Orange...

One of my favorite movies from the last few years has been, 'Rang De Basanti'. Adjectives run scarce when I try to describe this movie.

If it does not become India's entry to the Oscar's, it better be because there is one that is far better! (which I doubt!). If and when it does go to the Oscar's, I sincerely believe that it will be our best bet thus far!

A few reasons why I absolutely love this movie:

1. The theme is contemporary and the plot/script/storyline is intriguing and engaging: "5 people, representing today's youth, who are seemingly apathetic towards the current state of things in the country, are roped in to make a documentary about passionate revolutionaries. A twist in their real life, inspires them to emulate their on screen characters and become heroes in their own right in today's India!"

2. The movie sends across a message, without being too prescriptive or sentimentally nationalistic. (I thought Swades was equally good in that respect. But, viewers in India did feel that it was very preachy!)

3. Superb casting! Specifically - Kirron Kher as Aamir's mother, Sharman Joshi as the carefree idiot, Soha Ali Khan as the no-nonsense young urban woman.

4. Phenomenal music (Although I do maintain that ARR's best album to date is 'Dil Se'. This comes close to being his 2nd best.) - both background tracks (especially the track during the titles at the beginning of the movie) and otherwise.

Luka Chupi has the power to bring you to your knees.
Roobaroo has an uplifting spirit to it.
Rand de Basanti is vivacious and infectious!
Ik Onkar is soothing and it's picturisation even better
(brilliant shots of the gang at The Golden Temple (one place I have always wanted to visit,
but more about that in another post!)
Khalbali is bound to bring the most somonlent ones to their feet and rejuvenated (one of my
favorite words, but more about that in another post!)
Lalkar is well rendered and has great lyrics (not that the others don't)
Tu bin bataaye is haunting (Legend has it that ARR literally dreamt up this song and
requested the director to make room for his melody. Thank you ARR and ROM)
Paathshala is a must have for every party and every drive!

5. Crisp editing and screenplay. One is never left uncaptivated by the narration and the flow of the movie.
A fave sequence of mine:
Siddharth and Sharman go to drop off Aslam ("...itne nahi talli ke bhoole yaar ki galli"), while
Sue and Aamir have a tete-a-tete!
Aamir breaks down in Sue's apartment after returning from the hospital. The helplessness, the anguish and the frustration could not have been conveyed better. Kudos to Aamir!

6. The back and forth transition from the documentary to real life is seamless and is actually well leveraged, especially in the climactic sequence.

7. Excellent acting by the entire cast. I can't think of one scene which has not been enacted or scripted well.

8. I love the fact that it's not an out and out Aamir Khan movie, with the rest of the gang playing 4th fiddle. Every character has it's nuances - be it Aslam's quiet resilience or Siddharth's 'brooding, ennuied out of life, I couldn't care less' trait (Which he seems to have perfected in the movie. Quite impressed, considering, he was totally insipid in the Tamil version of Yuva.), or the idealistic, nationalist Atul Kulkarni. And, every character gets their pound of flesh, the opportunity to showcase their acting talent. Essentially, screen time is well distributed among all the protagonists.

10. Great photography / locales - especially the 'Paathshala' location and filming.
The sequence where they bike down from the Paathshala locale to the dhaba (the background score for that sequence is exciting!)
The sequence where they throw their shirts and jump! (the signature look of the movie in
the promos.
Even the gang's adda at the university is very authentic. ( Sardarji frying bhajiyas while speaking on the phone is a nice touch)

11. Great dialogues : "Hamara ek paaon past mein hai aur ek future mein, isiliye to hum aaj pe mooth rahe hain!";

12. Oodles of humor to keep you tickled. ("Hello, which country Madam?", "India, I hope!". Incidentally, Sue has done a marvellous job of mouthing dialogues in Hindi. It doesn't hurt that she is cute! :))

13. The title of the movie itself, 'Rang de Basanti' - unusual and apt!

14. Every song is worth watching again and again. The guys jumping into the pool in Khalbali, the brief salsa interlude between Sue and Aamir in Khalbali, the unusual butt slap move in Paathshala, ARR's cry juxtaposed with the arrival of the coffin in Luka Chupi.

15. Hats off to Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra for doing a fantastic job with the conceptualization and the execution. I will just leave it at that!

There are a slew of others. But, I will let you guys chime in with your thoughts as well.

Color me orange, baby!