More than just black and white
Rang De Basanti (Hindi)
Director: Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra
Cast: Aamir Khan, Kiron Kher and Om
Puri
FIRST THINGS first. At the end of
the adrenalin-packed fare, the title Rang De Basanti strikes you as absolutely
evocative: a plea to the season of spring to dab our lives with colour too. The
refrain "Naye rang bhar de, khoon chala, khoon chala" is a poignant reflection
of our times.
At the outset, the foursome (who go on to become five) seem as happy-go-lucky
boys. They seem more than content in their cocooned worlds of fun, frolic and
friendship ("Masti ka Paatshala"). The layered narrative, underlined by a deep
sense of hopelessness, soon tells you that their cosy, happy world is
make-believe one, an escape from a dismal world of disappointments. (Aslam: "Is
ghar mein mera dam ghut ta hai.") Of course, they are completely unlike the
upmarket threesome of Dil Chahta Hai, whose concerns are markedly different.
History driven by ideology seems the last thing the restless, SMS generation
wants to worry about. But when they reluctantly become part of a documentary on
Bhagat Singh and friends, their lives move to a different plane. Laxman Pandey,
their enemy, who gets drawn into the group because of the documentary, is the
only one with a pronounced ideology: Hindutva. For this unusual young man, who
knows his history, but is driven by warped notions of tradition, the big blow
comes when he realises that ideology is only a pawn in the politics of
opportunism. Laxman Pandey becomes the perfect metaphor for the present times:
of an appropriation by a system with its own agenda at work, with no qualms
about casting aside what an individual believes. It is, however, ironical that
he plays the character of Bismil Ramprasad, the committed freedom fighter in
the documentary, who wrote with the Muslim pen name Bismil. The film is
brilliant (editing by Binod Pradhan) for the manner in which
it coagulates a past with a present, creating images of powerful contrasts. It
at once juxtaposes a world of beliefs with a world that is completely lacking
in it; a world which was governed by the larger cause of the country, to a
world that swears by individual happiness. It also creates contrasts of many
other kinds, the manner in which the film builds the characters of Kiron Kher
and Om Puri. Both these individuals are completely governed by their faith,
their religion. While for the former (a Sikh) religion is a source of strength
that has an enormous space to accommodate everyone, the latter (a Muslim) looks
upon every outsider as an object of threat. But what redeems him is the fact he
is a victim of his circumstances, his insecurity thereby assuming legitimacy.
Like him, every character is a well-rounded one, including the lean, mean,
British police officer who tried Bhagat Singh and comrades.
It would be unfair to call it an
Aamir Khan film, because each actor has put up such a brilliant performance.
DEEPA GANESH
http://www.hindu.com/2006/01/29/stories/2006012902080200.htm
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