Pagdi Sammal Jhatka. Review on Rang De Basanti

Shaheed Bhagat Singh is associated with three famous phrases apart from the famous “Inquilab Zindabad”. They are “Sarfaroshi Ki Tamana” “Rang De Basanti” and “Pagdi Sammal Jhatka”. With Rang De Basanti the movie title, and Sarfaroshi Ki Tamana coming in poignant moments in the movie, I prefer Pagdi Sammal Jhatka(Treasure your Turban - Hold your head high) as the title of my review. Ramprakash OmMehra has no option but to hold his head high after his great effort Rang De Basanti I had mentioned it earlier, I will mention it in future and I am mentioning it right now – The historians/academicians of our country are doing the blunder of the millennium by eulogizing Gandhi in our text books and giving other freedom fighters the scantest of regards. The youth of today will never get nationally aroused when they read about them as they are forced to believe Gandhiji as an extension of God. As Einstein properly quoted “Generations to come will scarce believe that such a one as this ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth”. It is hard for current youth to accept Gandhiji as a role model and accept his way of politics. On the contrary, if the youth of the country get to think upon people like Bhagat Singh, Subash Chandra Bose and others, they will definitely be more nationalistic. And Mr.Mehra has given you ample proof in Rang De Basanti. You can see for yourself the idea and its consequences. For this reason alone, I can keep on patting his back. All the same, RDB has got into my chosen list of films not because of its content alone. It is one of the very few films that is able to pass my ABCD of films. Read what and how! A for Ambience In today’s context, a film’s fate is mainly judged on the basis of its openings. To lure the audience into the theatres at the theatres initially, a film has to generate vibes & hype. The Bollywood people have become highly aware of this and their marketing campaigns, promos; launches are all coming off age. I always watch movies only if I knew them and people speak about them some days before release. Films should make you yearn for the film – that’s the only way the producer will earn. The ultimatum should be that people should excuse time for the movie and not movie for the time. RDB came up trumps in this regard. I always believe in Rahman and his selective working of Bollywood movies. I also came to know from eavesdropping in a bus that it was a socially relevant movie. Once I got a glimpse of four young chaps trying to catch an airplane with a caption – a generation awakens I was lured. The film also had a lion’s share of anti-publicity as well courteosy – the Animal Welfare Board and the Indian Air Force(Thank God, The Health Minister did not join the bandwagon as Siddarth kept on smoking in Rajini style throughout the movie). I make it a point to view such movies which are ridiculed by these unauthorized censor boards of India. I was also attracted by the NDTV Programme organized prior to the movies release – a nice interactive one for the youth and by the youth. I booked the tickets for the first day. B for Basis I am a firm believer that any film should have a strong basis. If films are made for the sake of actors, producers, directors or just for the sake of some Vitamin M, then I give it the damn. I always like to go for films that tend to equip the cinema goer with some serious thought to take back home after three hours of entertainment. And these films always have a good record among people. The opening phrase in the Lagaan song Mitwa “Haru Sandhu Kahe” – that phrase holds very good for Bollywood movies. C for Cast & Crew Proper people, Proper Products; Best People, Best Products Aamir Khan does it once again. If the youngsters in cinema observe the way he choses his characters and the way with which he delivers with aplomb, they could scale the heights. Kunal Kapoor. Atul Kulkarni and Sharman Joshi seemed to be playing out their real characters. Their expressions were very natural and devoid of any theatrical expressions. To me the surprise was Siddarth. I had seen this guy handle his role in Boys & Ayutha Ezhuthu with great maturity. But this Mr. Smiles was mind blowing as the introvert Karan. Siddarth has come a long way in short time. Your heart would instantly go out for Soha Ali Khan & Alice Pallet. But your minds would also instantly acknopwledge that the lovely ladies hace come out with a loveable performance. If your heart still conjures up images of them, is it a problem? Well Love All! The name a r Rahman was the major draw and drew the loudest cheers. I think they should make it a rule that any nation-oriented movie should have music by our international ARR. Just hear the audiences “lose control” when they hear Keith Peter’s brass or their Heys when “Lind Ding Ling Ding” erupts or lose their kewl on “Kalbali” or catch them patting their laps for “Tu Bin” or see them drop tears on “Luke Chuppi” or rise with a heavy heart humming “Robarroo”, he is phenomenal. Songs apart, ARRs BGM was really BGM(Brilliant, Great & Marvellous). As a keen Rehmaniac, it was great to hear him travel from one era to another with accomplished ease. He had got the award for the best BGM score for TLOBS four years ago in an impressive effort. However in the same situations, he gives us better and energizing scores yet owing to the period. If there exist creatures that doubt the genial properties of Madras Midas, there is loads of proof for them to see it, I mean hear it for themselves. Though I am not familiar with other crew members, I am sure every one did more than their bit and it has been a product of excellent team work. Binod Pradan has made viewing not only trendy, but also pleasant and has captured the moods in the right earnest. I heard people appreciate Prasoon Joshi and I second them all after watching the movie with subtitles in DVD. And what to say about Rakesh Om Prakash Mehra? Man!you have arrived at the right stage at the right time – and you have done everything right. I thought your AKS was a good one. On degrees of comparison, this is a better one. No this is your best one. Prove me wrong! D for Design If you possess a flair for design, you would definitely be thrilled by RDB. It has been a long time, since I have seen a story such skillfully woven as per principles of design. It has been equally long since I have seen such consonances on screen – that between Bhagat’s period and RDB’s period was picture perfect. The element of balance seemed to be on very good position with joy and fun in the first half and serious things comeing to fore in the second. The unity in contrast, a tough design principle was flawlessly achieved by the director .If you noted the characterization, the current youngsters easily matched the characters they were playing (Bhagat was always serious and thinking as Karan was, Azad was known to be the moral leader and humorist as Aamir). And the way he started and ended with that diary notes and the way he potrayed all important incidents recorded on the revolutionaries throughout the movie, all deserve lavish praise. Not many films have scope for aesthetic design and if they have, they do not use it fully. RDB is an expected exception Kunal Kapoor said “If you feel that the film is not worth your money, I will refund you”. I am putting it this way “If you don’t have money to watch this money, I will fund you”! For once I agree with the BBC – this is the way films should be made