Rang De Basanti

Saw RDB this evening. Liked it but I must confess it was a bit of a let down mainly because of all the hype surrounding the film. Dont get me wrong its a good movie but its just not able to shrug off the "Bollywood movie" tag. Cinematography and the technical aspects of the film are pure brilliance but the screenplay was loose. Not compelling enough, felt something was amiss. Perhaps a bit elitist (pinkospeak). These bunch of kids had everything going for them and the sudden turn in their thought process was a bit far fetched. Also not sure if the film really represents today's youth, especially the once who dont live in big cities, dont have access to flashy cars and who have more worries in life than deciding where should they party next. I think there are few people still left in India who fall in that category, right ? Didnt see them in the movie at all.
Anyway the larger issue the film is trying to address is - How do you create a revolution in India ? Take over the Akashwani Bhawan and fill the air waves with revolutionary thoughts ...hmm ... is that what he said ? No. He said become a conscious citizen, join army, get into IAS and participate in the political process of the country. Cynic in me is screaming "BOOOOOOORRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNGGGGGG!" but thankfully I am not a cynic. I believe. This is the way forward for India and in a lot of ways its already happening. Everyone now I then I read incredible things common men and women of country are already doing to empower themselves and those around them. The problem here is institutionalizing this empowerment. For all its quirkiness, the current goverment did promulgate the "Right to Information" bill, which if implemented in letter and spirit has the power to bring accountability into the system like never before. Access to information and the right to use it to demand justice can institutionalize the kind of revolution the film talks about.
Bottomline -We have a long way to before this happens. Even the film had to be specially screened for clearance by guess whom ? Indian Defence Minister!