| Rang De Basanti | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra |
| Written by | Prasoon Joshi |
| Screenplay by | Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra Kamlesh Pandey Rensil D'Silva Aamir Khan (Climax) |
| Story by | Kamlesh Pandey |
| Produced by | Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra Ronnie Screwvala |
| Starring | Aamir Khan Siddharth Atul Kulkarni Sharman Joshi Kunal Kapoor Alice Patten Soha Ali Khan Waheeda Rehman Kirron Kher Om Puri |
| Cinematography | Binod Pradhan |
| Edited by | P. S. Bharathi |
| Music by | A. R. Rahman |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | UTV Motion Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 167 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
| Box office | ₹97.90 crore[1][2] |
Rang De Basanti (transl. Paint Me Saffron) is a 2006 IndianHindi-languagecoming-of-agepoliticalaction film written, produced, and directed byRakeysh Omprakash Mehra.[3] The film stars an ensemble cast includingAamir Khan,Siddharth (in his Hindi debut),Atul Kulkarni,Sharman Joshi,Kunal Kapoor, British actressAlice Patten (in her Hindi debut),Waheeda Rehman, andSoha Ali Khan. It follows a British film student traveling to India to document the story of five freedom fighters of theIndian revolutionary movement. She befriends and casts five young men in the film, which inspires them to fight against the evils of their own present-day government.
Shot primarily inNew Delhi,Rang De Basanti was released globally on 26 January 2006. Upon release, the film broke all opening box office records in India, becoming the country's highest-grossing film in its opening weekend and holding the highest opening-day collections for aHindi film. It eventually became theseventh highest grossing Hindi film of 2006. It received critical acclaim, winning theNational Film Award for Best Popular Film, and being nominated forBest Foreign Language Film at the 2007BAFTA Awards. The film was chosen asIndia's official entry for theGolden Globe Awards and theAcademy 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 anAcademy Award nomination.
InLondon, film student Sue McKinley finds the diary of her grandfather James, who served as acolonel in theBritish Army in the 1930s. James oversaw the capture and execution of the threefreedom fighters –Bhagat Singh,Sukhdev, andRajguru – at theLahore Jail and has written in his diary about his admiration for their revolutionary spirit, in spite of his being an officer of the British Empire.
Inspired by the revolutionaries' story, Sue decides to make a film on them. She travels to India, where she searches for actors with the help of her local associate Sonia, a student of international studies at theUniversity of Delhi. Following a string of unsuccessful auditions, Sue meets Sonia's friends: Daljit "DJ" Singh, Karan Singhania, Sukhi Ram, and Aslam Khan. She immediately decides to cast them in her film, with DJ asChandra Shekhar Azad, Karan Singhania asBhagat Singh, Aslam Khan asAshfaqulla Khan, and Sukhi Ram asShivaram Rajguru.
DJ, Aslam, Sukhi, and the spendthrift Karan, who is the son of politically well-connected businessman Rajnath Singhania, are at once carefree and cynical about their futures. While they get along well with Sue, they remain uninterested in working on a film expressing patriotism towards India. Tensions arise when Sue casts the boys' rival, conservative party activist Laxman Pandey, asRam Prasad Bismil. However, over the course of working on the film, Pandey grows closer to the others. Sue begins a relationship with DJ.
The group becomes devastated when Sonia's fiancé, Ajay Singh Rathod, aflight lieutenant in theIndian Air Force, is killed when hisMiG-21 jet malfunctions and crashes. The government attributes the accident to pilot error and closes the case, but Sonia and her friends refuse to accept the official explanation, knowing that Ajay was a skilled pilot who died while steering the plane away from crashing into a populous city. They learn that the corruptDefense Minister Shastri signed a contract importing cheap parts for MiG-21 aircraft in exchange for a personal favor. Karan is severely jolted when he realizes that his father Rajnath was involved in orchestrating the deal.
Since working on the film has already made them imbibe idealism and galvanized them against government corruption, the group organizes a peaceful protest at theIndia Gate. The police arrive and violently break up the demonstration; Ajay's mother, Aishwarya, is beaten by the police and falls into a coma. Laxman realizes that his senior party official, Raghuvir Mishra, was in league with the government officials who ordered the police to stop the protest and becomes disillusioned with his party. Inspired by the revolutionaries, the group decides to take action themselves. They assassinate Shastri to avenge Ajay's death, while Karan confronts and murders Rajnath.
The media reports that Shastri was killed by terrorists and celebrates him as a martyr. The group decides to publicly clarify their intent behind the assassination, and towards this end, they take over theAll India Radio station after evacuating its employees. Karan goes on air and calls out thedefense ministry's corruption to the public. The police arrive at the station under instructions to kill them. Sukhi is shot dead, while Aslam and Laxman are killed by a grenade, and DJ is severely injured. DJ reunites with Karan in the recording room as the latter finishes his public statement and the two are killed together.
News of the boys' deaths enrages the public, spurring a wave of demonstrations against the government. Aishwarya awakes from her coma. The film ends with Sue describing to Sonia the personal impact of meeting the boys and working on the film, while the deceased boys are seen in an afterlife-like state meeting a young Bhagat Singh in his family garden.
Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra took seven years to research and develop the story, including three to write the script.[4] 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.[5] He added that not only did his storytelling technique improve, but past mistakes had helped him improve his filmmaking abilities.[6]
Rakeysh said the following in a scriptwriter's conference conducted by theFilm Writers Association in the year 2008, "I was making a documentary calledMamooli Ram, on Amul, the milk revolution withKamalesh Pandey. We were sitting in a small hotel room inNanded, drinking. We started singing songs, and we both realized we liked similar songs. And so Rang De Basanti was born. He was angry with the system, I was helpless with the system. We wanted to do so much. But we really can't do anything and it was born out of anger. He wrote a story calledAhuti, meaning sacrifice.Ahuti was about the armed revolution in India, between 1919 and 1931. It started withAshfaqullah Khan,Ramprasad Bismil,Bhagat Singh,Rajguru, went on toChandrashekhar Azad and so on. We had this amazing screenplay calledAhuti, which we had also termed asThe Young Guns of India, which started with a train robbery,Azad on a horse and so on. I said, "let's doThe Young Guns of India". We were going to go on the floor, and suddenly there were a couple of film onBhagat Singh made. But they came and went. Not because they were good or bad films, not because they were written badly or not written so badly. I'm not being judgmental about them. And this is very important: because they did not reflect the sentiment of today's time. Nobody in the audience could identify with something which was past. It wasn't that there wasn't an idea of patriotism in us, but it was sleeping somewhere. And you had to kind of relate to it in today's world. So a couple of bottles of vodka again, and three days later, with a couple of vodkas down, Kamlesh Ji comes up with 'You know what, I think I've cracked it'."[7]
Development ofRang 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 ofBhagat Singh, Indian freedom revolutionary.[6] During this time, he personally conducted a survey with a group of youths in New Delhi andMumbai about the Indian revolutionaries he was planning on depicting, which indicated that many of youngsters did not recognise 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.[6] Because of this, he dropped his original plans in favour 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".[6] This new story, which eventually formed the basis forRang De Basanti's script, was influenced by Mehra's upbringing, youth and experiences over the years,[4] including his desire to join theIndian Air Force while in school, as well as his recollections of listening toIndependence Day speeches and watching patriotic films such asMother India.[6] Although Mehra denies that the film is autobiographical, he confessed that the character sketches were loosely inspired by himself and his friends.
Mehra approachedAngad Paul after having been impressed with his production work on British filmsLock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels andSnatch. Paul, who was keen to work in India, liked Mehra's story and agreed to produce the film,[8] bringing with him David Reid and Adam Bohling as executive producers. Despite having no prior knowledge ofHindi cinema, Reid and Bohling's belief in the script was strong enough that they each were willing to work at half their normal rate.[9] While it was originally suggested that language versions of the film would be made concurrently, in English (asPaint it Yellow) andHindi,[5][10] 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".[6] After the English version was dropped, the writer Kamlesh Pandey was brought on board to pen the first draft ofRang De Basanti in Hindi,[6] marking the start of his screenwriting career.[11] Thereafter Mehra and co-writer Rensil D'Silva took over the script, working on it for about two years.[6]Prasoon Joshi, the film's lyricist, worked on the dialogue, marking his foray into screenwriting.[12]
Rang De Basanti suffered a significant setback when one of the initial producers ultimately failed to contribute any funds towards it; the shortfall left production looking uncertain just two months away from the beginning of principal photography. However, afterAamir Khan agreed to act in the film, Mehra approachedRonnie Screwvala of UTV Motion Pictures with the script.[6] Screwvala, who supported Mehra from the beginning of the production, had faith in the film,[13] reasoning that in historical films, "the treatment and execution is very different from regularmasala fare",[14] and that such films "find favour with the audience owing to their elaborate sets and period costumes".[14] The budget was reported asRs. 250 million (approximatelyUS$5.5 million),[9] and, despite going a little over the initially planned budget, Mehra did not have any serious disagreements with UTV.[6]
The film's script originally had a different climax, originally showing the protagonists on the run. The climax was rewritten, as the idea of them running away wasn't liked mutually, as they should have the last stand resembling that of Bhagat Singh. Years earlier, Khan had written his own story with the climax in a radio station, which he adapted for the climax ofRang De Basanti.[3]
Aamir Khan agreed to act inRang De Basanti immediately after reading Mehra's script.[9] Mehra described his character as a simple man with a strong sense of integrity and dignity.[8] Khan, who would turn 40 during the shoot, lost about 10 kilograms (22 lb) with a strict diet and exercise regime to more convincingly depict a man in his late twenties.[9]Atul Kulkarni andKunal Kapoor were publicly attached to the film by the time it was officially announced;[8] Kapoor had been the assistant director to Mehra during the filming ofAks and was already familiar with the material Mehra had been developing.[15] Mehra gave Kulkarni biographies ofRam Prasad Bismil as preparation, including Bismil's autobiography.[16] Early rumours indicated that actorsArjun Rampal andArjan Bajwa would be amongst the male leads,[17][18] but these roles ultimately were filled bySiddharth andSharman Joshi. Mehra and Khan also offered Siddharth's role toHrithik Roshan, but he declined in favour ofKrrish (2006).[19]Randeep Hooda also rejected the part as he did not want to play second lead to Aamir Khan.[20]Shahid Kapoor was also offered a role in the film but had to decline due to a lack of dates.[21]Daniel Craig was offered the role of James McKinley, but he could not do it as he was committed toCasino Royale (2006).[22]
Rang De Basanti marked Siddharth's Bollywood debut, following on the success of hisTelugu filmNuvvostanante Nenoddantana. Having previously worked as anassistant director, Siddharth praised Mehra as being "by far the most ambitious technical filmmaker in Indian cinema".[23]R. Madhavan, despite being a well-knownTamil cinema actor, took the smaller role of afighter aircraft pilot because he was convinced of the film's potential and wanted to be a part of it.[24]Om Puri appears in a cameo.[25]
Soha Ali Khan andAlice Patten immediately became Mehra's clear favourites for each of their roles during casting,[26] which led to Patten flying toMumbai 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.[27] Soha, portraying the pilot's fiancée, was filming Rituparna Ghosh'sAntarmahal andDavid Dhawan's comedyShaadi No. 1 concurrently with her work inRang De Basanti. In particular, the demands of her emotional scenes inAntarmahal often left her exhausted, thus requiring "a lot of personal overhauling" to ensure that her performance inRang De Basanti was unaffected.[28] During filming, reports indicated that co-stars Siddharth and Soha had become romantically involved with each other.[29]
The film, which was shot inNew Delhi,Mumbai,Rajasthan andPunjab,[30] was officially launched at a hotel on 1 February 2005.[31] When shooting began, Mehra made an announcement to his crew saying that they would enjoy their holiday only in July.[9]
Instead of filming at the actual locations from the script, other locations were selected for picturisation. One such scene is whereSoha Ali Khan is filmed at theIndia Habitat Center that masquerades as theUniversity of Delhi. On similar lines, New Delhi'sModern School at Barakhamba Road served as the location for all the scenes pertinent toAll India Radio station, which is shown to be stormed by the youngsters in the film.[32] TheDelhi Tourism department was happy to encourage filming in the city if it helped promote tourism, though any filming nearIndia Gate was prohibited due to the ensuing bureaucratic paperwork.[32] Similar issues with bureaucracy were faced by Mehra while filming at theJaipur Fort. To use a historical location for filming, they had to seek permissions of seven officials ranging from the local police to theArchaeological Survey of India office.[33]Nahargarh Fort, which oversees the city of Jaipur, was another such historical location where one of the songs was filmed.[34] Besides these locations, the filming was also done atAmritsar'sHarmandir Sahib Gurudwara. For Aamir Khan, aMuslim, it was for the first time that he was playing aNorth IndianPunjabi character and it took him some time to get the right dialect and diction.[35] While speaking about his experience of visiting the Gurudwara 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![35]
Once the locations were finalised, the team of Lovleen Bains andArjun Bhasin was chosen for designing the look ofRang De Basanti. Bhasin had previously worked onKama Sutra: A Tale of Love (1996) andDil 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 playedSukhi) lovable persona or Madhavan's dignified appearance, Bhasin credited Bains for her major contributions to the film.[36] 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.[31]
In post-production, the visual effects were handled by Tata Elxsi's Visual Computing Labs. The military aircraft they created was so realistic that theIndian Air Force called to check the producer's permission of using an actualMiG-21.[37]
OnRang De Basanti's release, the Film Certification Board of India sought the views ofIndian Defence Ministry due to scenes that depicted the use ofMiG-21 fighter aircraft. But after viewing the movie the ministry found no problems and allowed UTV to release the film. There were also some issues withAnimal Welfare Board of India due to the banned Indian horse race.
The soundtrack ofRang De Basanti, which was released bySony BMG, featured music composed byA. R. Rahman and lyrics penned byPrasoon Joshi andBlaaze, an India-basedrapper.[38][39] From the film's announcement in April 2005, Rahman was slated to compose the music.[8] In a press conference withpop singerNelly 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.[40] Aamir Khan, with his knowledge ofHindi andUrdu,[41] worked with Rahman and Joshi for the soundtrack.[30] In addition, Mehra and Rahman chose him to sing for one of the songs.[42]
Joshi was impressed with Mehra, who was ready to adjust to his style of writing as well as his creativity.[38] Confessing that the film's soundtrack was his favourite 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".[43] Speaking about one of his songs, "Luka Chuppi", in which veteranLata Mangeshkar sang with Rahman,[30] 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.[44] He confessed to have been in tears while Mangeshkar was singing the song.[45] The soundtrack won theFilmfare Award for Best Music Director,[46] and had two of its tracks,Khalbali andLuka Chuppi, considered for anAcademy Award for Best Original Song nomination.[45]
While discussing typicalBollywood soundtracks, Nilanjana Bhattacharjya, a professor of music atColorado 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 SikhGurdwara (Golden Temple) and thebhangra 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.[47]
Rang De Basanti received its world premiere on 26 January 2006, with high expectations that it would be a success with western audiences,[48] though it also faced ire from several organisations because of certain controversial scenes. The film contained scenes of aMiG-21, a controversial aircraft in theIndian Air Force, which has a long history of fatal accidents in India. Promptly, theIndian Defence Ministry raised concerns, causing theIndian censor board to urge the filmmakers to seek clearance from the ministry.[49] Accordingly, Khan and Mehra screened the film for the then Defence MinisterPranab Mukherjee along with other top officials from the armed forces.[50] One Air Force official reportedly said that it was "not a review, but a preview".[50] 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.[51] After this clearance, the Animal Welfare Board raised objections on the use of animals in the film. Although the filmmakers had obtained aNo Objection Certificate from the board officials,Maneka Gandhi, a well-knownanimal rights activist and member of the welfare board, found flaws in this certificate.[52] 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 theNihangSikhs, the filmmakers deleted this scene.[53][54] 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's life.[55]
The film was screened at several international film festivals. In 2006, it premiered in France with theLyon Asiexpo Film Festival,[56] theWisconsin Film Festival[57] and the Morocco-basedInternational Film Festival of Marrakech.[58] As a part of the publicity, the cast, visited prominent University campuses inNew Delhi,Mumbai,Kolkata,Hyderabad andPune with an intention of interacting with the students.[59] After hiring international experts for the film's publicity,[60] the marketing expenditure for the film grew to 40 percent of the total production budget of₹250 million (US$3.0 million). This expenditure was unprecedented inBollywood because usually the Indian filmmakers spend only about five percent of their production budget on marketing.[61] Out of the₹100 million (US$1.2 million) marketing campaign, a fifth of it came from the producers while the rest was obtained through brand tie-ups and partnering.[62]
There were high expectations from the soundtrack in the media.[63] The soundtrack, first released commercially in early December 2005, generally received above average reviews.[64][65][66] 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,[67] while two compositions were considered for anAcademy Award nomination.[68]
Before its theatrical release, the producers tied up with several top brands to help in the marketing the film. An alliance was formed withThe 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 ofcollectibles from the film.[69] Provogue, a well-known clothing retail chain in India, launched a special limited edition clothing merchandise targeting the youth of India.[70] Besides these, the producers collaborated withLG Group, Berger Paints,Bharti Airtel andHindustan Petroleum.[62] The producers tied up with several media partners such asMSN India,Channel V andRadio Mirchi to further enhance their marketing efforts.[71] A video game launched by Mobile2win, an Indian mobile content company, was based on an adaptation of the film's plot.[72]
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.[73] Accordingly, 55 percent of the film's revenues came from multiplexes in these cities.[74] While the opening week box-office collections from Mumbai, the home of Bollywood, were reported to be over₹40 million (US$470,000), theatres in New Delhi earned about half of Mumbai's revenue. Throughout the country, the cumulative collections in the first week was about₹80 million (US$950,000). Overseas collections from the United States, United Kingdom and Australia were collectively put at over₹60 million (US$710,000) for the same week.[73] Released in about 60 theatres in the United States, the film grossed₹31 million (US$370,000) in its opening weekend and earned₹99 million (US$1.2 million) within 10 weeks.[75] With₹1.23 billion (US$15 million) alone coming from the Indian territory, the film earned more than₹1.36 billion (US$16 million) worldwide.[75] Currently, the film holds the record for thehighest-grossing film to be released in January.
Within a week of the film's theatrical release, illegal copies of the film priced at₹10 million (US$120,000) were seized at an Indian airport.[76] A report carried out byThe Times of India highlighted copyright infringement on the Internet where movies likeRang De Basanti could be downloaded freely.[77] 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.
Rang De Basanti was released on Blu-ray (plus steelbook edition) in May 2014.[78] It is also available onNetflix.[79]
Critics gave the film an overwhelmingly positive response, in particular the ensemble cast's performance and credibility. AlthoughThe Indian Express 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.[80] Praising the film's cast for their performance and the cinematography ofBinod Pradhan, Taran Ardash wrote that the film would be successful with the urban audiences.[80] TheHindustan Times summarised the film as being a "well-scripted, skilfully crafted [and] thought-provoking entertainer".[81] Saisuresh Sivaswamy ofRediff.com wrote that films likeRang 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.[82]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.[83]
The film also received positive reviews from critics outside India. The review from theBBC gave it the highest possiblefive star rating and added that it was "an entertaining mix of romance, history and social commentary".[84] TheBloomberg website wrote positively about "the raw energy of a young cast and A. R. Rahman's splendidly rousing soundtrack".[85]
Sight & Sound magazine conducts a poll every ten years of the world's finest film directors to find out the Ten Greatest Films of All Time. This poll has been going since 1992, and has become the most recognised[86] poll of its kind in the world. In 2012[87]Cyrus Frisch voted for "Rang De Basanti". Frisch commented: "Corruption became the subject of fierce debate in India after the major success of this film among youngsters."
The film was mentioned in critic and author Shubhra Gupta's book,50 Films That Changed Bollywood, 1995–2015.[88]
A major point of criticism the film faced was regarding the possibility of the Indian Army attacking students in a radio station. When Rakeysh was questioned about the same in a scriptwriter's conference conducted by theFilm Writers Association in the year 2008, he said the following, "So, in 2005, inAllahabad, a bunch of 4 students took the TV station there, and they were shot dead. Everything I did, it was kind of borrowed, as I said right here. Obviously, what I am also learning is the way I tell a story is notreal; you can term it asa-real. For maximum impact, for the message to go through, I felt—since the story was against the establishment—let the establishment do it. After all, the establishment did hangBhagat Singh. After all, the establishment did come down on the innocent, innocent students inMandal Commission. After all the establishment didcome down on Tiananmen Square. After all the establishment did come down when the whole concept ofFlower Power emerged in America. So it's all there. It's borrowed, maybe not as realistically, but it is definitely there in the society. Duringemergency, there are horror stories. If we have to go back toKriplani and his movement in Bihar, the stories are absolutely horrific."[89]
Since the film "reflected contemporary Indian reality and had cinematic excellence", it was chosen as India's official entry for the79th Academy Awards despite stiff competition from films such asKrrish,Omkara,Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna andLage Raho Munna Bhai.[90][91] While discussing if the selection committee's choice was correct, critics felt that the academy members could have better related withOmkara, an adaptation ofShakespeare's playOthello.[81][92] Despite these qualms and Mehra's belief that his film did not stand a chance at the Oscars,[93] the efforts to publicise the film in the United States began earnestly. Music composer A. R. Rahman performed several concerts across theEast Coast to promote the film. Besides his efforts, producer Screwvala planned to use resources and expertise from his partners in20th Century Fox andWalt Disney Pictures for organising its publicity efforts.[94] 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 howOmkara would have been a better choice, the other discussed theWest-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.[95]
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The film was selected asIndia's official entry to the 79th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film but it was not Nominated.[96]
| Award[b] | Date of ceremony[c] | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bollywood Movie Awards | 26 May 2007 | Best Director | Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra | Nominated | [97] [98] |
| Best Actor | Aamir Khan | Nominated | |||
| Best Supporting Actor | Kunal Kapoor | Nominated | |||
| Best Supporting Actress | Kirron Kher | Won | |||
| Soha Ali Khan | Nominated | ||||
| Best Music Director | A. R. Rahman | Nominated | |||
| Best Female Playback Singer | Madhushree –(for song "Tu Bin Bataayein") | Nominated | |||
| Best Screenplay | Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra &Rensil D'Silva | Won | |||
| Best Editing | P. S. Bharathi | Won | |||
| Best Art Direction | Samir Chanda | Won | |||
| British Academy Film Awards | 11 February 2007 | Best Film Not in the English Language | Ronnie Screwvala &Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra | Nominated | [99] |
| Filmfare Awards | 17 February 2007 | Best Film | Ronnie Screwvala &Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra | Won | [100] [101] [102] |
| Best Director | Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra | Won | |||
| Best Actor | Aamir Khan | Nominated | |||
| Best Actor (Critics) | Won | ||||
| Best Supporting Actor | Kunal Kapoor | Nominated | |||
| Siddharth | Nominated | ||||
| Best Supporting Actress | Kirron Kher | Nominated | |||
| Soha Ali Khan | Nominated | ||||
| Best Music Director | A. R. Rahman | Won | |||
| Best Background Score | Nominated | ||||
| Best Lyricist | Prasoon Joshi –(for song "Roobaroo") | Nominated | |||
| Best Choreography | Ganesh Acharya –(for song "Masti Ki Paathshaala") | Nominated | |||
| Best Story | Kamlesh Pandey | Nominated | |||
| Best Screenplay | Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra &Rensil D'Silva | Nominated | |||
| Best Dialogue | Prasoon Joshi | Nominated | |||
| Best Cinematography | Binod Pradhan | Won | |||
| Best Editing | P. S. Bharathi | Won | |||
| Best Art Direction | Samir Chanda | Nominated | |||
| Best Costume Design | Arjun Bhasin &Lovleen Bains | Nominated | |||
| Best Sound Design | Nakul Kamre | Nominated | |||
| Best Special Effects | Pankaj Khandpur | Nominated | |||
| Global Indian Film Awards | 7–9 December 2006 | Best Film | Ronnie Screwvala &Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra | Nominated | [103] [104] [105] |
| Best Director | Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra | Won | |||
| Best Actor | Aamir Khan | Nominated | |||
| Best Supporting Actor | Atul Kulkarni | Nominated | |||
| Best Supporting Actress | Alice Patten | Nominated | |||
| Soha Ali Khan | Won | ||||
| Best Music Director | A. R. Rahman | Won | |||
| Best Background Score | Won | ||||
| Best Lyricist | Prasoon Joshi –(for song "Roobaroo") | Won | |||
| Best Female Playback Singer | Madhushree –(for song "Tu Bin Bataayein") | Nominated | |||
| Best Screenplay | Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra &Rensil D'Silva | Won | |||
| Best Editing | P. S. Bharathi | Won | |||
| Best Art Direction | Samir Chanda | Won | |||
| International Indian Film Academy Awards | 7–9 June 2007 | Best Film | Ronnie Screwvala &Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra | Won | [106] [107] [108] [109] |
| Best Director | Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra | Won | |||
| Best Actor | Aamir Khan | Nominated | |||
| Best Supporting Actor | Atul Kulkarni | Nominated | |||
| Kunal Kapoor | Nominated | ||||
| Best Supporting Actress | Kirron Kher | Nominated | |||
| Soha Ali Khan | Won | ||||
| Best Performance in a Comic Role | Sharman Joshi | Nominated | |||
| Best Music Director | A. R. Rahman | Won | |||
| Best Background Score | Won | ||||
| Best Song Recording | Won | ||||
| Best Lyricist | Prasoon Joshi –(for song "Roobaroo") | Nominated | |||
| Best Male Playback Singer | A. R. Rahman &Naresh Iyer –(for song "Roobaroo") | Nominated | |||
| Best Female Playback Singer | Lata Mangeshkar –(for song "Luka Chhupi") | Nominated | |||
| Best Story | Kamlesh Pandey | Nominated | |||
| Best Screenplay | Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra &Rensil D'Silva | Won | |||
| Best Dialogue | Prasoon Joshi | Nominated | |||
| Best Cinematography | Binod Pradhan | Won | |||
| Best Editing | P. S. Bharathi | Won | |||
| Best Art Direction | Samir Chanda | Won | |||
| Best Sound Recording | Nakul Kamre | Won | |||
| Best Sound Re-Recording | Hitendra Gosh | Won | |||
| National Film Awards | 14 September 2007 | Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment | Ronnie Screwvala &Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra | Won | [110] |
| Best Male Playback Singer | Naresh Iyer –(for song "Roobaroo") | Won | |||
| Best Editing | P. S. Bharathi | Won | |||
| Best Audiography | Nakul Kamre | Won | |||
| Screen Awards | 6 January 2007 | Best Film | Ronnie Screwvala &Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra | Nominated | [111] [112] |
| Best Director | Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra | Won | |||
| Best Actor | Aamir Khan | Nominated | |||
| Best Supporting Actor | Atul Kulkarni | Nominated | |||
| Kunal Kapoor | Nominated | ||||
| Sharman Joshi | Nominated | ||||
| Best Supporting Actress | Kirron Kher | Won | |||
| Best Male Debut | Siddharth | Won | |||
| Best Music Director | A. R. Rahman | Nominated | |||
| Best Background Score | Won | ||||
| Best Story | Kamlesh Pandey | Nominated | |||
| Best Screenplay | Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra &Rensil D'Silva | Won | |||
| Best Dialogue | Prasoon Joshi | Nominated | |||
| Best Editing | P. S. Bharathi | Nominated | |||
| Best Cinematography | Binod Pradhan | Won | |||
| Best Art Direction | Samir Chanda | Won | |||
| Best Sound Design | Nakul Kamre | Won | |||
| Best Choreography | Ganesh Acharya –(for song "Masti Ki Paathshaala") | Nominated | |||
| Stardust Awards | 18 February 2007 | Dream Director | Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra | Nominated | [113] [114] |
| Breakthrough Performance – Male | Kunal Kapoor | Won | |||
| Best Supporting Actress | Kirron Kher | Nominated | |||
| Superstar of Tomorrow – Male | Siddharth | Nominated | |||
| Superstar of Tomorrow – Female | Soha Ali Khan | Nominated | |||
| New Musical Sensation – Male | Naresh Iyer –(for song "Masti Ki Paathshaala") | Nominated | |||
| Pride of the Industry | Rang De Basanti –Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra | Won | |||
| Zee Cine Awards | 1 April 2007 | Best Film | Ronnie Screwvala &Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra | Won | [115] [116] [117] [118] |
| Best Director | Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra | Won | |||
| Best Actor – Male | Aamir Khan | Nominated | |||
| Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Male | Atul Kulkarni | Nominated | |||
| Siddharth | Nominated | ||||
| Best Male Debut | Nominated | ||||
| Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Female | Kirron Kher | Nominated | |||
| Soha Ali Khan | Nominated | ||||
| Best Music Director | A. R. Rahman | Won | |||
| Best Background Score | Nominated | ||||
| Best Lyricist | Prasoon Joshi –(for song "Masti Ki Paathshaala") | Won | |||
| Best Story | Kamlesh Pandey | Nominated | |||
| Best Screenplay | Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra &Rensil D'Silva | Nominated | |||
| Best Dialogue | Prasoon Joshi | Nominated | |||
| Best Editing | P. S. Bharathi | Won | |||
| Best Cinematography | Binod Pradhan | Won | |||
| Best Art Direction | Samir Chanda | Nominated | |||
| Best Audiography | Nakul Kamre | Nominated | |||
| Best Special Effects (Visual) | Brynley Cadman | Nominated | |||
| Best Choreography | Ganesh Acharya –(for song "Masti Ki Paathshaala") | Nominated | |||
| Best Track of the Year | A. R. Rahman –(for song "Rang De Basanti") | Nominated | |||
| Zenith Power Team Award | Rang De Basanti[d] | Won |
Rang De Basanti had a noticeable impact on Indian society. A study of bloggers behavioural 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.[71] While commenting on this, writer D'Silva said that the film "has struck a chord somewhere".[119] 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 organisations and exercising simple citizen duties of paying taxes and voting, while the others contemplated on how to become more responsible towards the country.[71] Unlike other Indian films with jingoistic overtones, many young Indians could relate well to the characters of this film.[120]
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 1999Jessica 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 inefficientprosecution andhostile witnesses.[121] 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 atNew Delhi'sIndia Gate, one such group of demonstrators carried out a similar rally to voice their protest.[122] 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 likeRang De Basanti were the main reason behind it.[123] Another such massive youth activism was seen in thePriyadarshini Mattoo rape and murder case where similar rallies were organised in India, United States and around the world.[124][125] Following the release of the film, another social outcry was against the introduction of reservations forsocially backward classes in educational institutions. Young doctors and engineers joined hands in peaceful rallies in major cities across India.[126] Though the film was not released in the neighbouring Pakistan, it evoked similar reactions there. Inspired by the film, Pakistan's national newspaper,Jang, launched a television channel that was to focus on citizens' issues and support public awakening.[127] 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".[128]
In the Indian media, frequent referencing of the film was evident, with many brands using pictorials from the movie.[129] 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.[71] When the 2007University 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".[130] On similar lines, Kamal Sunavala wrote a play titledUnder the Influence which focuses on a youngIndian expatriate whose life changes after watching this film.[131]
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