Review: Rang De Basanti

Rang De Basanti
Stars: Aamir Khan, R. Madhavan, Sharman Joshi, Soha Ali Khan, Waheeda Rehman, Siddharth Narayan, Kunal Kapoor, Atul Kulkarni, Alice Patten
Directed by: Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra
Released: 2006

Koi desh perfect nahi hota. Use perfect banana padta hai.

Every once in a while, a film will come around that completely makes you stare at the screen with awe during the entire film. Rang De Basanti is one of those films. This is a film that shows the truth and does not sugar coat anything. It shows real characters all with different personalities. All with different positive and negative traits that all end up balancing each other out. You fall in love with these characters in the two hours, forty-six minutes they are on screen and they don't leave your mind or your heart anytime soon after the credits roll.

Sue McKinley (Patten) a cute, sweet little blonde from the UK with a video camera, lots of time on her hands and a big interest in the men mentioned in her grandfather's diary decides to go to India to shoot a film about the revolutionaries Chandrasekhar Azad, Bhagat Singh, Shivaram Rajguru, Ashfaqulla Khan, and Ram Prasad Bismil. Sue holds auditions with her friend Sonia (Soha Ali Khan) and has no luck finding the perfect actors to play her beloved freedom fighters. Later the same day, Sonia introduces Sue to her friends DJ (Aamir Khan), Karan (Narayan), Sukhi (Joshi) and Aslam (Kapoor), four friends who are all very different but have a strong relationship that would put brotherhood to shame.

It's not long before Sue sees in them the famed freedom fighters and proposes and idea to them... Why don't they star in her film? None of them are really all that excited about it, but in his quest to make Sue happy, DJ gets his friends to agree to it. Because of their lack of passion, it takes a while for the film to take off. It also doesn't help that Sue has also hired Laxman (Kulkarni), a man who has always had his difficulties with the group, to also star in the film as Ramprasad Bismil. But still wanting to make Sue happy and complete the film, the group gets more into it and starts to realize the importance of the men they are portraying.

During the filming of Sue's film, Sonia gets engaged to Ajay (Madhavan), an air force pilot who believes that there is nothing more honorable and special that fighting for your country. When his MiG mysteriously crashes and the government closes the investigation as quickly as it begins, the group is enraged and decide to follow the example of the men from their past and take matters into their own hands.

Many films have been made on these men, especially Bhagat Singh, but I believe there is something that sets Rang De Basanti apart from all the others... and that is simply the fact that Rang De Basanti connects the past with the present. Many times it can be hard to relate with the past, but the creators of this film carefully weave the stories from the past with events in the future and help today's youth see why it is important to learn about the actions of the past and, as the title says, the color of sacrifice.

I have absolutely no complaints whatsoever as far as the acting goes. But I must give Aamir Khan a huge honorable mention. His performance in this film has cemented his spot in my list of favorite actors. I don't see his spot being challenged again anytime soon. Also, Siddharth Narayan needs to do more Hindi films! He's terribly cute and very impressive with his acting. Joshi was amazing with his comedic timing and did a great job turning on the serious acting when it was time (I was also shocked to find out that he was the same young man from Lajja!). But perhaps the one that surprised me most of all (other than Aamir, of course) was Kunal Kapoor. I've heard of him, seen him around and never gave much thought to him. But once he was on screen he was there and not to be lost, which is hard to do when you're with Aamir Khan, but he held his own. And my, how nice it was seeing Waheeda Rehman on here! I went insane seeing such a legend!

The music was also a sheer and utter win, but that's something I've come to expect when watching a film done with music done by A.R. Rahman. Rang De Basanti and Paathshaala are personal favorites.

The story left me in tears, sorrowful and wishing that things had ended differently but also realizing that they couldn't possibly have or it would not have been as effective. Rang De Basanti is now on my favorite films list, and is definitely a film that cannot be missed by fans of Indian cinema.

Rating: 10/10

Review: Fanaa

Fanaa
Stars: Kajol, Aamir Khan, Rishi Kapoor, Tabu
Directed by: Kunal Kohli
Released: 2006

Okay so, there is a lot wrong with this film, let me just start by saying that so you're prepared. We start off with Zooni, a sweet young but blind girl who is looking for Mr. Right. She travels with her friends to Delhi to perform in a dance for independence day. And of course, if you're going to the capital of your country, you don't just dance right? And of course you're going to find someone to show you the sights, right? Right! So they hire sweet, handsome and poetic Rehan who seems to fall instantly in love with Zooni despite her blindness. Her friends do not take kindly to this, but that doesn't stop Zooni from going out to meet her charming tour guide so he can give her a private tour of Delhi.

Going against the odds, Zooni and Rehan slowly fall in love with each other. The night before Zooni is due to board the train and go back to her home in Kashmir (really shot in Poland with gorgeous scenery) Zooni and Rehan meet up at his house and find themselves in a not-so-innocent situation. After a night like that, the two lovers decide that they cannot be apart any more, and they decide to get married. But first, Zooni goes to the doctor the get her eyes examined and discovers that there is a surgery that will give her her eyesight back. She quickly agrees to it and prepares for the day of her surgery. Her parents come down from Kashmir to support their daughter and their future son-in-law, but disaster strikes and Rehan is presumed dead due to a terrorist bombing. Zooni finds it hard to move on, but goes back to Kashmir with her parents. Little does she know, Rehan is far from gone and has a huge secret - one she never saw coming.

The first hour or so of Fanaa when Zooni and Rehan are falling in love is my very favorite. I love watching them grow closer, and it was these scenes that made me start to like Aamir Khan and, more importantly, my very favorite actress Kajol. It was just about everything a Bollywood romance should be. With singing and dancing in the rain in Dekho Na and lighthearted flirty songs like Chand Sifarish. I felt that the plot twist in the middle was a little odd and definitely unexpected, but that can be good or bad depending on how you look at it. Fanaa is most definitely a movie that had not been seen before (although similar stories would come about ie: Kurbaan) and it was a chance to see one of the best jodis in Indian cinema shine.

The acting was a sheer and epic win on all the main actors' parts. Kajol very much deserved her best actress Filmfare award and made a very good choice picking Fanaa to be her comeback film after marriage and the birth of her daughter Nysa. Aamir Khan is an actor with a lot of charm and masculinity, but surprisingly enough, I always find that who he is paired with in a movie is very crucial to his performance and whether or not I will end up enjoying it. But, as I stated earlier, he and Kajol are amazing together and really should get doing some more movies soon. Perhaps the most surprising person was Rishi Kapoor. This was the first look I'd ever had of him and boy am I glad for that! I would soon come to realize that he spent a lot of time during his prime as a hero romancing girls that looked too young and innocent for him, but he is bloody fantastic as a father in a film. He was a sweet old man and very loving towards his little Zooni.

Besides the great acting and mindblowing scenery, Fanaa had great music to go along with it. There is not one song from that film that is not on my iPod. I love it all - from Chand Sifarish to Chanda Chamke to Mere Haath Mein. All were great and it was very nice to see the classic random Bollywood songs with the multiple costume changes that I adore more than any other.

Despite the half-ridiculously predictable/omg I didn't see that coming plot line, Fanaa has enough great assets to make it a good and enjoyable film. A win in my book and a must-see if you like true chemistry between a hero and heroine.

Rating: 7/10