Rang De Basanti (pronounced Rung Day Bus-unthi) is a must see movie. It is excellently produced and very well done. A little far fetched but rings true and hits home. It really shows some wonderful scenes of India and the colors are gorgeous. It mirrors the life of Bhagat Singh and his cohorts, who fought valiantly for India’s freedom. While it is about the making of a film that depicts the life of Bhagat Singh, it surreptitiously draws parallels between the situation that exists then during Bhagat Singh’s time and a controversial issue of contemporary India – the many MIG crashes and fatalities. It features a Defense Minister named Shastri who profits from supplying the air force with faulty parts. No semblance to any known person living or dead. Blatant parallels are drawn to some of the heavy-handed tactics of the British and that of the “Indian Government”. It portrays the youth of India as an effective change agent to counter the corruption prevalent in India. The ending is a little over dramatized. However, it very cleverly ties the end of Bhagat Singh’s life to the modern day saga depicted in the movie. As in any Hindi film, it does follow the Bollywood formula: boy-girl romance, emotional scenes, good guys, bad guys, violence, comedy, songs and dance. The Bollywood formula is very tastefully adhered to without detracting from the main storyline. The usual sentimental soppy scenes are absent, thankfully. The subtle message in the story line questions whether Baghat Singh’s sacrifice was worth it. It leaves the viewer with the notion that the efforts of the current day heroes appear to be futile as well. The audience reaction has been one of anger and frustration. Whether the youth of India takes in the message of this film and does something about it is to be seen.
Lage Raho Munabhai (pronounced Lug Aye Ra-Ho Moonah-bhai) is a wonderful feel-good comedy with a powerful message. It frames the political activism espoused by Mahatma Gandhi by introducing the notion of Gandhigiri, a very pertinent Moniker. It packages and conveys the essence of Gandhi’s non-violence principals in a remarkable manner. It portrays Gandhigiri as an antidote to Goondagiri (thuggery – for lack of a better term). Hopefully, this movie too will have an effect on India’s citizens and will give a boost to grass roots activism.
Both these movies should be screened in the high schools of India every year. Such movies and others that portray civic mindedness and a respect for the environment will result in raising a better generation of Indians.
