****SPOILER ALERT***
Mr. Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra,
Before you add a few more vowels and consonants to your name and embark on your next film, could you consider answering my questions regarding Rang De Basanti?
At the very outset please tell me what was the movie about? A British in India on a soul searching expedition? A “modern†spin-off of Legend of Bhagat Singh? A lesson on how to waste your life before becoming killers? A docu-drama on failing parts of MIGS? Or perhaps, 90 minutes into the film you were not so sure yourself?
Why is it that you have learnt nothing from your previous film – AKS; Both RDB and AKS have the same problem – Excellent buildups leading to nowhere and essentially becoming mishmash in the end? Did someone remind you that the second half of a movie is equally important as the first – and its usually the second half that stays on audience’s mind?
Is it this easy to kill the Defense Minister (no less!) of a country? Is this how your monosyllabic recipe for killing one of the most important men in politics is?
A: Kill
B: Who?
C: DefenseMinister
D: Nice!
E: When?
C: 8.00 AM
B: Why?
C: Morning
B: Morning?
C: MorningWalk.
D: Super!
A: Oh!
B: How?
C: Gun
D: Awesome!
ABCDE: LetsGo!!
I wish it were this simple Mr. Mehra, I would have done the same in my stay in India. But seriously, if it is that easy Mr. Mehra, why should youths of the country waste their life – couldn’t the ISI, LTTE, LET, Jaish-E-Muhommad, or any other organization do the work for us much before we could do it ourselves?
How many times will a Muslim have to prove that he is an Indian as much as any other in a movie? Aren’t you getting tired of the run of the mill syndrome showing a Hindu – Muslim mistrust only to better it in the end? I am getting tired of such clichés. Can’t we just move in a movie and stop focusing on the Muslims and Patriotism angle, please?
Don’t you think the parallels between Bhagat Singh and his friends to Karan and his friends is a bit too much perhaps? The politics of 1920s were different, the situation was different and the people they were against were different. In a post liberalized world, Internet era, where hidden cameras and scandals are gossips of the day, don’t you think the youths of today would be smarter than killing people?
In any hostile situation, there is an attempt to end the situation by offering surrender; Mr. Mehra, why did the youths have to die so crudely in the end? Who gave the orders to kill the terrorists anyways since the Defense Minister was dead – the Prime Minister? The same Prime Minister who is still to figure out who was involved in Delhi Bombings? Err…
Don’t you think it’s a bit ironic when you think about the message of the movie? India lost a good MIG pilot because of faulty parts. In vengeance, India loses another 5 good youths for a cause which doesn’t really mean anything – why?! Take for example Yuva – you don’t need to be against the system to beat the system – you can be in the system and rectify it; in retrospect, your idea seems to be not only against, but even taking drastic measures to signify the point?
Why was the background score so scorching? Why do you have to show inane metal and rock guitar music in background when drunken guys are racing? And who was that lady shrilling in the background during the Jalianwala Bagh Massacre – she sure as hell was murdering my brain.
What types of youths are they those decide to embark on such dangerous missions without the slightest bother for their families – has our generation become so disillusioned from their own that they don’t find the need to question themselves, when given the fact most of the characters have a healthy familial background.
Why was Rahman’s score wasted in the movie – not that it had a great scope for it anyways; but heaven forbid, if you had listened to Lukkha Chuppi or Roobaroo, aren’t they both completely out of place with the scene?
Why wasn’t Sonia arrested? Wasn’t she the one who said – “Maar dalo†5 guys ruin their life and she goes scot-free?
What was the message of this movie?
And ultimately…
Whatever happened to that long ass documentary Sue comes to shoot in India?
Yours,
A disgusted fan.
PS: Its not as if your film is not without its share of good – the performance you got out of actors were terrific, and few witty dialogues in the first half make for an enjoyable experience. I just wish you didn’t have to ruin it that way in the end.