Rang De Basanti (RDB) - a movie that most of the Indian youth liked in the recent times. What's with these patriotic movies that people catch on? Several people have appreciated Sarfarosh, but that didn't bring Hindus and (Indian) Muslims any closer. Lagaan wouldn't probably have been such a huge hit if it involved something other than cricket. Swadesh was only a moderate hit, yet half of those who saw the movie do not know Association for India's Development (AID). Given the scenario, what social impact will RDB now have? That's my primary concern soon as I pause appreciating the technical gloss the movie has to offer. Without a social impact, if the movie just brings some money to the producer and more movies to the cast/director, I am unhappy yet. (Well, I am happy actually, if someone follows suit the formulaic way and goes about making a similar movie with Gandhi instead of Bhagat Singh in its central theme, but that's a different story now.)
RDB raises spirits of the youth, gives them a feeling that they can be the change, tells them to stand up and protest the way Indian politics is. But, if all the male leads in the movie conspire to commit a crime (yes!), and then continue on to preach that the youth can bring a change by joining politics, administrative services, military, etc., what message are we passing to the youth exactly? I still feel that the current youth might not even think much more than merely appreciating the movie. Even if someone wants to do something, there's no proper channel to put their thoughts in, no person or organization to guide them. Most organizations that rose lately to serve the society are unfortunately either confined to local pockets due to practical implications or are affiliated to the existing political parties/ideologies.
Such movies as RDB were there in the past, and there'll be more in the future. (In fact, I dare to say that RDB's plot, and not the presentation or the spirit, is something that vaguely resembles a 1994 Suresh-Vani Viswanath-starrer Telugu movie titled "marO Quit India", which I am sure, not more than a handful of us have heard of. This parallel is drawn by yours truly, since I was the one who watched the Telugu movie twice within a span of one week... I'd not have got a chance to watch it ever again if I waited for another week!) bhaarateeyuDu (Indian), nijam, aparichituDu (anniyan), yuva, and probably yet-to-go-on-sets satyaagrahi and satyamEva jayatE are all the same in their theme... but a majority of these movies show violence as a tool to eradicate certain individuals causing harm to the society. Unfortunately, that's not even a remote part of a practical solution. Why did a revolutionary hero like Bhagat Singh not live till the time India was independent? Name one such revolutionary who did live till then. A method that doesn't sustain itself/oneself until the solution is realized is plainly impractical, in my humble opinion.
My final word on this is thus: Let RDB or some other movie on the same lines rise the spirits. Let the generation awaken, but then, let the generations that follow take the path of non-violence, which largely was the reason for Indian independence. Or, at least, let the path be something that sustains the passers-by of the path until the goal is realized.
Jai Hind!
