Give me Yellow!!
I went to see Rang De Basanti on 28/1, and I came out as a different person! A perfect combination of DCH and Swades, it was undoubtedly the best movie I had seen after Parineeta. A must watch for every indian, this movie brings out the patriotic feelings in one which have been crushed under the pressure of the modern society.
Is RDB a different film ? Yes !
Is RDB a preachy film ? No !
Is it paisa vasool ?! Most definitely
I am not going to waste blog space by writing the review of the movie; you can go to sites like www.indiafm.com or www.rediff.com and read the 'expert' views about this film. I am just a lay person, just another youth of india talking about this movie.
Studying in Canada and having studied for most of my life outside Indian, often I had to hear subtle comments from my relatives back home saying about how much wrong I have done by not going back to India to study. The feel that I have also joined the band that promote brain drain. For many years, I heard this from one ear and took it out of the other... Until 28th Jan 2006 - Until i saw RDB.
After coming back from the movie, for 10 minutes, I couldn't speak... I was speechless, this movie had opened my eyes to something that I guess I was scared to see. The movie touched those emotions of mine which weren't felt for a long time.
For the first time in many years, I felt like what it is to be Indian - a true Indian. Its not whether you live in India or if you still hold an Indian passport or not, its about feeling the Indian feeling in your blood and the pride gushing as you hear the national anthem. Thats the pride of a true Indian.
If the movie could be summed up in one line, it would be this quote I read online (and also said in the movie):
There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them .
I think it lies in our hands, totally in our hands and the choices we make. Often we Indians comment about the sad state of affairs in India especially how corrupt the politicians are and how none of them are making a sincere attempt to improve the conditions in India, but does any body do anything ?
How many teenagers want to become IAS or Police Officers? People are picking the easy way out and sadly, I feel like I am one of them.
I don't think your feelings of patriotism is about where you are living now, but where you will live in the future and how wil that affect your country matter more. Thats what the movie strives to tell, about how today's youth have forgotten their way and its about their awakening from a long sleep of complacency.
After watching this movie, I felt like I had let down my country just like the millions of confused indian youth in and outside india, and felt that it is my responsibility to do something for my motherland..
But will my voice be hear ??
Thats a question for which I seek the answer.....
posted by Madhavi at 6:29 PM
2 Comments:
Agreed RDB was good. It's just another typical hindi movie, a mix of everything, friendship, patriotism, talks about the ground realities as far as discrimination is concerned. A perfect picture? I think not. The country is well far from let down. Things are looking up, a side effect of being at the lowest point, you really can't go any lower than this. As a matter of fact, the number of police per 1000 people is highest in India. I don't think we are such a rogue population. The country produces huge amount of everything. We produce the largest amount of most thigns, what is missing is initiative. Nothing else. Nothing more. To experience India, one must live in rural india with whatever facilities it has to offer. Enough people have drooled over the metros. That is not India at all.
Nationalism is an abstract value and strategy. Nonetheless, it is a value. It is used to mobilize people. For what? Political purposes.
For my sake, it's only of any good when it's used for reform of 'governance'. Lot of people use it irresponsibly. Rawanda with the created 'Hutu' and 'Tutu' identity by the colonial-'masters' left a divided country, and later lead to a Genocide on a large scale.
In case of India - Nationalism, or rather the strategy of 'divide and rule' was used by the British-Raj to create sub-nationalistic/mobilizing identities. Hence the Hindu nationalism, and Muslim nationalism. Lead to partition.
Ughu Uhgu Ughu... depends on the purpose of nationalism... although it's always good to be crticial of it, and the 'purpose' behind the moblization of nationalism...
Post a Comment
<< Home