Article Updated 26 January, 2006 12:24:56 PM IST   Rang De Basanti By Prema K. ©2006 Bollyvista.com   One wished and hoped that this would be a masterpiece, not just for Aamir Khan's sake but for director Rakyesh Mehra too! But unfortunately this one is a not so happening film. What may see the film through the first few days will be the presence of Aamir and of course the hype and controversy around the film. The major problem with the film is that the first and second halves don't jell. The first half reminds one of 'Dil Chahta Hain' while the second half is 'Bhagat Singh'. Now how does one relate the two films together? In a way the film is old wine packaged in a new bottle sorts. To give credit to the maker, the idea of the film is brilliant but just badly executed. It's an original but badly told story. A young English filmmaker, Sue (Alice Patten), is fascinated by India and its freedom fighters, courtesy her dead grandfather's diary. She wants to make a documentary on these revolutionaries. There seems to be some confusion here. At least the director seems to be confused between fiction and documentary. Now why does one need to audition actors for a documentary? Anyway, Sue reaches Delhi with no funds to make her film. Her only contact here is Sonia (Soha Ali Khan Pataudi). Sonia introduces her to her bunch of friends; DJ (Aamir Khan), Karan (Siddharth), Sukhi (Sharman Joshi), and Aslam (Karan Kapoor). She sees the actors in them and the rehearsals begin. There is lot of fun and frolic during these sessions. Laxman Pandey (Atul Kulkarni) who joins them later, also adds the initial fireworks. Contrary to Sue's expectations, all the guys except the latter, have no feelings for their country. But as they play their historical characters, their views change forever. This turnaround is what the film all about! The film actually begins at this point. But for God's sake one doesn't need to view almost an hour and a half of the making of the so-called documentary to watch the real film. But thankfully we've been spared of long sermons and preaching. The film has its share of fun moments. Aamir is brilliant in his comic scenes and the foursome share brilliant screen chemistry. Performances- Brilliant. There's no character that can be singled out for bad performance. Aamir Khan is brilliant as usual, playing the fun loving carefree guy with as much ease as the rudely awakened guy. The intensity that comes in later is mind blowing. But on the downside he doesn't look his character. Age has crept into his face. He doesn't look like a 25-year-old guy any more. The other three guys; Kunal Kapoor, Sharman Joshi, and Siddharth are great and fit into their characters well. We wonder why a talented actor like Sharman Joshi hasn't yet found his slot in Bollywood! The three youngsters look very comfortable sharing the screen with a huge star like Aamir. The foursome really deserves credit for this. Soha is a revelation but she needs to really do something about her makeup. Her close-ups are really bad. Alice Patten is very confident and talented. Seasoned actors like Om Puri, Kirron Kher and the veteran Waheeda Rehman have cameo roles but they leave their marks. The film also boasts of great music especially the title song and 'Patshala'. Brilliant cinematography and action sequences. But don't pin hopes on this film at the box office. It's a case of something, somewhere gone wrong! **1/2 (Two and a half stars) *poor; **average; ***good; ****very good; *****excellent   close   Print this Article http://www.bollyvista.com   http://www.bollyvista.com/article/a/29/6133