Rang De Basanti - A War between Patriotism and Corruption

Rang De Basanti - A War between Patriotism and Corruption

Rang De Basanti directed  by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra is a story about Patriotism. It focuses on a British filmmaker who plans to make a biopic on  the revolutionaries Bhagat Singh, Chandrashekar Azad, Sukhdev, Rajguru, Bismil and Ashfaqullah Khan. She meets a group of college students who resemble the freedom fighters. They initially are not interested but later start to join together for a cause. Their life changes for the worst when their Airway pilot friend is killed in a accident caused by faulty engines. This inspires them to start a revolution that results in a tragic end for their lives.

I am going to explore the core theme of this film which is Patriotism vs Corruption

Patriotism vs Corruption is a big battle that focuses on how we are victimized by corrupt people who act as if they represent the masses before and during the election and the sad reality is that the same people that we vote for backtracks on the promise that he makes. The people with the patriotic spirit are enraged at the fact that they are cheated by corruption. This results in the people fighting corruption through violence and hunger strikes.

There is a scene where Siddarth's character confronts his father who had been in cahoots with the defense minister to apply faulty materials on a plane which resulted in Madhavan's character dying an accidental death. This scene is inspired from a confrontational scene between Chris and his father Joe Keller about Joe's hand in the crime of supplying faulty materials to the airplanes during WWII thus resulting in 22 pilots dead along with Larry's suicide in All My Sons written by Arthur Keller. 

To Sum it up, Rang De Basanti has become a case study to analyse the theme of Patriotism vs Corruption.

2022 - The year that changed cinema

2022 - The year that changed cinema

2022 started on a bigger note for Pan Indian Cinema as it had reshaped the Indian Film Industry that went through a shift in technological barriers. SS Rajamouli, the storyteller of larger than life epics in celluloid made the most awaited film in Indian Cinema called RRR which won the Oscar Award for Best Original Song through Naatu Naatu which made us dance on loop. This film really lifted our hopes and made us feel proud as Indians. Prashanth Neel repeated the success of KGF Chapter 1 with its sequel. KGF series made Yash a pan Indian superstar. Lokesh Kanagaraj made a 2nd installment in his LCU with Vikram which marked a stylish comeback of Kamal Hassan after a 4 year long break. Rishabh Shetty made a divine pan Indian Blockbuster with Kantara which upheld the traditions of coastal and southern Karnataka.

When it came to Malayalam Cinema, We witnessed a coming of age feast with Vineeth Sreenivasan's Hridayam which was the comeback of Merryland Studios which shut shop in 1979.  Bheeshma Parvam witnessed the stylish Mammootty - Amal Neerad combo return to their roots. Kotthu was a comeback for Sibi Malayil who dominated the 80s Mollywood with stories of heartbreak. K. Madhu, the king of whodunnits was back on track with CBI 5 which was the return of every mallu's cult favorite Sethurama Iyer. Kaduva and Kaapa was the mass comeback of Masculine filmmaker Shaji Kailas who was a has been since 2013 in Mollywood.

Kollywood also discovered a campus reunion with Mudhal Nee Mudivum Nee which was a new wave film. Nelson's Beast introduced a new technique in cinematography called the mocobot camerawork which came to use. It witnessed a 6 decade long dream come to fruition with Ponniyin Selvan by Mani Ratnam. Telugu Cinema also saw Dulquer Salmaan make his place with Sita Ramam which was a historical love story. 

Hindi Cinema on the other hand was going through a bad phase because of films that used the tried and tested formula of masala films that didn't work well with today's audiences who were in search of new concepts. #Boycottbollywood had trended for quite sometime in social media. Some movies had succeeded for quite sometime while the others were box office duds. Puri Jagan's Liger with Vijay Devarakonda had become a badly trashed film. 

So to paraphrase a dialogue from Sunset Bouleward, When Pan Indian Cinema became large scale, It was the Bollywood Pictures that became small.