Rang De Basanti
Encyclopedia
Rang De Basanti is a 2006 Indian drama film written and directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra
. It features an ensemble cast comprising Aamir Khan
, Soha Ali Khan
, Madhavan
, Kunal Kapoor
, Siddharth Narayan
, Sharman Joshi
, Atul Kulkarni
and British
actress Alice Patten
in the lead roles. Made on a budget of 250 million (US$
5.5 million), the film was shot in and around New Delhi
.
The story is about a British documentary filmmaker who is determined to make a film on Indian freedom fighters based on diary entries by her grandfather, a former officer of the British Indian Army
. Upon arriving in India, she asks a group of five young men to act in her film. They agree, but after they begin filming a friend of theirs is killed in a fighter aircraft crash, with government corruption appearing to be the root cause of the incident. This event radicalizes them from being carefree to passion-driven individuals who are determined to avenge his death.
The film's release faced stiff resistance from the Indian Defence Ministry and the Animal Welfare Board
due to parts of the film that depicted the use of MiG-21
fighter aircraft and a banned Indian horse race respectively. The film was released globally on 26 January 2006 and subsequently was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film
at the 2006 BAFTA Awards
. Rang De Basanti also was chosen as India's official entry for the Golden Globe Award
s and the Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film category, though it did not ultimately yield a nomination for either award. A. R. Rahman
's soundtrack, which earned positive reviews, had two of its tracks considered for the Academy Award nomination. The film was not only well-received by critics and audiences for its production values, but also had a noticeable influence on Indian society. In India, the film did well at many of the Bollywood awards ceremonies, including a win for Best Movie at the Filmfare Awards
.
) comes across the diary of her grandfather, Mr. McKinley (Steven Mackintosh
), who served as a jailer in the Imperial Police during the Indian independence movement
. Through the diary, she learns about the story of five freedom fighters who were active in the movement: Chandrasekhar Azad
, Bhagat Singh, Shivaram Rajguru
, Ashfaqulla Khan
, and Ram Prasad Bismil
. McKinley, in his diary states that he had met two type of people in his life, the first one... who died without uttering a sound and the second kind ... who died with lots of anguish.. crying over their deaths...McKinley reveals that it was then that he met with the third kind....
Having decided to make a self-financed documentary film about these revolutionaries, Sue travels to India, with the help of her friend, Sonia (Soha Ali Khan
), from Institute for international studies at University of Delhi
. After few unsuccessful auditions, in search of the actors, Sue finally casts Sonia's friends, four young men - Daljit "DJ" (Aamir Khan
), Karan Singhania (Siddharth Narayan
), Aslam Khan (Kunal Kapoor
) and Sukhi Ram (Sharman Joshi
), to portray as the revolutionaries.
Though they aren't very enthusiastic at the idea of acting in a film about the independence movement, Sue eventually manages to convince them. Laxman Pandey (Atul Kulkarni
), a political party activist, joins the cast later, despite initially being unpopular due to his anti-Muslim beliefs and contempt for Aslam. In the process of filming, the idealism of India's revolutionary heroes seeps into the protagonists. They gradually begin to realize that their own lives are quite similar to the characters they portray in Sue's film and that the state of affairs that once plagued the revolutionaries continues to torment their generation.
Meanwhile, Ajay Singh Rathod (R. Madhavan
), a Flight Lieutenant
in the Indian Air Force
who is Sonia's fiancé, is killed when his MiG-21
crashes. The government proclaims that the crash was caused by pilot error and closes the investigation. Knowing that Rathod was an ace pilot, Sonia and her friends do not accept the official explanation. Instead, they claim that he sacrificed his life to save hundreds of other lives that would have been lost had he ejected from the aircraft and left the aircraft to crash into a populous city. They investigate and learn that the crash was due to a corrupt defence minister
(Mohan Agashe
), who had signed a contract exchanging cheap and illegal MiG-21 aircraft spare parts for a personal favour. To their surprise, they also learn that the key person who was responsible for organizing the deal was Karan's father, Rajnath Singhania (Anupam Kher
).
Angered by the situation, the group and their supporters decide to protest peacefully at India Gate
, a war memorial
in New Delhi
. Police forcefully break up their protest using batons; in the process, Rathod's mother (Waheeda Rehman
) is severely hurt and she slips into a coma. DJ, Karan, Aslam, Sukhi, and Laxman decide that they must emulate the early freedom fighters and resort to violence to achieve justice. As a result, they kill the defence minister to avenge Rathod's death, while Karan murders his father for his corrupt actions. The minister is reported to have been killed by terrorists and is hailed as a martyr by the media. To bring forth their intentions behind the killings, the five of them attempt to reach the public through a radio station. They forcibly take over the All India Radio
station premises after having evacuated its employees. Karan goes on air and reveals the truth about the defence minister and his wrongdoings. While still on the air, the police proclaim that they are dangerous terrorists who have forcefully taken over the AIR, and therefore they are to be shot on sight. The first to be shot is Daljit, who tries to get out of cover and establish that they are not terrorists, however the shot is not a fatal one. Sukhi, unable to control his anger at this gets out and is instantly shot to death. He dies with the last smile still etched on his face. Aslam and Pandey are then shot together and the once archenemies die holding hands and smiling.
Daljit manages to crawl to the Recording Room, where Karan is still on air. When Karan understands that he has been shot, they speak amongst themselves for the last time, regarding the others, about Sue and about Daljit's love for her. It is there that they are shot to death, but not without the sound of their hearty laughter still hanging in the air like an echo of a long dead music. It is then revealed that Mc. Kinley described the third kind of people he came across as being the ones who embraced death as a friend and an equal, with a heartfelt laughter.
The film comes to an end with Sue describing the impact of the boys on her life. As Sue and Sonia watch from the rooftop that Ajay proposed to her on, they have a vision of the boys running in the fields, singing happily and victoriously throwing their shirts in the air, acting as if they are celebrating life itself, as if the ebb of their once-there vitality still reverberates in the places where they once used to go. A wave of melancholy comes over them as the film ends.
about the Indian revolutionaries he was planning on depicting, which indicated that many of children did not recognize the names of some of the most prominent revolutionaries. This led Mehra to believe that the sense of "patriotism had blurred" in the young generation. Because of this, he dropped his original plans in favor of a new idea in which a British documentary filmmaker on a visit to India realizes that the local "kids are more Western than her". This new story, which eventually formed the basis for Rang De Basantis script, was influenced by Mehra's upbringing, youth and experiences over the years, including his desire to join the Indian Air Force
while in school, as well as his recollections of listening to Independence Day
speeches and watching patriotic films such as Mother India
. Although Mehra denies that the film is autobiographical, he confessed that the character sketches were loosely inspired by himself and his friends.
Mehra approached Angad Paul after having been impressed with his production work on British films Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
and Snatch
. Paul, who was keen to work in India, liked Mehra's story, and agreed to produce the film, bringing with him David Reid and Adam Bohling as executive producers. Despite having no prior knowledge of Hindi cinema, Reid and Bohling's belief in the script was strong enough that they each were willing to work at half their normal rate. While it was originally suggested that two different language versions of the film would be made concurrently, in English (as Paint it Yellow) and Hindi
, the plans for an English version were dropped during development. Mehra believed that English language version felt alien and that "one can tell a film in just one language". After the English version was dropped, the writer Kamlesh Pandey was brought on board to pen the first draft of the film in Hindi, marking the start of his screenwriting career. Thereafter Mehra and co-writer Rensil D'Silva took over the script, working on it for about two years. Prasoon Joshi
, the film's lyricist, also worked on the dialogue for the film, marking his first venture into screenwriting.
The film suffered a significant setback when one of the initial producers ultimately failed to contribute any funds towards the film; the shortfall left production looking uncertain just two months away from the beginning of principal photography. However, after Aamir Khan
agreed to act in the film, Mehra approached Ronnie Screwvala
of UTV Motion Pictures with the script. Screwvala, who supported Mehra from the beginning of the film's production, had faith in the film, reasoning that in historical films, "the treatment and execution is very different from regular masala
fare", and that such films "find favour with the audience owing to their elaborate sets and period costumes". The film's budget was reported as Rs.
250 million (approximately US$
5.5 million), and despite going a little over the initially planned budget, Mehra did not have any serious disagreements with UTV.
agreed to act in the film immediately after reading Mehra's script. Mehra described his character as a simple man with a strong sense of integrity and dignity. Khan, who would turn 40 during the film shoot, lost about 10 kilograms (22 lb) with a strict diet and exercise regime in order to more convincingly depict a man in his late twenties. Atul Kulkarni
and Kunal Kapoor
were publicly attached to the film by the time it was officially announced; Kapoor had been the assistant director to Mehra during the filming of Aks, and therefore was already familiar with the material Mehra had been developing. Mehra gave Kulkarni biographies of Ram Prasad Bismil
as preparation, including Bismil's autobiography. Early rumors indicated that actors Arjun Rampal
and Arjan Bajwa
would be amongst the male leads, but these roles ultimately were filled by Sharman Joshi
, Siddharth Narayan
and R. Madhavan
. The film marked Siddharth's Bollywood debut, following on the success of his Telugu film Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana
. Having previously worked as an assistant director
, Siddharth praised Mehra as being "by far the most ambitious technical filmmaker in Indian cinema". Madhavan, despite being a well-known Tamil cinema actor, took the smaller role of a fighter aircraft
pilot because he was convinced of the film's potential and wanted to be a part of it. Om Puri
also appears in a two-scene cameo as Aslam's staunch Muslim father.
Soha Ali Khan
and Alice Patten
immediately became Mehra's clear favorites for each of their roles during casting, which led to Patten flying to Mumbai
for a screen test with the entire cast. She was informed that she had won the documentary filmmaker role after she returned home to the United Kingdom. Soha, portraying the pilot's fiancée, also was filming Rituparna Ghosh's Antarmahal and David Dhawan
's comedy Shaadi No. 1
concurrently with her work in Rang De Basanti. In particular, the demands of her emotional scenes in Antarmahal often left her exhausted, thus requiring "a lot of personal overhauling" to ensure that her performance in Rang De Basanti was unaffected. During filming, reports indicated that co-stars Siddharth and Soha had become romantically involved with each other. Alongside the two lead actresses, Lakh Tandon played the role of Amir's Grand Father and Kirron Kher
played the mother of Khan's character.
, Mumbai
, Rajasthan
and Punjab
, was officially launched at a hotel on 1 February 2005. When shooting began, Mehra made an announcement to his crew saying that they would enjoy their holiday only in July.
Instead of filming at the actual locations from the script, other locations were selected for picturisation. One such scene is where Soha Ali Khan
is filmed at the India Habitat Center that masquerades as the University of Delhi
. On similar lines, New Delhi's Modern School
at Barakhamba Road served as the location for all the scenes pertinent to All India Radio
station, which is shown to be stormed by the youngsters in the film. The Delhi Tourism department was happy to encourage filming in the city if it helped promote tourism, though any filming near India Gate
was prohibited due to the ensuing bureaucratic paperwork. Similar issues with bureaucracy were faced by Mehra while filming at the Jaipur
Fort. To use a historical location for filming, they had to seek permissions of seven different officials ranging from the local police to the Archaeological Survey of India
office. Nahargarh Fort
, which oversees the city of Jaipur, was another such historical location where one of the songs was filmed. Besides these locations, the filming was also done at Amritsar
's Golden Temple
. For Aamir Khan, a Muslim
by belief, it was for the first time that he was playing a North India
n Punjabi
character and hence it took him some time to get the right dialect and diction. While speaking about his experience of visiting the temple for the first time, he said:
Once the locations were finalized, the team of Lovleen Bains and Arjun Bhasin was chosen for designing the look of the film. Bhasin had previously worked on Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love
(1996) and Dil Chahta Hai
(2001), the latter of which featured Aamir Khan, and he was referred to Mehra by Khan due to their previous association. Since the film's plot focused on men in their late twenties, Bhasin designed their look accordingly. Although he was responsible for Khan's rebellious look, Sharman Joshi's (who played Sukhi) lovable persona or Madhavan's dignified appearance, Bhasin credited Bains for her major contributions to the film. Khan's hair was styled by Avan Contractor, who came up with soft curls falling over Khan's forehead. This new look, which took Contractor one hour to come up with, surprised the audience at the film's launch.
In post-production, the visual effects were handled by Tata Elxsi's Visual Computing Labs. The military aircraft they created for the film was so realistic that the Indian Air Force
called to check the producer's permission of using an actual MiG-21.
and lyrics penned by Prasoon Joshi
and Blaaze
, an India-based rapper
. From the film's announcement in April 2005, Rahman was slated to compose the music. In a press conference with pop
singer Nelly Furtado
, he said that she was to originally have featured on the soundtrack, although this was ultimately prevented from happening due to a change in producers and other factors. Aamir Khan, with his knowledge of Hindi
and Urdu
, worked with Rahman and Joshi for the film's soundtrack. In addition, Mehra and Rahman chose him to sing for one of the songs.
Joshi, one of the lyricists, was impressed with the director, Rakeysh Mehra, who was ready to adjust to his style of writing as well as his creativity. Confessing that the film's soundtrack was his favorite out of all his previous works, Joshi felt that it "was a wonderful experience getting to know the mindset of today's youth and to pen down their feelings". Speaking about one of his songs, "Luka Chuppi", in which veteran Lata Mangeshkar
sang with Rahman, Joshi said that it was developed while discussing with Rahman the scene about a mother losing her son. Joshi wrote the lyrics about the mother and son playing hide-and-seek with the sad reality of the son being hidden forever. He confessed to have been in tears while Mangeshkar was singing the song. The soundtrack won the Filmfare Best Music Director Award
, and had two of its tracks, Khalbali and Luka Chuppi, considered for an Academy Award for Best Original Song
nomination.
While discussing typical Bollywood
soundtracks, Nilanjana Bhattacharjya, a professor of music at Colorado College
noted that Rahman integrated traditional Punjabi cultural elements within his music for this soundtrack. Regionally defined elements such as a woman's prayer at the Sikh Gurudwara (Golden Temple) and the bhangra harvest dance are incorporated alongside more contemporary, global styles such as hard rock and hip hop to depict the cosmopolitan lifestyle of the youngsters in the film.
, which has a long history of fatal accidents in India. Promptly, the Indian Defence Ministry raised concerns, causing the Indian censor board
to urge the filmmakers to seek clearance from the ministry. Accordingly, Khan and Mehra screened the film for the then Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee
along with other top officials from the armed forces. One Air Force official reportedly said that it was "not a review, but a preview". After the special screening, the defence ministry did not insist on any cuts, but on their recommendation more names were added to the slide that dedicates the film to deceased MiG pilots. After this clearance, the Animal Welfare Board raised objections on the use of animals in the film. Although the filmmakers had obtained a No Objection Certificate
from the board officials, Maneka Gandhi
, a well-known animal rights
activist and member of the welfare board, found flaws in this certificate. Subsequently, this certificate was revoked and with only a few days left for the world premiere, Mehra personally requested Gandhi to reconsider her objection. After another viewing, the board cleared their objection stating that the use of animals in the film was natural and justified. However, after they recommended the deletion of a 20-second scene that depicted a banned horse race conducted by the Nihang
Sikh
s, the filmmakers deleted this scene. Mrs. Kavita Gadgil whose son, late Flight Lieutenant Abhijeet Gadgil was killed when his MiG-21 fighter crashed, objected to the film's release because she believed that the film was loosely based on her son's life and the producers should have shown her the film. In response, Kamlesh Pandey, one of the writers of the film, said that the film was not inspired by Abhijeet Gadgil.
The film was screened at several international film festivals. In 2006, it premiered in France with the Lyon
Asiexpo Film Festival, the Wisconsin Film Festival
and the Morocco
-based International Film Festival of Marrakech
. As a part of the publicity, the cast, visited prominent University campuses in New Delhi
, Mumbai
, Kolkata
, Hyderabad and Pune
with an intention of interacting with the students. After hiring international experts for the film's publicity, the marketing expenditure for the film grew to 40 percent of the total production budget of Rs.
250 million (approximately US$
5.5 million). This expenditure was unprecedented in Bollywood
because usually the Indian filmmakers spend only about five percent of their production budget on marketing. Out of the Rs. 100 million (approximately US$2.2 million) marketing campaign, a fifth of it came from the producers while the rest was obtained through brand tie-ups and partnering.
Since Rahman's last musical success, Saathiya, was back in 2002, there were high expectations from the soundtrack in the media. The soundtrack, first released commercially in early December 2005, generally received above average reviews. One of the songs, Masti ki paatshaala (translation: Classroom of Fun), was voted as the "Song of the year" for 2006 by leading Indian television channels, while two compositions were considered for an Academy Award nomination.
Before its theatrical release, the producers tied up with several top brands to help in the marketing the film. An alliance was formed with The Coca-Cola Company
by releasing special edition bottles to commemorate the film's release, a first of its kind in Bollywood. Besides this, the music CDs and cassettes were co-branded with the cola company along with the launch of the sale of collectible
s from the film. Provogue, a well-known clothing retail chain in India, launched a special limited edition clothing merchandise targeting the youth of India. Besides these, the producers collaborated with LG Group
, Berger Paints, Bharti Airtel
and Hindustan Petroleum
. The producers tied up with several media partners such as MSN
India, Channel V
and Radio Mirchi
to further enhance their marketing efforts. A video game launched by an Indian mobile content company was based on an adaptation of the film's plot.
In India, The Hindu
reported that with audiences from the metropolitan cities turning out in large numbers, Rang De Basanti was notching up record collections in its opening week. Accordingly, 55 percent of the film's revenues came from multiplexes in these cities. While the opening week box-office collections from Mumbai, the home of Bollywood, were reported to be over Rs. 40 million (approximately US$880,000), theaters in New Delhi earned about half of Mumbai's revenue. Throughout the country, the cumulative collections in the first week was about Rs. 80 million (approximately US$1.76 million). Overseas collections from the United States, United Kingdom and Australia were collectively put at over Rs. 60 million (approximately US$1.32 million) for the same week. Released in about 60 theaters in the United States, the film grossed Rs. 31 million (approximately US$700,000) in its opening weekend and earned Rs. 99 million (approximately US$2.2 million) within 10 weeks. With Rs. 1.23 billion (approximately US$27 million) alone coming from the Indian territory, the film earned more than Rs. 1.36 billion (approximately US$30 million) worldwide. Currently, the film holds the record for the highest-grossing film to be released in January.
Within a week of the film's theatrical release, pirated copies of the film priced at Rs. 10 million (approximately US$220,000) were seized at an Indian airport. A report carried out by The Times of India
highlighted piracy on the internet where movies like Rang De Basanti could be downloaded freely. To counter this, UTV Motion Pictures launched anti-piracy raids on local retailers in New York City
, Houston and Dallas, which consist of a fairly large Indian diaspora. This was to ensure that there would be no pirated DVD
sales before its intended DVD release on 15 March 2006. The DVD release sold more than 70,000 copies over six months, and as a result the film was the highest selling title at the time of its release.
spoke positively of the cinematography and the film's story, it noted that "the message that the film carries with it tends to get diluted towards the climax. Praising the film's cast for their performance and the cinematography of Binod Pradhan
, Taran Ardash wrote that the film would be successful with the urban audiences. The Hindustan Times
summarized the film as being a "well-scripted, skilfully crafted [and] thought-provoking entertainer". Saisuresh Sivaswamy of Rediff.com
wrote that films like Rang De Basanti can easily get into "preachiness", but believed Mehra got his message across while avoiding this, also appreciating the music, cinematography, dialogues and art direction. The Hindu
credited Kamlesh Pandey for writing a story that would have been a difficult film to make, but it added by saying that the transformation of the youngsters into heroes seemed poetic. Although the screenplay, direction and the cast were also well-appreciated, the reviewer felt that Rahman's soundtrack lacked pace.
The film also received positive reviews from critics outside India. The review from the BBC
gave it the highest possible five star rating
and added that it was "an entertaining mix of romance, history and social commentary". Although the San Francisco Chronicle
spoke highly of the film's production values, the music and the cast, it baulks at certain flaws in the film making such as Mehra's muddled message of political assassination and poorly developed characters and situations. Derek Elley of Variety
praised the technical crew and although he positively reviewed A. R. Rahman's music, he said it will remain unmemorable. Despite these points, he said that "the movie remains disengaging at a personal, emotional level", thereby weakening the climax. The Bloomberg
website wrote positively about "the raw energy of a young cast and A. R. Rahman's splendidly rousing soundtrack".
despite stiff competition from films such as Krrish
, Lage Raho Munna Bhai
, Omkara
and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna
. While discussing if the selection committee's choice was correct, critics felt that the Academy members could have better related with Omkara, an adaptation of Shakespeare's play
Othello
. Despite these qualms and Mehra's belief that his film did not stand a chance at the Oscars, the efforts to publicize the film in the United States began earnestly. Music composer A. R. Rahman performed several concerts across the East Coast
to promote the film. Besides his efforts, producer Screwvala planned to use resources and expertise from his partners in 20th Century Fox
and Walt Disney Pictures
for organizing its publicity efforts. When the nominations in the foreign film category did not feature this film, it sparked off debates on whether the film should have been India's entry for the Oscars. In one such debate on a television channel that involved Screwvala, the selection committee was questioned about its knowledge of the requisite artistic criteria for such award ceremonies. While one outcome of the debate was on how Omkara would have been a better choice, the other discussed the West
-centric sensibilities of the Academy members. However, results from a simultaneously conducted SMS
poll indicated that 62 percent felt that the film was the right choice for the Oscars.
in addition to awards at a number of other ceremonies. It won several awards at the annual India-based Filmfare Awards
including Best Movie
, Best Director
, Best Music Director
, Critics Best Performance - Male (Aamir Khan), Best Editing
(P. S. Bharathi), Best Cinematography
and RD Burman Award for New Music
(Naresh Iyer
) categories. It also won the 2007 International Indian Film Academy awards for Best Movie
, Best Supporting Actress
(Soha Ali Khan), Best Screenplay (Rensil D'Silva and Rakeysh Mehra) and Best Music
among other technical awards. Apart from these, the film won eight awards apiece at the 2006 Global Indian Film Awards
and 2007 Star Screen Awards
, and six at the 2007 Zee Cine Awards
.
The film was also nominated for the Best Film not in English language
at the 2007 British Academy of Film and Television Arts
awards.
s and exercising simple citizen duties of paying taxes and voting, while the others contemplated on how to become more responsible towards the country. Unlike other Indian films with jingoistic overtones, many young Indians could relate well to the characters of this film.
While such reactions were observed on the Internet, youth activism took to streets to protest on public interest issues. A direct impact was on the 1999 Jessica Lall Murder Case, one of the high-profile murder cases in India. A month after the film's release, a court acquitted the main accused because of inefficient prosecution and hostile witness
es. This sparked intense civil protests and media campaigns that sought his re-arrest. Taking cue from the scene in which the protagonists hold a silent, candlelight vigil at New Delhi
's India Gate
, one such group of demonstrators carried out a similar rally to voice their protest. Shortly thereafter, a survey was conducted to assess reasons for the sudden upsurge in people's social involvements. Eighteen percent of the respondents felt that movies like Rang De Basanti were the main reason behind it. Another such massive youth activism was seen in the Priyadarshini Mattoo
rape and murder case where similar rallies were organized in India, United States and around the world. Following the release of the film, another social outcry was against the introduction of reservations for socially backward classes
in educational institutions. Young doctors and engineers joined hands in peaceful rallies in major cities across India. Though the film was not released in the neighbouring Pakistan
, it evoked similar reactions there. Inspired by the film, Pakistan's national newspaper, Jung, launched a television channel that was to focus on citizens' issues and support public awakening. Reacting to these strong social reactions, actor Kunal Kapoor thought that the film was just a catalyst that presented "patriotism in a package that the youngsters understood and empathised with".
In the Indian media, frequent referencing of the film was evident, with many brands using pictorials from the movie. In addition, the media also uses the terms "RDB" (abbreviated title of the movie) and "RDB effect" while referring to instances of public activism on matters of public interest. When the 2007 University of Delhi
Student Elections focused more on the important issues facing the students than in the previous years, one student referred to this as the "RDB Syndrome". On similar lines, Kamal Sunavala wrote a play titled Under the Influence which focuses on a young Indian expatriate
whose life changes after watching this film.
Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra
Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra is an Indian filmmaker and screenwriter. He is best known for writing and directing Rang De Basanti , for which he won Best Director awards at the 2006 Filmfare Awards and National Film Awards and received a BAFTA Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film...
. It features an ensemble cast comprising Aamir Khan
Aamir Khan
Aamir Hussain Khan is an Indian film actor, director and producer who has established himself as one of the leading actors of Hindi cinema....
, Soha Ali Khan
Soha Ali Khan
- Early life :Khan was born into the erstwhile princely family of Pataudi. She has Muslim Pashtun ancestry through Nawabs of Pataudi lineage from her father's side and Bengali Hindu ancestry from her mother's side...
, Madhavan
R. Madhavan
R. Madhavan is an Indian actor, writer, film producer and television host. Madhavan has received a Filmfare Award, an award from the Tamil Nadu State Film Awards alongside recognition and nominations from other organisations...
, Kunal Kapoor
Kunal Kapoor
Kunal Kapoor is an Indian actor who appears in Hindi cinema.-Career:Kapoor began his career as an assistant director on the Amitabh Bachchan starrer Aks. He began his acting career training under theatre legend Barry John. He continued his theatre career with Motley, a theater group run by...
, Siddharth Narayan
Siddharth Narayan
Siddharth Suryanaraynan , popularly known and credited as Siddharth, is an Indian film actor, playback singer and screenplay writer. After his business management studies, Siddharth chose to work in film making and worked as an assistant director before making his acting debut in the 2003 Tamil...
, Sharman Joshi
Sharman Joshi
Sharman Joshi is an Indian film and theatre actor. He has worked on various stage productions in English, Hindi, Marathi and Gujarati languages. However, he is mostly known for his work in Hindi films.-Personal life :...
, Atul Kulkarni
Atul Kulkarni
Atul Kulkarni born 10 September 1965 is an Indian actor who has won two National Awards and has superstar status in Marathi film industry after successful movies like Valu and Natarang....
and British
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
actress Alice Patten
Alice Patten
Alice Patten is an English actress, and the daughter of Chris Patten, a prominent British Conservative politician and the last governor of Hong Kong. She has played a key role in the Hindi film Rang De Basanti...
in the lead roles. Made on a budget of 250 million (US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
5.5 million), the film was shot in and around New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
.
The story is about a British documentary filmmaker who is determined to make a film on Indian freedom fighters based on diary entries by her grandfather, a former officer of the British Indian Army
British Indian Army
The British Indian Army, officially simply the Indian Army, was the principal army of the British Raj in India before the partition of India in 1947...
. Upon arriving in India, she asks a group of five young men to act in her film. They agree, but after they begin filming a friend of theirs is killed in a fighter aircraft crash, with government corruption appearing to be the root cause of the incident. This event radicalizes them from being carefree to passion-driven individuals who are determined to avenge his death.
The film's release faced stiff resistance from the Indian Defence Ministry and the Animal Welfare Board
Animal rights
Animal rights, also known as animal liberation, is the idea that the most basic interests of non-human animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings...
due to parts of the film that depicted the use of MiG-21
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 is a supersonic jet fighter aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. It was popularly nicknamed "balalaika", from the aircraft's planform-view resemblance to the Russian stringed musical instrument or ołówek by Polish pilots due to...
fighter aircraft and a banned Indian horse race respectively. The film was released globally on 26 January 2006 and subsequently was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film
BAFTA Award for Best Film
This page lists the winners and nominees for the BAFTA Award for Best Film, BAFTA Award for Best Film not in the English Language and Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film for each year, in addition to the retired earlier versions of those awards...
at the 2006 BAFTA Awards
British Academy of Film and Television Arts
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a charity in the United Kingdom that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation.-Introduction:...
. Rang De Basanti also was chosen as India's official entry for the Golden Globe Award
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
s and the Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film category, though it did not ultimately yield a nomination for either award. A. R. Rahman
A. R. Rahman
Allah Rakha Rahman is an Indian composer, singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and philanthropist. Described as the world's most prominent and prolific film composer by Time, his works are notable for integrating eastern classical music with electronic music sounds, world music genres and...
's soundtrack, which earned positive reviews, had two of its tracks considered for the Academy Award nomination. The film was not only well-received by critics and audiences for its production values, but also had a noticeable influence on Indian society. In India, the film did well at many of the Bollywood awards ceremonies, including a win for Best Movie at the Filmfare Awards
Filmfare Awards
The Filmfare Awards are presented annually by The Times Group to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Hindi language film industry of India. The Filmfare ceremony is one of the oldest and most prominent film events given for Hindi films in India. The awards were...
.
Plot
Struggling British filmmaker Sue McKinley (Alice PattenAlice Patten
Alice Patten is an English actress, and the daughter of Chris Patten, a prominent British Conservative politician and the last governor of Hong Kong. She has played a key role in the Hindi film Rang De Basanti...
) comes across the diary of her grandfather, Mr. McKinley (Steven Mackintosh
Steven Mackintosh
-Personal life:Mackintosh was born in Cambridge, the son of Dorothy and Malcolm Mackintosh. He has a sister, Lynda Ellingham .He is married to the actress Lisa Jacobs and the couple have two children, Martha and Blythe.-Film:...
), who served as a jailer in the Imperial Police during the Indian independence movement
Indian independence movement
The term Indian independence movement encompasses a wide area of political organisations, philosophies, and movements which had the common aim of ending first British East India Company rule, and then British imperial authority, in parts of South Asia...
. Through the diary, she learns about the story of five freedom fighters who were active in the movement: Chandrasekhar Azad
Chandrasekhar Azad
Chandra Shekhar Azad , was one of the most important Indian revolutionaries who reorganised the Hindustan...
, Bhagat Singh, Shivaram Rajguru
Shivaram Rajguru
Shivaram Hari Rajguru was an Indian revolutionist from Maharashtra and belonged to the Deshastha Brahmin community. Rajguru was born in a place named Khed near Pune. It was later renamed as Rajgurunagar in his honor. He is best known as a colleague of Bhagat Singh and Sukhdev in the murder of a...
, Ashfaqulla Khan
Ashfaqulla Khan
Ashfaqulla Khan was a Muslim freedom fighter in the Indian independence movement who had given away his life along with Ram Prasad Bismil. Bismil and Ashfaq, both were good friends and Urdu poets...
, and Ram Prasad Bismil
Ram Prasad Bismil
Ram Prasad Bismil Ram Prasad Bismil Ram Prasad Bismil (Hindi: राम प्रसाद 'बिस्मिल', Gujarati: રામપ્રસાદ બિસ્મિલ, (Malayalam: രാം പ്രസാദ് ബിസ്മിൽ, Tamil: ராம் பிரசாத் பிஸ்மில், Born: 11 June 1897, Executed: 19 December 1927) was an Indian revolutionary who participated in Mainpuri Shadyantra of...
. McKinley, in his diary states that he had met two type of people in his life, the first one... who died without uttering a sound and the second kind ... who died with lots of anguish.. crying over their deaths...McKinley reveals that it was then that he met with the third kind....
Having decided to make a self-financed documentary film about these revolutionaries, Sue travels to India, with the help of her friend, Sonia (Soha Ali Khan
Soha Ali Khan
- Early life :Khan was born into the erstwhile princely family of Pataudi. She has Muslim Pashtun ancestry through Nawabs of Pataudi lineage from her father's side and Bengali Hindu ancestry from her mother's side...
), from Institute for international studies at University of Delhi
University of Delhi
The University of Delhi is a central university situated in Delhi, India and is funded by Government of India. Established in 1922, it offers courses at the undergraduate and post-graduate level. Vice-President of India Mohammad Hamid Ansari is the Chancellor of the university...
. After few unsuccessful auditions, in search of the actors, Sue finally casts Sonia's friends, four young men - Daljit "DJ" (Aamir Khan
Aamir Khan
Aamir Hussain Khan is an Indian film actor, director and producer who has established himself as one of the leading actors of Hindi cinema....
), Karan Singhania (Siddharth Narayan
Siddharth Narayan
Siddharth Suryanaraynan , popularly known and credited as Siddharth, is an Indian film actor, playback singer and screenplay writer. After his business management studies, Siddharth chose to work in film making and worked as an assistant director before making his acting debut in the 2003 Tamil...
), Aslam Khan (Kunal Kapoor
Kunal Kapoor
Kunal Kapoor is an Indian actor who appears in Hindi cinema.-Career:Kapoor began his career as an assistant director on the Amitabh Bachchan starrer Aks. He began his acting career training under theatre legend Barry John. He continued his theatre career with Motley, a theater group run by...
) and Sukhi Ram (Sharman Joshi
Sharman Joshi
Sharman Joshi is an Indian film and theatre actor. He has worked on various stage productions in English, Hindi, Marathi and Gujarati languages. However, he is mostly known for his work in Hindi films.-Personal life :...
), to portray as the revolutionaries.
Though they aren't very enthusiastic at the idea of acting in a film about the independence movement, Sue eventually manages to convince them. Laxman Pandey (Atul Kulkarni
Atul Kulkarni
Atul Kulkarni born 10 September 1965 is an Indian actor who has won two National Awards and has superstar status in Marathi film industry after successful movies like Valu and Natarang....
), a political party activist, joins the cast later, despite initially being unpopular due to his anti-Muslim beliefs and contempt for Aslam. In the process of filming, the idealism of India's revolutionary heroes seeps into the protagonists. They gradually begin to realize that their own lives are quite similar to the characters they portray in Sue's film and that the state of affairs that once plagued the revolutionaries continues to torment their generation.
Meanwhile, Ajay Singh Rathod (R. Madhavan
R. Madhavan
R. Madhavan is an Indian actor, writer, film producer and television host. Madhavan has received a Filmfare Award, an award from the Tamil Nadu State Film Awards alongside recognition and nominations from other organisations...
), a Flight Lieutenant
Flight Lieutenant
Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many Commonwealth countries. It ranks above flying officer and immediately below squadron leader. The name of the rank is the complete phrase; it is never shortened to "lieutenant"...
in the Indian Air Force
Indian Air Force
The Indian Air Force is the air arm of the Indian armed forces. Its primary responsibility is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during a conflict...
who is Sonia's fiancé, is killed when his MiG-21
Mikoyan MiG-29
The Mikoyan MiG-29 is a fourth-generation jet fighter aircraft designed in the Soviet Union for an air superiority role. Developed in the 1970s by the Mikoyan design bureau, it entered service with the Soviet Air Force in 1983, and remains in use by the Russian Air Force as well as in many other...
crashes. The government proclaims that the crash was caused by pilot error and closes the investigation. Knowing that Rathod was an ace pilot, Sonia and her friends do not accept the official explanation. Instead, they claim that he sacrificed his life to save hundreds of other lives that would have been lost had he ejected from the aircraft and left the aircraft to crash into a populous city. They investigate and learn that the crash was due to a corrupt defence minister
Defence minister
A defence minister is a person in a cabinet position in charge of a Ministry of Defence, which regulates the armed forces in some sovereign nations...
(Mohan Agashe
Mohan Agashe
Mohan Agashe is an Indian theatre and film actor. He was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1996.-Biography:...
), who had signed a contract exchanging cheap and illegal MiG-21 aircraft spare parts for a personal favour. To their surprise, they also learn that the key person who was responsible for organizing the deal was Karan's father, Rajnath Singhania (Anupam Kher
Anupam Kher
Anupam Kher is an Indian actor who has appeared in nearly 400 films and 100 plays. Though mainly appearing in Bollywood films, he has had roles in some films from other nations as well...
).
Angered by the situation, the group and their supporters decide to protest peacefully at India Gate
India Gate
The India Gate is the national monument of India. Situated in the heart of New Delhi, India Gate was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, inspired by the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. It was built in 1931...
, a war memorial
War memorial
A war memorial is a building, monument, statue or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or to commemorate those who died or were injured in war.-Historic usage:...
in New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
. Police forcefully break up their protest using batons; in the process, Rathod's mother (Waheeda Rehman
Waheeda Rehman
Waheeda Rehman , is an Indian film actress who appears in Bollywood movies and is known for many successful and critically acclaimed movies from 1950's, 60's and early 70's most notably C.I.D. and Guru Dutt classics such as Pyaasa , 12 O'Clock , Kaagaz Ke Phool , Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam...
) is severely hurt and she slips into a coma. DJ, Karan, Aslam, Sukhi, and Laxman decide that they must emulate the early freedom fighters and resort to violence to achieve justice. As a result, they kill the defence minister to avenge Rathod's death, while Karan murders his father for his corrupt actions. The minister is reported to have been killed by terrorists and is hailed as a martyr by the media. To bring forth their intentions behind the killings, the five of them attempt to reach the public through a radio station. They forcibly take over the All India Radio
All India Radio
All India Radio , officially known since 1956 as Akashvani , is the radio broadcaster of India and a division of Prasar Bharati. Established in 1936, it is the sister service of Prasar Bharati's Doordarshan, the national television broadcaster. All India Radio is one of the largest radio networks...
station premises after having evacuated its employees. Karan goes on air and reveals the truth about the defence minister and his wrongdoings. While still on the air, the police proclaim that they are dangerous terrorists who have forcefully taken over the AIR, and therefore they are to be shot on sight. The first to be shot is Daljit, who tries to get out of cover and establish that they are not terrorists, however the shot is not a fatal one. Sukhi, unable to control his anger at this gets out and is instantly shot to death. He dies with the last smile still etched on his face. Aslam and Pandey are then shot together and the once archenemies die holding hands and smiling.
Daljit manages to crawl to the Recording Room, where Karan is still on air. When Karan understands that he has been shot, they speak amongst themselves for the last time, regarding the others, about Sue and about Daljit's love for her. It is there that they are shot to death, but not without the sound of their hearty laughter still hanging in the air like an echo of a long dead music. It is then revealed that Mc. Kinley described the third kind of people he came across as being the ones who embraced death as a friend and an equal, with a heartfelt laughter.
The film comes to an end with Sue describing the impact of the boys on her life. As Sue and Sonia watch from the rooftop that Ajay proposed to her on, they have a vision of the boys running in the fields, singing happily and victoriously throwing their shirts in the air, acting as if they are celebrating life itself, as if the ebb of their once-there vitality still reverberates in the places where they once used to go. A wave of melancholy comes over them as the film ends.
Development
Rakeysh Mehra took seven years to research and develop the story, including three to write the script. While some raised doubts about his morale following the failure of his last film, Aks, at the box office, he retorted by saying that it would not affect him at all. He added that not only did his storytelling technique improve, but past mistakes also had helped him improve his filmmaking abilities. Development of Rang De Basanti originated with several ideas Mehra came up with early on but later dropped or greatly evolved into new directions. One of these involved a group of youngsters who worked in an automobile repair shop, while another was about the life of Bhagat Singh, an Indian freedom revolutionary. During this time, he personally conducted a survey with a group of youths in New Delhi and MumbaiMumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
about the Indian revolutionaries he was planning on depicting, which indicated that many of children did not recognize the names of some of the most prominent revolutionaries. This led Mehra to believe that the sense of "patriotism had blurred" in the young generation. Because of this, he dropped his original plans in favor of a new idea in which a British documentary filmmaker on a visit to India realizes that the local "kids are more Western than her". This new story, which eventually formed the basis for Rang De Basantis script, was influenced by Mehra's upbringing, youth and experiences over the years, including his desire to join the Indian Air Force
Indian Air Force
The Indian Air Force is the air arm of the Indian armed forces. Its primary responsibility is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during a conflict...
while in school, as well as his recollections of listening to Independence Day
Independence Day (India)
The Independence Day of India is celebrated on the fifteenth of August to commemorate its independence from British rule and its birth as a sovereign nation in 1947. The day is a national holiday in India. All over the country, flag-hoisting ceremonies are conducted by the local administration in...
speeches and watching patriotic films such as Mother India
Mother India
Mother India is a 1957 Hindi film epic, written and directed by Mehboob Khan and starring Nargis, Sunil Dutt, Rajendra Kumar and Raaj Kumar. The film, a melodrama, is a remake of Mehboob Khan's earlier film, Aurat...
. Although Mehra denies that the film is autobiographical, he confessed that the character sketches were loosely inspired by himself and his friends.
Mehra approached Angad Paul after having been impressed with his production work on British films Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is a 1998 British crime film directed and written by Guy Ritchie. The story is a heist film involving a self-confident young card sharp who loses £500,000 to a powerful crime lord in a rigged game of three card brag...
and Snatch
Snatch (film)
Snatch is a 2000 crime film written and directed by British filmmaker Guy Ritchie, featuring an ensemble cast. Set in the London criminal underworld, the film contains two intertwined plots: one dealing with the search for a stolen diamond, the other with a small-time boxing promoter named Turkish ...
. Paul, who was keen to work in India, liked Mehra's story, and agreed to produce the film, bringing with him David Reid and Adam Bohling as executive producers. Despite having no prior knowledge of Hindi cinema, Reid and Bohling's belief in the script was strong enough that they each were willing to work at half their normal rate. While it was originally suggested that two different language versions of the film would be made concurrently, in English (as Paint it Yellow) and Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
, the plans for an English version were dropped during development. Mehra believed that English language version felt alien and that "one can tell a film in just one language". After the English version was dropped, the writer Kamlesh Pandey was brought on board to pen the first draft of the film in Hindi, marking the start of his screenwriting career. Thereafter Mehra and co-writer Rensil D'Silva took over the script, working on it for about two years. Prasoon Joshi
Prasoon Joshi
Prasoon Joshi is an Indian lyricist, screenwriter and advertising copywriter. A prolific Writer-Poet whose first book of 3 books "Main aur Woh" was published when he was 17 years of age, an internationally acclaimed Indian advertising professional, Bollywood film songwriter, as well as a...
, the film's lyricist, also worked on the dialogue for the film, marking his first venture into screenwriting.
The film suffered a significant setback when one of the initial producers ultimately failed to contribute any funds towards the film; the shortfall left production looking uncertain just two months away from the beginning of principal photography. However, after Aamir Khan
Aamir Khan
Aamir Hussain Khan is an Indian film actor, director and producer who has established himself as one of the leading actors of Hindi cinema....
agreed to act in the film, Mehra approached Ronnie Screwvala
Ronnie Screwvala
Ronnie Screwvala is an Indian film producer and CEO and founder chairman of which recently partnered with Walt Disney, Fox Searchlight, Sony and Will Smith's Overbrook Entertainment production company, expanding its global reach.In September 2008, he was named amongst, Esquires List of the 75...
of UTV Motion Pictures with the script. Screwvala, who supported Mehra from the beginning of the film's production, had faith in the film, reasoning that in historical films, "the treatment and execution is very different from regular masala
Masala (film genre)
Masala is a term given to films of Indian cinema that mix various genres in one film. Typically these films freely mix action, comedy, romance, and drama or melodrama. These films tend to be musicals that include songs filmed in picturesque locations...
fare", and that such films "find favour with the audience owing to their elaborate sets and period costumes". The film's budget was reported as Rs.
Indian rupee
The Indian rupee is the official currency of the Republic of India. The issuance of the currency is controlled by the Reserve Bank of India....
250 million (approximately US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
5.5 million), and despite going a little over the initially planned budget, Mehra did not have any serious disagreements with UTV.
Casting
Aamir KhanAamir Khan
Aamir Hussain Khan is an Indian film actor, director and producer who has established himself as one of the leading actors of Hindi cinema....
agreed to act in the film immediately after reading Mehra's script. Mehra described his character as a simple man with a strong sense of integrity and dignity. Khan, who would turn 40 during the film shoot, lost about 10 kilograms (22 lb) with a strict diet and exercise regime in order to more convincingly depict a man in his late twenties. Atul Kulkarni
Atul Kulkarni
Atul Kulkarni born 10 September 1965 is an Indian actor who has won two National Awards and has superstar status in Marathi film industry after successful movies like Valu and Natarang....
and Kunal Kapoor
Kunal Kapoor
Kunal Kapoor is an Indian actor who appears in Hindi cinema.-Career:Kapoor began his career as an assistant director on the Amitabh Bachchan starrer Aks. He began his acting career training under theatre legend Barry John. He continued his theatre career with Motley, a theater group run by...
were publicly attached to the film by the time it was officially announced; Kapoor had been the assistant director to Mehra during the filming of Aks, and therefore was already familiar with the material Mehra had been developing. Mehra gave Kulkarni biographies of Ram Prasad Bismil
Ram Prasad Bismil
Ram Prasad Bismil Ram Prasad Bismil Ram Prasad Bismil (Hindi: राम प्रसाद 'बिस्मिल', Gujarati: રામપ્રસાદ બિસ્મિલ, (Malayalam: രാം പ്രസാദ് ബിസ്മിൽ, Tamil: ராம் பிரசாத் பிஸ்மில், Born: 11 June 1897, Executed: 19 December 1927) was an Indian revolutionary who participated in Mainpuri Shadyantra of...
as preparation, including Bismil's autobiography. Early rumors indicated that actors Arjun Rampal
Arjun Rampal
Arjun Rampal , born 26 November 1972, is an award-winning Indian actor who appears in Bollywood films, as well as a fashion model.- Film career :...
and Arjan Bajwa
Arjan Bajwa
Arjan Bajwa is an Indian actor who has acted in Telugu and Hindi films.-Background:Born and brought up in Delhi, His father was the Deputy Mayor of Delhi - S. S Bajwa and his mother is a homemaker. Arjan has a Graduation degree in Architecture. He used screen name Deepak for the Telugu movies...
would be amongst the male leads, but these roles ultimately were filled by Sharman Joshi
Sharman Joshi
Sharman Joshi is an Indian film and theatre actor. He has worked on various stage productions in English, Hindi, Marathi and Gujarati languages. However, he is mostly known for his work in Hindi films.-Personal life :...
, Siddharth Narayan
Siddharth Narayan
Siddharth Suryanaraynan , popularly known and credited as Siddharth, is an Indian film actor, playback singer and screenplay writer. After his business management studies, Siddharth chose to work in film making and worked as an assistant director before making his acting debut in the 2003 Tamil...
and R. Madhavan
R. Madhavan
R. Madhavan is an Indian actor, writer, film producer and television host. Madhavan has received a Filmfare Award, an award from the Tamil Nadu State Film Awards alongside recognition and nominations from other organisations...
. The film marked Siddharth's Bollywood debut, following on the success of his Telugu film Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana
Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana
Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana is a 2005 Telugu Film. The movie stars Siddharth and Trisha Krishnan in the pivotal roles. The film is directed by Prabhu Deva...
. Having previously worked as an assistant director
Assistant director
The role of an Assistant director include tracking daily progress against the filming production schedule, arranging logistics, preparing daily call sheets, checking cast and crew, maintaining order on the set. They also have to take care of health and safety of the crew...
, Siddharth praised Mehra as being "by far the most ambitious technical filmmaker in Indian cinema". Madhavan, despite being a well-known Tamil cinema actor, took the smaller role of a fighter aircraft
Fighter aircraft
A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...
pilot because he was convinced of the film's potential and wanted to be a part of it. Om Puri
Om Puri
Om Puri is an Indian actor who has appeared in both mainstream Indian films and art films. His credits also include appearances in British and American films. He has received an honorary OBE.-Early life:...
also appears in a two-scene cameo as Aslam's staunch Muslim father.
Soha Ali Khan
Soha Ali Khan
- Early life :Khan was born into the erstwhile princely family of Pataudi. She has Muslim Pashtun ancestry through Nawabs of Pataudi lineage from her father's side and Bengali Hindu ancestry from her mother's side...
and Alice Patten
Alice Patten
Alice Patten is an English actress, and the daughter of Chris Patten, a prominent British Conservative politician and the last governor of Hong Kong. She has played a key role in the Hindi film Rang De Basanti...
immediately became Mehra's clear favorites for each of their roles during casting, which led to Patten flying to Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
for a screen test with the entire cast. She was informed that she had won the documentary filmmaker role after she returned home to the United Kingdom. Soha, portraying the pilot's fiancée, also was filming Rituparna Ghosh's Antarmahal and David Dhawan
David Dhawan
David Dhawan is an Indian film director. He has studied at the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune.-Career:Dhawan started off as an editor and then took the plunge into directing...
's comedy Shaadi No. 1
Shaadi No. 1
Shaadi No.1 is an Indian film released in November 2005. The film directed by David Dhawan stars Sanjay Dutt, Fardeen Khan, Zayed Khan, Sharman Joshi, Ayesha Takia, Soha Ali Khan, Esha Deol, Riya Sen, Aarti Chhabria, Sophia Chaudhary and Satish Shah...
concurrently with her work in Rang De Basanti. In particular, the demands of her emotional scenes in Antarmahal often left her exhausted, thus requiring "a lot of personal overhauling" to ensure that her performance in Rang De Basanti was unaffected. During filming, reports indicated that co-stars Siddharth and Soha had become romantically involved with each other. Alongside the two lead actresses, Lakh Tandon played the role of Amir's Grand Father and Kirron Kher
Kirron Kher
Kirron Kher is an Indian theatre, film and television actress and a TV talk show host.- Early life :Kirron Kher was born in Bangalore in a JatSikh family of Punjabi background. She was brought up in Chandigarh, Punjab, where she did her schooling and later college from Panjab University, Chandigarh...
played the mother of Khan's character.
Filming
The film, which was shot in New DelhiNew Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
, Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
, Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
and Punjab
Punjab (India)
Punjab ) is a state in the northwest of the Republic of India, forming part of the larger Punjab region. The state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the east, Haryana to the south and southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest as well as the Pakistani province of Punjab to the...
, was officially launched at a hotel on 1 February 2005. When shooting began, Mehra made an announcement to his crew saying that they would enjoy their holiday only in July.
Instead of filming at the actual locations from the script, other locations were selected for picturisation. One such scene is where Soha Ali Khan
Soha Ali Khan
- Early life :Khan was born into the erstwhile princely family of Pataudi. She has Muslim Pashtun ancestry through Nawabs of Pataudi lineage from her father's side and Bengali Hindu ancestry from her mother's side...
is filmed at the India Habitat Center that masquerades as the University of Delhi
University of Delhi
The University of Delhi is a central university situated in Delhi, India and is funded by Government of India. Established in 1922, it offers courses at the undergraduate and post-graduate level. Vice-President of India Mohammad Hamid Ansari is the Chancellor of the university...
. On similar lines, New Delhi's Modern School
Modern School (New Delhi)
Modern School, commonly known as Modern, is a co-educational private school in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1920 by Lala Raghubir Singh and Sir Sobha Singh. Considered to be one of the elite schools, Modern is also referred to as the Eton of India. It is the first private school established...
at Barakhamba Road served as the location for all the scenes pertinent to All India Radio
All India Radio
All India Radio , officially known since 1956 as Akashvani , is the radio broadcaster of India and a division of Prasar Bharati. Established in 1936, it is the sister service of Prasar Bharati's Doordarshan, the national television broadcaster. All India Radio is one of the largest radio networks...
station, which is shown to be stormed by the youngsters in the film. The Delhi Tourism department was happy to encourage filming in the city if it helped promote tourism, though any filming near India Gate
India Gate
The India Gate is the national monument of India. Situated in the heart of New Delhi, India Gate was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, inspired by the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. It was built in 1931...
was prohibited due to the ensuing bureaucratic paperwork. Similar issues with bureaucracy were faced by Mehra while filming at the Jaipur
Jaipur
Jaipur , also popularly known as the Pink City, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. Founded on 18 November 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amber, the city today has a population of more than 3.1 million....
Fort. To use a historical location for filming, they had to seek permissions of seven different officials ranging from the local police to the Archaeological Survey of India
Archaeological Survey of India
The Archaeological Survey of India is a department of the Government of India, attached to the Ministry of Culture . The ASI is responsible for archaeological studies and the preservation of archaeological heritage of the country in accordance with the various acts of the Indian Parliament...
office. Nahargarh Fort
Nahargarh Fort
Nahargarh Fort stands on the edge of the Aravalli Hills, overlooking the pinkest city of Jaipur in the Indian state of Rajasthan. The view of the city from the fort is breath taking. Along with Amber Fort and Jaigarh Fort it formed a strong defence ring for the city...
, which oversees the city of Jaipur, was another such historical location where one of the songs was filmed. Besides these locations, the filming was also done at Amritsar
Amritsar
Amritsar is a city in the northern part of India and is the administrative headquarters of Amritsar district in the state of Punjab, India. The 2001 Indian census reported the population of the city to be over 1,500,000, with that of the entire district numbering 3,695,077...
's Golden Temple
Harmandir Sahib
The Harmandir Sahib also Darbar Sahib , also referred to as the Golden Temple, is a prominent Sikh gurdwara located in the city of Amritsar, Punjab . Construction of the gurdwara was begun by Guru Ram Das, the fourth Sikh Guru, and completed by his successor, Guru Arjan Dev...
. For Aamir Khan, a Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
by belief, it was for the first time that he was playing a North India
North India
North India, known natively as Uttar Bhārat or Shumālī Hindustān , is a loosely defined region in the northern part of India. The exact meaning of the term varies by usage...
n Punjabi
Punjabi language
Punjabi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the historical Punjab region . For Sikhs, the Punjabi language stands as the official language in which all ceremonies take place. In Pakistan, Punjabi is the most widely spoken language...
character and hence it took him some time to get the right dialect and diction. While speaking about his experience of visiting the temple for the first time, he said:
It's one of the most peaceful places I've been to. As you enter the place there's a certain serenity that surrounds you. I really enjoyed being there. The first shot we took was of our feet entering the water just as you pass the doorway of the temple. The water was cold but it was great!
Once the locations were finalized, the team of Lovleen Bains and Arjun Bhasin was chosen for designing the look of the film. Bhasin had previously worked on Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love
Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love
Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love is a 1996 American drama film directed by Mira Nair. The film takes its title from the ancient Indian text, the Kama Sutra, but this only serves as a common link between the characters....
(1996) and Dil Chahta Hai
Dil Chahta Hai
Dil Chahta Hai is a 2001 Indian film starring Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Akshaye Khanna, Preity Zinta, Sonali Kulkarni, and Dimple Kapadia...
(2001), the latter of which featured Aamir Khan, and he was referred to Mehra by Khan due to their previous association. Since the film's plot focused on men in their late twenties, Bhasin designed their look accordingly. Although he was responsible for Khan's rebellious look, Sharman Joshi's (who played Sukhi) lovable persona or Madhavan's dignified appearance, Bhasin credited Bains for her major contributions to the film. Khan's hair was styled by Avan Contractor, who came up with soft curls falling over Khan's forehead. This new look, which took Contractor one hour to come up with, surprised the audience at the film's launch.
In post-production, the visual effects were handled by Tata Elxsi's Visual Computing Labs. The military aircraft they created for the film was so realistic that the Indian Air Force
Indian Air Force
The Indian Air Force is the air arm of the Indian armed forces. Its primary responsibility is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during a conflict...
called to check the producer's permission of using an actual MiG-21.
Music
The soundtrack of Rang De Basanti, which was released by Sony BMG, featured music composed by A. R. RahmanA. R. Rahman
Allah Rakha Rahman is an Indian composer, singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and philanthropist. Described as the world's most prominent and prolific film composer by Time, his works are notable for integrating eastern classical music with electronic music sounds, world music genres and...
and lyrics penned by Prasoon Joshi
Prasoon Joshi
Prasoon Joshi is an Indian lyricist, screenwriter and advertising copywriter. A prolific Writer-Poet whose first book of 3 books "Main aur Woh" was published when he was 17 years of age, an internationally acclaimed Indian advertising professional, Bollywood film songwriter, as well as a...
and Blaaze
Blaaze
Blaaze is a rap artist and a popular playback singer in Indian films. An Indian by birth, born in Chennai, he grew up in Zambia and later did his education in England and in the US...
, an India-based rapper
Rapping
Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
. From the film's announcement in April 2005, Rahman was slated to compose the music. In a press conference with pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
singer Nelly Furtado
Nelly Furtado
Nelly Kim Furtado is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Furtado grew up in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.Furtado first gained fame with her debut album, Whoa, Nelly!, and its single "I'm Like a Bird", which won a 2001 Juno Award for Single of the Year and a 2002 Grammy...
, he said that she was to originally have featured on the soundtrack, although this was ultimately prevented from happening due to a change in producers and other factors. Aamir Khan, with his knowledge of Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
and Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
, worked with Rahman and Joshi for the film's soundtrack. In addition, Mehra and Rahman chose him to sing for one of the songs.
Joshi, one of the lyricists, was impressed with the director, Rakeysh Mehra, who was ready to adjust to his style of writing as well as his creativity. Confessing that the film's soundtrack was his favorite out of all his previous works, Joshi felt that it "was a wonderful experience getting to know the mindset of today's youth and to pen down their feelings". Speaking about one of his songs, "Luka Chuppi", in which veteran Lata Mangeshkar
Lata Mangeshkar
Lata Mangeshkar is a singer from India. She is one of the best-known and most respected playback singers in India. Mangeshkar's career started in 1942 and has spanned over six and a half decades. She has recorded songs for over a thousand Hindi films and has sung songs in over thirty-six regional...
sang with Rahman, Joshi said that it was developed while discussing with Rahman the scene about a mother losing her son. Joshi wrote the lyrics about the mother and son playing hide-and-seek with the sad reality of the son being hidden forever. He confessed to have been in tears while Mangeshkar was singing the song. The soundtrack won the Filmfare Best Music Director Award
Filmfare Best Music Director Award
The Filmfare Best Music Director Award is given by the Filmfare magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films, to the best composer/arranger of a soundtrack. This category was first presented in 1954. Naushad was the first recipient of this award for his song "Tu Ganga Ki Mauj"...
, and had two of its tracks, Khalbali and Luka Chuppi, considered for an Academy Award for Best Original Song
Academy Award for Best Original Song
The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...
nomination.
While discussing typical Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
soundtracks, Nilanjana Bhattacharjya, a professor of music at Colorado College
Colorado College
The Colorado College is a private liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States, in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. It was founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell...
noted that Rahman integrated traditional Punjabi cultural elements within his music for this soundtrack. Regionally defined elements such as a woman's prayer at the Sikh Gurudwara (Golden Temple) and the bhangra harvest dance are incorporated alongside more contemporary, global styles such as hard rock and hip hop to depict the cosmopolitan lifestyle of the youngsters in the film.
Release
Rang De Basanti received its world premiere on 26 January 2006, with high expectations that it would be a success with western audiences, though it also faced ire from several organizations because of certain controversial scenes. The film contained scenes of a MiG-21, a controversial aircraft in the Indian Air ForceIndian Air Force
The Indian Air Force is the air arm of the Indian armed forces. Its primary responsibility is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during a conflict...
, which has a long history of fatal accidents in India. Promptly, the Indian Defence Ministry raised concerns, causing the Indian censor board
Central Board of Film Certification
The Central Board of Film Certification is a Government of India regulatory body and censorship board of India controlled by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. It reviews, rates and censors motion pictures, television shows, television ads, and promotional material...
to urge the filmmakers to seek clearance from the ministry. Accordingly, Khan and Mehra screened the film for the then Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee
Pranab Mukherjee
Pranab Kumar Mukherjee is the current Finance Minister of India and leader of the current Lok Sabha.Mukherjee is a senior member of the Cabinet Committees on Economic Affairs, Infrastructure, Parliamentary Affairs, Political Affairs, Prices, Security, Unique Identification Authority of India,...
along with other top officials from the armed forces. One Air Force official reportedly said that it was "not a review, but a preview". After the special screening, the defence ministry did not insist on any cuts, but on their recommendation more names were added to the slide that dedicates the film to deceased MiG pilots. After this clearance, the Animal Welfare Board raised objections on the use of animals in the film. Although the filmmakers had obtained a No Objection Certificate
No Objection Certificate
No Objection Certificate or popularly abbreviated as NOC is a type of legal certificate issued by any agency, organization, institute or in certain cases, an individual, that does not object to the covenants of the certificate. This certification is a requirement at most of the government-based...
from the board officials, Maneka Gandhi
Maneka Gandhi
Maneka Gandhi is an Indian politician, animal rights activist, environmentalist, former model and widow of the Indian politician, Sanjay Gandhi. She has been a minister in four governments, and has authored a number of books in the areas of etymology, law and animal welfare...
, a well-known animal rights
Animal rights
Animal rights, also known as animal liberation, is the idea that the most basic interests of non-human animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings...
activist and member of the welfare board, found flaws in this certificate. Subsequently, this certificate was revoked and with only a few days left for the world premiere, Mehra personally requested Gandhi to reconsider her objection. After another viewing, the board cleared their objection stating that the use of animals in the film was natural and justified. However, after they recommended the deletion of a 20-second scene that depicted a banned horse race conducted by the Nihang
Nihang
Nihang is an armed Sikh order. Early Sikh military history is dominated by the Akali Nihang military order, particularly for many famous military victories won while often heavily outnumbered. The Akali Nihang have historically been held in great affection and respect by Sikhs due the pivotal role...
Sikh
Sikh
A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...
s, the filmmakers deleted this scene. Mrs. Kavita Gadgil whose son, late Flight Lieutenant Abhijeet Gadgil was killed when his MiG-21 fighter crashed, objected to the film's release because she believed that the film was loosely based on her son's life and the producers should have shown her the film. In response, Kamlesh Pandey, one of the writers of the film, said that the film was not inspired by Abhijeet Gadgil.
The film was screened at several international film festivals. In 2006, it premiered in France with the Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
Asiexpo Film Festival, the Wisconsin Film Festival
Wisconsin Film Festival
The Wisconsin Film Festival is an annual film festival, founded in 1999. The five-day long festival is held every April in Madison, Wisconsin.The Festival presents a broad range of independent American and world cinema , restorations and revivals, and locally made pictures from Wisconsin filmmakers...
and the Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
-based International Film Festival of Marrakech
International Film Festival of Marrakech
The International Film Festival of Marrakech is an international film festival held annually in Marrakech, Morocco.-Overview:Since its inaugural year in 2000, the FIFM has been one of the biggest events devoted to Moroccan cinema...
. As a part of the publicity, the cast, visited prominent University campuses in New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
, Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
, Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
, Hyderabad and Pune
Pune
Pune , is the eighth largest metropolis in India, the second largest in the state of Maharashtra after Mumbai, and the largest city in the Western Ghats. Once the centre of power of the Maratha Empire, it is situated 560 metres above sea level on the Deccan plateau at the confluence of the Mula ...
with an intention of interacting with the students. After hiring international experts for the film's publicity, the marketing expenditure for the film grew to 40 percent of the total production budget of Rs.
Indian rupee
The Indian rupee is the official currency of the Republic of India. The issuance of the currency is controlled by the Reserve Bank of India....
250 million (approximately US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
5.5 million). This expenditure was unprecedented in Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
because usually the Indian filmmakers spend only about five percent of their production budget on marketing. Out of the Rs. 100 million (approximately US$2.2 million) marketing campaign, a fifth of it came from the producers while the rest was obtained through brand tie-ups and partnering.
Since Rahman's last musical success, Saathiya, was back in 2002, there were high expectations from the soundtrack in the media. The soundtrack, first released commercially in early December 2005, generally received above average reviews. One of the songs, Masti ki paatshaala (translation: Classroom of Fun), was voted as the "Song of the year" for 2006 by leading Indian television channels, while two compositions were considered for an Academy Award nomination.
Before its theatrical release, the producers tied up with several top brands to help in the marketing the film. An alliance was formed with The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation and manufacturer, retailer and marketer of non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups. The company is best known for its flagship product Coca-Cola, invented in 1886 by pharmacist John Stith Pemberton in Columbus, Georgia...
by releasing special edition bottles to commemorate the film's release, a first of its kind in Bollywood. Besides this, the music CDs and cassettes were co-branded with the cola company along with the launch of the sale of collectible
Collectible
A collectable or collectible is any object regarded as being of value or interest to a collector . There are numerous types of collectables and terms to denote those types. An antique is a collectable that is old...
s from the film. Provogue, a well-known clothing retail chain in India, launched a special limited edition clothing merchandise targeting the youth of India. Besides these, the producers collaborated with LG Group
LG Group
LG Corp. is the second-largest South Korean conglomerate company following Samsung, and it is headquartered in the LG Twin Towers in Yeouido-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. LG produces electronics, chemicals, and telecommunications products and operates subsidiaries like LG Electronics, LG Display,...
, Berger Paints, Bharti Airtel
Bharti Airtel
Bharti Airtel Limited , commonly known as Airtel, is an Indian telecommunications company that operates in 20 countries across South Asia, Africa and the Channel Islands. It operates a GSM network in all countries, providing 2G or 3G services depending upon the country of operation...
and Hindustan Petroleum
Hindustan Petroleum
Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited , is an Indian state-owned oil company headquartered at Mumbai, India and is a Fortune 500 company of India listed at number 336....
. The producers tied up with several media partners such as MSN
MSN
MSN is a collection of Internet sites and services provided by Microsoft. The Microsoft Network debuted as an online service and Internet service provider on August 24, 1995, to coincide with the release of the Windows 95 operating system.The range of services offered by MSN has changed since its...
India, Channel V
Channel V
Channel [V] is the brand name for multiple international music television networks owned by STAR TV and Fox International Channels, fully owned subsidiaries of News Corporation.-Channel [V] International:...
and Radio Mirchi
Radio Mirchi
Radio Mirchi is a nationwide network of private FM radio stations in India. It is owned by the Entertainment Network India Ltd , which is one of the subsidiaries of The Times Group....
to further enhance their marketing efforts. A video game launched by an Indian mobile content company was based on an adaptation of the film's plot.
In India, The Hindu
The Hindu
The Hindu is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded and continuously published in Chennai since 1878. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it has a circulation of 1.46 million copies as of December 2009. The enterprise employed over 1,600 workers and gross income reached $40...
reported that with audiences from the metropolitan cities turning out in large numbers, Rang De Basanti was notching up record collections in its opening week. Accordingly, 55 percent of the film's revenues came from multiplexes in these cities. While the opening week box-office collections from Mumbai, the home of Bollywood, were reported to be over Rs. 40 million (approximately US$880,000), theaters in New Delhi earned about half of Mumbai's revenue. Throughout the country, the cumulative collections in the first week was about Rs. 80 million (approximately US$1.76 million). Overseas collections from the United States, United Kingdom and Australia were collectively put at over Rs. 60 million (approximately US$1.32 million) for the same week. Released in about 60 theaters in the United States, the film grossed Rs. 31 million (approximately US$700,000) in its opening weekend and earned Rs. 99 million (approximately US$2.2 million) within 10 weeks. With Rs. 1.23 billion (approximately US$27 million) alone coming from the Indian territory, the film earned more than Rs. 1.36 billion (approximately US$30 million) worldwide. Currently, the film holds the record for the highest-grossing film to be released in January.
Within a week of the film's theatrical release, pirated copies of the film priced at Rs. 10 million (approximately US$220,000) were seized at an Indian airport. A report carried out by The Times of India
The Times of India
The Times of India is an Indian English-language daily newspaper. TOI has the largest circulation among all English-language newspaper in the world, across all formats . It is owned and managed by Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd...
highlighted piracy on the internet where movies like Rang De Basanti could be downloaded freely. To counter this, UTV Motion Pictures launched anti-piracy raids on local retailers in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Houston and Dallas, which consist of a fairly large Indian diaspora. This was to ensure that there would be no pirated DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
sales before its intended DVD release on 15 March 2006. The DVD release sold more than 70,000 copies over six months, and as a result the film was the highest selling title at the time of its release.
Critical reception
Critics gave the film an overwhelmingly positive response, in particular the ensemble cast's performance and credibility. Although The Indian ExpressThe Indian Express
The Indian Express is an Indian English-language daily newspaper. It is published in Mumbai by Indian Express Group. After Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split in 1999 among his family members into two with the southern editions taking the name The New Indian Express, while the old...
spoke positively of the cinematography and the film's story, it noted that "the message that the film carries with it tends to get diluted towards the climax. Praising the film's cast for their performance and the cinematography of Binod Pradhan
Binod Pradhan
Binod Pradhan is an acclaimed Indian cinematographer whose creative visuals and cutting-edge imagery have left their mark on Indian cinema. Some his award-winning works include 1942 A Love Story, Devdas, Rang De Basanti, Mission Kashmir, Munna Bhai M.B.B.S...
, Taran Ardash wrote that the film would be successful with the urban audiences. The Hindustan Times
Hindustan Times
Hindustan Times is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded in 1924 with roots in the Indian independence movement of the period ....
summarized the film as being a "well-scripted, skilfully crafted [and] thought-provoking entertainer". Saisuresh Sivaswamy of Rediff.com
Rediff.com
Rediff.com India is a news, information, entertainment, and shopping portal. It was founded in 1996 as "Rediff On The NeT" and is headquartered in Mumbai, India with offices in New Delhi and New York City, USA....
wrote that films like Rang De Basanti can easily get into "preachiness", but believed Mehra got his message across while avoiding this, also appreciating the music, cinematography, dialogues and art direction. The Hindu
The Hindu
The Hindu is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded and continuously published in Chennai since 1878. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it has a circulation of 1.46 million copies as of December 2009. The enterprise employed over 1,600 workers and gross income reached $40...
credited Kamlesh Pandey for writing a story that would have been a difficult film to make, but it added by saying that the transformation of the youngsters into heroes seemed poetic. Although the screenplay, direction and the cast were also well-appreciated, the reviewer felt that Rahman's soundtrack lacked pace.
The film also received positive reviews from critics outside India. The review from the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
gave it the highest possible five star rating
Star (classification)
Stars are often used as symbols for classification purposes. They are used by reviewers for ranking things such as movies, TV shows, restaurants, and hotels. For example, one to five stars is commonly employed to categorize hotels.-Restaurant ratings:...
and added that it was "an entertaining mix of romance, history and social commentary". Although the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
spoke highly of the film's production values, the music and the cast, it baulks at certain flaws in the film making such as Mehra's muddled message of political assassination and poorly developed characters and situations. Derek Elley of Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
praised the technical crew and although he positively reviewed A. R. Rahman's music, he said it will remain unmemorable. Despite these points, he said that "the movie remains disengaging at a personal, emotional level", thereby weakening the climax. The Bloomberg
Bloomberg L.P.
Bloomberg L.P. is an American privately held financial software, media, and data company. Bloomberg makes up one third of the $16 billion global financial data market with estimated revenue of $6.9 billion. Bloomberg L.P...
website wrote positively about "the raw energy of a young cast and A. R. Rahman's splendidly rousing soundtrack".
2007 Academy Awards Best Foreign Film submission
Since the film "reflected contemporary Indian reality and had cinematic excellence", it was chosen as India's official entry for the 79th Academy Awards79th Academy Awards
The 79th Academy Awards ceremony , honored the best films of 2006 and took place on February 25, 2007 at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood on ABC. Ellen DeGeneres hosted the ceremony for the first time. The producer was Laura Ziskin. The announcers were Don LaFontaine and Gina Tuttle.The nominees were...
despite stiff competition from films such as Krrish
Krrish
Krrish is a 2006 Indian superhero science-fiction film The film was directed, produced, and written by Rakesh Roshan, while the screenplay was written by Robin Bhatt, Sachin Bhowmick, Honey Irani, Akarsh Khurana, and Sanjay Masoom. The film is a sequel to Koi.....
, Lage Raho Munna Bhai
Lage Raho Munna Bhai
Lage Raho Munna Bhai is a 2006 Indian musical comedy film directed by Rajkumar Hirani and produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra. It is the second film in the popular Munna Bhai series of Bollywood. Sanjay Dutt stars in this film as Munna Bhai, a Mumbai underworld don, who begins to see the spirit of...
, Omkara
Omkara (film)
Omkara is a 2006 Indian film adaptation of Shakespeare’s Othello, co-written and directed by Vishal Bhardwaj. It starred Ajay Devgan, Saif Ali Khan, and Kareena Kapoor in the lead roles, supported by Vivek Oberoi, Naseeruddin Shah, and Konkona Sen Sharma with a cameo role from Bipasha Basu...
and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna
Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna
Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna commonly known as KANK is a 2006 Bollywood film directed by Karan Johar and produced under the Dharma Productions banner...
. While discussing if the selection committee's choice was correct, critics felt that the Academy members could have better related with Omkara, an adaptation of Shakespeare's play
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
Othello
Othello
The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
. Despite these qualms and Mehra's belief that his film did not stand a chance at the Oscars, the efforts to publicize the film in the United States began earnestly. Music composer A. R. Rahman performed several concerts across the East Coast
East Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
to promote the film. Besides his efforts, producer Screwvala planned to use resources and expertise from his partners in 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
and Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...
for organizing its publicity efforts. When the nominations in the foreign film category did not feature this film, it sparked off debates on whether the film should have been India's entry for the Oscars. In one such debate on a television channel that involved Screwvala, the selection committee was questioned about its knowledge of the requisite artistic criteria for such award ceremonies. While one outcome of the debate was on how Omkara would have been a better choice, the other discussed the West
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
-centric sensibilities of the Academy members. However, results from a simultaneously conducted SMS
SMS
SMS is a form of text messaging communication on phones and mobile phones. The terms SMS or sms may also refer to:- Computer hardware :...
poll indicated that 62 percent felt that the film was the right choice for the Oscars.
Awards and nominations
Rang De Basanti received the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome EntertainmentNational Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment
The National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment winners:1981 to 1984 and 1992, 1986 & 1977 No Award was given....
in addition to awards at a number of other ceremonies. It won several awards at the annual India-based Filmfare Awards
Filmfare Awards
The Filmfare Awards are presented annually by The Times Group to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Hindi language film industry of India. The Filmfare ceremony is one of the oldest and most prominent film events given for Hindi films in India. The awards were...
including Best Movie
Filmfare Best Movie Award
The Filmfare Best Film Award is given by the Filmfare magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films.The award was first given in 1954. Here is a list of the award winners and the nominees of the respective years...
, Best Director
Filmfare Best Director Award
The Filmfare Best Director Award is one of the main awards presented given by the annual Filmfare Awards to recognise directors working in the Hindi film Industry. It was first presented in 1954 in the inaugural year.-Superlatives:...
, Best Music Director
Filmfare Best Music Director Award
The Filmfare Best Music Director Award is given by the Filmfare magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films, to the best composer/arranger of a soundtrack. This category was first presented in 1954. Naushad was the first recipient of this award for his song "Tu Ganga Ki Mauj"...
, Critics Best Performance - Male (Aamir Khan), Best Editing
Filmfare Best Editing Award
The Filmfare Best Editing Award is given by the Filmfare magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films.-List:-External links:* *...
(P. S. Bharathi), Best Cinematography
Filmfare Best Cinematographer Award
The Filmfare Best Cinematography Award is given by the Filmfare magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films.The awards started in 1953-Superlatives:Most AwardsKamal Bose - 5Radhoo Karmakar - 4Fali Mistry - 3Jal Mistry - 3...
and RD Burman Award for New Music
Filmfare RD Burman Award for New Music Talent
The Filmfare R.D. Burman Award for New Music Talent is given by the Filmfare magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films.The award is named after late R.D. Burman...
(Naresh Iyer
Naresh Iyer
Naresh Iyer is a playback singer from Chennai, India. Naresh Iyer has rendered film songs in several Indian languages and has several chart hits to his credit. His rendition of "Roobaroo" from the movie Rang De Basanti composed by A. R. Rahman topped the music charts for many weeks in 2006 and won...
) categories. It also won the 2007 International Indian Film Academy awards for Best Movie
IIFA Best Movie Award
The IIFA Best Movie Award is chosen via a worldwide poll and the winner is announced at the ceremony.The winners are listed below:...
, Best Supporting Actress
IIFA Best Supporting Actress Award
The IIFA Best Supporting Actress Award is chosen by the viewers and the winner is announced at the ceremony.The award is given in the current year but the actress who wins it is awarded for the previous year.The winners are listed below:-- See also :...
(Soha Ali Khan), Best Screenplay (Rensil D'Silva and Rakeysh Mehra) and Best Music
IIFA Best Music Director Award
The IIFA Best Music Director Award is chosen by the viewers and the winner is announced at the actual ceremony.The winners are listed below: A.R.Rahman has the most awards with 6 wins.- See also :* IIFA Awards* Bollywood* Cinema of India...
among other technical awards. Apart from these, the film won eight awards apiece at the 2006 Global Indian Film Awards
Global Indian Film Awards
Global Indian Film Awards was an awards ceremony held between 2005 and 2007, conceptualized to acknowledge excellence in the Indian Film industry and honour artists in 23 categories across various genres, from acting to film making. It is held in a different country each year. 2005 in Dubai,...
and 2007 Star Screen Awards
Star Screen Awards
The Star Screen Awards is an annual awards ceremony in India honoring professional excellence in film. The nomination and award selection is done by a panel of distinguished professional from the industry itself.- History :...
, and six at the 2007 Zee Cine Awards
Zee Cine Awards
The Zee Cine Awards or "ZCA" for short is an awards ceremony for the Hindi film industry. It was first held in 1998 in Mumbai. Since then, it has gained substantial popularity as a notable awards ceremony to the Indian population as well as to the viewers of Zee Network.In 2004, the ZCA went...
.
The film was also nominated for the Best Film not in English language
BAFTA Award for Best Film
This page lists the winners and nominees for the BAFTA Award for Best Film, BAFTA Award for Best Film not in the English Language and Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film for each year, in addition to the retired earlier versions of those awards...
at the 2007 British Academy of Film and Television Arts
British Academy of Film and Television Arts
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a charity in the United Kingdom that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation.-Introduction:...
awards.
Social influence
Rang De Basanti had a noticeable impact on Indian society. A study of bloggers behavioral patterns during the first month of the film's release revealed a significant increase in public ire towards government and politicians for constantly being mired in corruption and bureaucracy and their inefficiency in providing basic amenities. Intense political discussions spurred on by the film's influence were observed in these patterns. While commenting on this, writer D'Silva said that the film "has struck a chord somewhere". Besides instigating political thought and discussions, it evoked social awakening for many. Some discussions rallied on how citizens should support and contribute to non-governmental organizationNon-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...
s and exercising simple citizen duties of paying taxes and voting, while the others contemplated on how to become more responsible towards the country. Unlike other Indian films with jingoistic overtones, many young Indians could relate well to the characters of this film.
While such reactions were observed on the Internet, youth activism took to streets to protest on public interest issues. A direct impact was on the 1999 Jessica Lall Murder Case, one of the high-profile murder cases in India. A month after the film's release, a court acquitted the main accused because of inefficient prosecution and hostile witness
Hostile witness
A hostile witness is a witness in a trial who testifies for the opposing party or a witness who offers adverse testimony to the calling party during direct examination.A witness called by the opposing party is presumed hostile...
es. This sparked intense civil protests and media campaigns that sought his re-arrest. Taking cue from the scene in which the protagonists hold a silent, candlelight vigil at New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
's India Gate
India Gate
The India Gate is the national monument of India. Situated in the heart of New Delhi, India Gate was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, inspired by the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. It was built in 1931...
, one such group of demonstrators carried out a similar rally to voice their protest. Shortly thereafter, a survey was conducted to assess reasons for the sudden upsurge in people's social involvements. Eighteen percent of the respondents felt that movies like Rang De Basanti were the main reason behind it. Another such massive youth activism was seen in the Priyadarshini Mattoo
Priyadarshini Mattoo
Priyadarshini Mattoo was a 25-year-old law student who was found raped and murdered at her house in New Delhi on January 23, 1996. On October 17, 2006, the Delhi High Court found Santosh Kumar Singh guilty on both counts of rape and murder and on October 30 of the same year sentenced him to death...
rape and murder case where similar rallies were organized in India, United States and around the world. Following the release of the film, another social outcry was against the introduction of reservations for socially backward classes
Caste system in India
The Indian caste system is a system of social stratification and social restriction in India in which communities are defined by thousands of endogamous hereditary groups called Jātis....
in educational institutions. Young doctors and engineers joined hands in peaceful rallies in major cities across India. Though the film was not released in the neighbouring Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, it evoked similar reactions there. Inspired by the film, Pakistan's national newspaper, Jung, launched a television channel that was to focus on citizens' issues and support public awakening. Reacting to these strong social reactions, actor Kunal Kapoor thought that the film was just a catalyst that presented "patriotism in a package that the youngsters understood and empathised with".
In the Indian media, frequent referencing of the film was evident, with many brands using pictorials from the movie. In addition, the media also uses the terms "RDB" (abbreviated title of the movie) and "RDB effect" while referring to instances of public activism on matters of public interest. When the 2007 University of Delhi
University of Delhi
The University of Delhi is a central university situated in Delhi, India and is funded by Government of India. Established in 1922, it offers courses at the undergraduate and post-graduate level. Vice-President of India Mohammad Hamid Ansari is the Chancellor of the university...
Student Elections focused more on the important issues facing the students than in the previous years, one student referred to this as the "RDB Syndrome". On similar lines, Kamal Sunavala wrote a play titled Under the Influence which focuses on a young Indian expatriate
Non-resident Indian and Person of Indian Origin
A Non-Resident Indian is an Indian citizen who has migrated to another country, a person of Indian origin who is born outside India, or a person of Indian origin who resides permanently outside India. Other terms with the same meaning are overseas Indian and expatriate Indian...
whose life changes after watching this film.
Further reading
- Dilip, Meghna (2008), "Rang De Basanti - Consumption, Citizenship And The Public Sphere", Master of Arts Thesis, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, February 2008.
External links
- Rang De Basanti at Rediff.comRediff.comRediff.com India is a news, information, entertainment, and shopping portal. It was founded in 1996 as "Rediff On The NeT" and is headquartered in Mumbai, India with offices in New Delhi and New York City, USA....