Saturday, March 22, 2014

Rang De Basanti

What is the movie about?
In his diary, McKinley, a jailor in British-era India, writes about five Indian patriots whose commitment to Indian Independence shook his very belief system. Many decades later, McKinley's granddaughter, Sue arrives in India to make a documentary based on this diary and casts a group of happy-go-lucky friends to play the patriots. In a sudden spiralling of circumstances, their lives end up mirrorring those of the heroic martyrs they portray.
Who is it by?
Rang De Basanti was scripted and directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra. He later went on to make Delhi-6 which won the Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration for 2009.
Why should I watch it?
The movie portrays how the country's collective memory of rebellion during the Indian freedom struggle resonates even today, in the angst of the youth in contemporary India.
Rang De Basanti won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment for 2005. It is also the first Indian movie to be nominated by BAFTA in 2006 in the Best Film Not In the English Language category. 


An edited version of the article was published in Culturama's August 2012 Issue.

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