Fall of the Rising! Saturday, August 13, 2005 | Entertainment Mayank Shekhar
Film: Mangal Pandey – The Rising Director: Ketan Mehta Actors: Aamir Khan, Toby Stephens Rating ** I think historians will agree with me on this. Given the lack of media at the time of 1857, and the barrage of it now, clearly Aamir Khan, the lead actor of this film, is a far more famed sub-continental icon than Mangal Pandey must've been in his heydays. And that's a burden you have to live with, in a biopic of a man about whom we know very little, played by an actor with an unbearably strong screen presence and image. No wonder it appears Mangal plays Aamir here, and not the other way round. One of the reasons there is little documentation of the martyred mutineer is that he was hanged by the British in April, 1857, while the revolt that Indian hagiographers describe as the first war of Indian independence (with the frail Mughal Bahadur Shah Zafar at the head), kick-started only in May. That its seeds were borne at the 34th Native Infantry where Mangal served, is the point of Mehta's tribute to a sipahi who some Western historians have referred to as a foolhardy bhang-consumer who led a xenophobic barbaric tribe that was accused of loot, murder and rape of Europeans and Christians. Of course, we know Mangal as a patriot, who stood against the East India Company over the issue of rifle cartridges that he and his colleagues were meant to use, which were coated with fats of cows (considered unholy among Hindus) and pigs (deemed unclean by the Muslims). When such debates surround a protagonist from the past, presumably it's easier to take liberties over a historical account. As the film's foreword puts it, when history turns into folklore, legends are born -- or killed, as is the case here. Yes, there's nothing blasphemous about introducing a fictional 'nautch' girl (Rani Mukerji) whom Mangal is supposedly in love with. Or a Brit sympathiser and friend William Gordon (Stephens - astoundingly adept) -- there are records of the existence of Gordon, but not as Mangal's mate. Or, a woman who is forced to perform sati (Amisha Patel) but is saved by Gordon and Mangal… All fine I guess, so long as we keep in mind that this is a fable, not a factual piece. What's not fine is when the screenplay writer (Farrukh Dhondy, if I recall right his last 'desi' work was Subash Ghai's Kisna with problems similar to this film) is way too eager to please with his bunkum brief of turning the narrative into a so-called 'Bollywood' movie. The result is a subject that gets redundant with a part-carnival, part-crusade approach. The haphazardly assembled bore just ceases to grip you then and the message so garbled missed me for sure. You do also end up overlooking some genuine gems in a film that's riddled with inconsistencies in the quality of performances, camera-work and situations, though it's mostly second-rate all the way. But of course, it's also Aamir Khan all the way. Who is competent, no doubt. But if Mehta was so liberal with digressions in Mangal Pandey's story, I seriously wonder why he couldn't create characters that could also have given some depth to the mutiny, the subject at hand. Or at least lent some character to the unbaked, dumb-struck dodos who assist in the uprising. This is where Khan's precursor to The Rising, Lagaan had scored with its wit and vigour. Unlike the sepoy mutiny, presented as a single man's campaign, cinema is unlikely to succeed if it's purely a one-man show. This is one of the most tenable testaments to that. "We neglect our cities at our peril. For, in neglecting them, we neglect the nation." -John F. Kennedy ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> <font face=arial size=-1><a href="http://us.ard.yahoo.com/SIG=12h4iqep7/M=362335.6886442.7839733.3022183/D=grplch/S=1705331874:TM/Y=YAHOO/EXP=1123988474/A=2894366/R=0/SIG=138c78jl6/*http://www.networkforgood.org/topics/arts_culture/?source=YAHOO&cmpgn=GRP&RTP=http://groups.yahoo.com/";>What would our lives be like without music, dance, and theater? Donate or volunteer in the arts today at Network for Good</a>.</font> --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> This August, Discover the Birth of Your Independence and The Magic of A.R.Rahman's Music in Mangal Pandey - The Rising http://www.risingthefilm.com http://www.mangalpandeythefilm.com Music released: Jul 14, 2005 Movie releases: Aug 12, 2005 Explore, Experience, Enjoy A.R.Rahman - The Man, The Music, The Magic. Only at arrahmanfans - The definitive A.R.Rahman e-community. Homepage: http://www.arrahmanfans.com Admin: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/arrahmanfans/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
