world war 2, the British power had weakend and they had freed many other countries which they had occupied, so they did India too.

India was probably the largest territory occupied by the British at that time and the British, after loosing world war 2, were definitely not strong enough to hold the responsibility of a great land like India.

So basically, the British power weakend due to losses in World War 2, which they suffered, it wasn't Indian political parties who weakend their power, instead, a lot of Indian citizens helped the British fight battles during the world war 2.

Mahatma Gandi just led Hindus towards the revolutionary moment and stood against the unacceptable policies of the British.

But the biggest achievement was the achievement of the leader of Muslim league, Mr. Mohammed Ali Jinnah who created such a land on the Indian subcontinent soil, which did not exist before on the world map and that land was Pakistan.

It happened first time in the history of world that the map of the world had to be changed and this was because of the creation of Pakistan which was a tremendous achievement by Mr. Mohammed Ali Jinnah.

An expert on Indian History

simplistic786@hotmail.com

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After 4 yrs long wait...Aamir Khan is back in Ketan Mehta's(director)most awaited film ' mangal pandey'...

Aamir Khan stars in the epic true story of the first indian revolutionary, who dared to raise his head against the british empire!

The Rising tells the tale of friends, lovers and enemies, exploiters and exploited, and the growth and awareness of a man and a nation.

Mangal Pandey was a sepoy who sparked the rebellion of 1857. Subsequently the mutiny was called “The Sepoy Mutiny” or “The Sepoy Rebellion” by most of the English-speaking world, while Indians referred to it as the “First War of Independence''.

Also starring, Amisha Patel, Rani Mukherji, Coral Beed, and Toby Stephens

1857 AD. The entire Indian sub continent is ruled by a company. The British East India Company. The most successful business enterprise in history. The company has its own laws, its own administration, its own army. It controls the destiny of one fifth of humanity. 'Company Raj' as it was known, had been plundering the country, treating the locals unjustly and causing widespread resentment. After a hundred years of subjugation, the Indian consciousness is rising through the revolutionary prospect of change and self-rule. During a fierce battle in one of the Afghan wars that the Company fought in the mid-century, Mangal Pandey, the heroic sepoy, saves the life of his British commanding officer William Gordon. Gordon is indebted to Mangal and a strong friendship develops between them, transcending consideration of rank and race. The friendship is soon challenged by the introduction of a new rifle called the Enfield. The new rifle has come with a new cartridge which is rumored to be coated with the grease of a cow and pig fat. The new cartridge has to be bitten before it is loaded, which ignites anger and resentment among the Indian sepoys. The cow is sacred to the Hindus, the pig forbidden to the Muslims. They will not touch such a kartoos, it would defile them.

As a result, Indians get angry. Then the news reaches all corners of the country that the new supply of cartridges from Britain is greased with beef and pork.

Sepoys have to remove this grease with their teeth before loading them to their rifles. Indias refuse to do so, but William Gordon who is once again the commanding officer of the Infantry, assures Mangal Pandey that there is nothing like this. Mangal trusts him and chews the cartridge grease only to know that he has been betrayed. He rebels and kills some British officers. British officers order his arrest, and when overpowered by the soldiers Mangal Pandey shoots himself but only to be left wounded. He is captured and courtmarshaled for the revolt and punished with death.

Aamir Khan returns to the silver screen after a break of four years and wins millions of the hearts straight away. He shows why he is called ace Khan. His portrayal of Mangal Pandey is very befitting; the players will surely get many awards for their talent.

Though Amisha Patel and Rani Mukherjee do not have much to do in the film, they have managed to be honest to their roles... Rani playing a prostitute is awesome and even Toby Stephens has done a marvelous job. On the whole, 'Mangal Pandey: The Rising'is a sure winner at box office and its success is going to give jitters to the forthcoming films. A perfect way to celebrate this year's Independence Day, isn't it?

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