Rang de Basanti

"I always believed there were two kinds of movies. The ones which met their end
happily and others which met their ends with a sad note. And
then I saw the third kind."

Yes for me it was an encounter with the third kind, for others it was 'Rang de Basanti' (RDB).

Last night was the eve of India's 57Th republic day and last night RDB became an instant classic for me. But I think that happens with every other 'all-in-all' average movie I watch on big screen, except that not all of them leave me with a hard pressed hangover to write about them. That this time I didn't need a hangover to pen down on it, is a good enough reason in support of my claim. I would agree for my predilection for the patriotic movies which makes me biased, but then I am still calculating if I can call RDB a full fledged patriotic movie anywhere near to the likes of 'Tiranga' , 'Sarfarosh' and others.

So I quote what Youth Curry aptly decribed this flick in one line as :
If Dil Chahta Hai redefined 'youth' films, Rang de Basanti takes the theme to the next level. Much has already been said in detail in this blog with a beautiful insight to this new turn of bollywood, as it marks the oncoming of a completely new face of Indian mainstream cinema.

People might and I know will argue that this is yet another run-of-the-mill patriotic flick, in the league of Yuva, Hazaron Khwaishein Aisi and Swades, and does not call for such an attention. But then that's a completely subjective opinion, and I rest my case on it. Besides, I don't like to compare bollywood movies, because there is something so strongly and centrally common amongst them, that it takes away their right to be compared at all. I am talking about the 'Bollywood Stamp' which I think snaps away as its cost, the possibility of these movies being impeccable in any manner. I don't have any personal scores against that stamp, its just out of what I have observed while growing up watching the records of idiocy being broken, with each new release out of the factory named 'bollywood'.

Exception however is a one word oxymoron, that takes its toll on its own definition by making its appearance everywhere, and delivers its responsiblities in the form of the movies of the sort Rang de Basanti. RDB was in fact more than a content meal for my starving appetite for the patriotic movies which otherwise for the past 10-15 years was being fed insipidly with the likes of 'Tiranga', 'Krantiveer' etc etc.

RDB has in my view spurred a whole new class of movies, which aim to pass on a message that is obvious to our open eyes yet too obscured when looked from within. Am not purporting RDB as the founder of such message movies, but certainly it can be without a glitch looked upon as the role model for our future movies, which our country needs at this hour. And the end would not be apporopriate without these lines I loved to borrow from one of the song's of the movie flavoured with AR Rehman's music.

DHUAN CHHATAA, KHULA GAGAN MERA
NAYI DAGAR, NAYA SAFAR MERA
JO BAN SAKE TU HUMSAFAR MERA
NAZAR MILA ZARA !!