With an intriguing title, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra at the helm and the dependable Aamir Khan on the silver screen after the historical melodrama Mangal Pandey, this movie was all the buzz in India when I was visiting a month ago.

A.R Rahman’s music was topping the charts and Daler Mehdi’s title song was rocking the airwaves. I made it to the first show in the New England area a couple of weeks ago and we were not disappointed.

Rang de Basanti is a refreshing movie with a unique story (Kamlesh Pandey), excellent direction by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra who presents seasoned actors with new faces to the Bollywood screen and combines all these elements into a thought-provoking and entertaining film.

The film is about a group of disillusioned, un-channeled youth who are recruited to star in a small-budget film by a visiting filmmaker from London( Alice Patten) about the revolutionaries who sacrificed their all to achieve India’s independence. The film transitions from the present to flashbacks chronicling the story of the revolutionaries. The same groups of actors play roles in each era making for a parallel experience. The story correlates events of today and the transformative decisions of the characters with landmark events in the freedom struggle. Kudos to the producer Ronnie Screwvala and Rakeysh, not to mention the technical team for an excellent film.

The music by A.R Rehman does not disappoint. The songs are situational, the score stimulating and vibrant.

With respect to the actors, the standouts are Siddharth and Kunal Kapoor. Siddharth, who has been seen in Tamil and Telugu films, plays Karan. He is intense, smoky, brooding and possesses a commanding screen presence. Kunal who plays Aslam does a fine job displaying sensitivity amid the conflicts his character faces. Soha Ali Khan appears comfortable and Alice Patten does a great job blending in. Great Hindi, girl!

Atul Kulkarni is dependable, as always and Madhavan makes a cameo appearance.  So what about the star of the show, Aamir Khan? There is no disputing that he is a great actor and sweats the details with every role he undertakes but he is miscast in this role of an ex-college student. Unfortunately, Aamir looks every bit his age; this is magnified in the scenes featuring the other young’uns. So, good acting but bad casting!

Rang de Basanti is a movie to be seen and talked about. It is a firestorm of ideas, reminiscent of yesterday yet more relevant than ever today.

Rang De Basanti Starcast

Aamir Khan, Soha Ali Khan, Alice Payton, Sharman Joshi, Madhavan, Atul Kulkarni

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