Rang De Basanti
2006 · Directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra
Original language: Hindi
- comedy
- drama
- history
- romance
The story
After a group of friends graduate from Delhi University, they listlessly haunt their old campus, until a British filmmaker casts them in a film she's making about freedom fighters under British rule. Although the group is largely apolitical, the tragic death of a friend owing to local government corruption awakens their patriotism. Inspired by the freedom fighters they represent in the film, the friends collectively decide to avenge the killing.
What it’s like
Warm, sun-struck color and restless handheld energy define Rang De Basanti: Delhi college lawns and cramped student rooms glow in amber afternoon light, and the film cuts between a 1920s-style period reconstruction in washed, sepia-tinted tones and a present-day world of saturated saffron, neon-lit nightclubs and monsoon-grey streets. The camera rushes along with its young cast, tight close-ups giving way to exuberant dance numbers and sweeping crowd shots, while A.R. Rahman's score mixes bright folk-pop, brass and a stirring martial pulse. The overall vibe is restless idealism with a rousing, celebratory heart, slipping into anger and grief in its second half. Its people move from aimless friendship toward purpose, a comic, careless group slowly finding a cause worth dying for. Pacing is brisk, with long, emotional swells and sudden shifts in register. Violence is present and sharp in the later stretches, including a political killing and a climactic confrontation with police, but it is not gory and is brief rather than lingering. This suits viewers who want an energetic, musical, socially charged drama about friendship and conscience, best with a group or on a night when they want to feel stirred.
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