RANGOON - MOVIE REVIEW

“Sufi ke Sulfe’ ki, lau uth ke kehti hai,

Aatish ye bujh ke bhi, jalti hi rehti hai”

One simply cannot not be astonished, mesmerized and appalled, all in the same breath as Arijit croons to YE ISHQ HAI and the lyrical genius of Gulzar and the poetic justice by Vishal Bhardwaj opens up, layer by layer on the 70mm. However, all is not well here.

There is a sense of anticipation whenever there is a talk in the town about Vishal Bhardwaj coming up with something for the celluloid. Fair enough, he has by far, been at the top whenever it has come to adapting literature as  cinema but the same is not the case when it comes to original scripts and screenplays. (Refer – Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola)

Amidst the storm of the Second World War and the rise against the Empire Raj for the Indian Independence by the Indian National Congress, Bhardwaj develops a story of love, faith and betrayal. The plot in itself is very basic and done to death in many formulaic Bollywood movies, except for the backdrop in which the movie is set.

To be honest, I went in to watch the movie as an ardent admirer of Bhardwaj’s craft and came out hugely disappointed. The ones who did not go in with any expectations whatsoever, too had the same emotion while exiting the theatre. And it is not entirely the canvas that lets the director down, it is the sub-plots and the idea to strike a balance between romance, patriotism, capitalism, war and poetry that lets this film down.

This, is probably Bhardwaj’s most accessible work to the audience as there are hardly any implicits to take away, imageries to give a thought to, subtext to be understood or dialogue to be deciphered. Now if only making a movie less symbolic could also not bring up with it the challenges of lopsidedly composed characters (which have been Bhardwaj’s strength) and scenes written with heavy loopholes as if the director forgot to tie the final draft into a cohesive unit at once.

Rangoon begins with some serious pace and has the moments to get you hooked for a reasonable part of the first half but nearing intermission, you just sense things going downhill. The editing leaves a lot to be desired, not only in terms of cutting the run time but also in hampering the impact of sub-plots due to their haphazard arrangements. There is just too much happening at one go to garner undivided attention to any particular scene.

In what could be ironical, the songs in Rangoon convey the feelings, emotions and thoughts much more effectively than the narrative. The entire magnitude of the romance between Shahid Kapoor and Kangana Ranaut has been beautifully incorporated in the song YE ISHQ HAI which highlights the fact that their relationship is a liberating one, almost Sufi-isq! The genius of Gulzar then goes on to add comparisons with RUMI and TABREZI to further enhance the impact of their relationship but the dialogue, actions and the characters fail to bring it alive on the screen.

ALVIDA, another masterpiece, with great amount of lyrical detailing has only been used as a fade in-out effect song and it again conveys much more meaning as a song than the way it has been used in the film.

BLOODY HELL is your Dhan Te Nan, Oye Boy Charie, Darling, Bidi Jalaile type of song from any of the Bhardwaj’s films. This song essentially hooks you on with its lyrical quality and boy Sunidhi Chauhan is back and how! The rest of the music is spot on and possibly is also one of the very few highlights of Rangoon.

Kangana Ranaut gives a decent performance as Miss Julia, the action star. There is this sense of seen it all with her performance in Rangoon as it gets heavily monotonous and repetitive as the movie progresses. She sure has her moments in her interaction with the Japanese soldier but you have seen that in Queen. She aces the vulnerable moments but you have seen that in Gangster and Tanu Weds Manu. So in a way, though she performs ably, she is not able to bring out and develop the perspective that her character craved for.

Shahid Kapoor is brilliant as he always has been in a Vishal Bhardwaj film. Shahid’s characterization is crafted with care and it shows with the way his character entails on the journey from being the Jamadaar to the man carrying India’s possible chance to oust the Brits. Torn between the calling of his heart and the hopes of an entire nation, Shahid totally aces it.

Saif Ali Khan looks dapper, acts the desired way and leaves an imprint of the class of an actor lost in a syndrome called the 1990’s. He is stern, decisive and almost an antagonist. Despite relatively lesser screen time, Saif manages to hold on to his character.

The British Army General Hardings, recites Ghalib and Meer at the drop of the hat but does not mince his words when the situation demands.

The supporting cast performs ably and Zulfi stands out as one of the supporting characters to the main plot.

Vishal Bhardwaj sure has his moments of genius, be it the wonderfully thought and executed MIYA GAYE ENGLAND with references to Churchill and Hitler, the alluringly haunting scene in the bath tub where Saif reunites with Kangana after her being attacked on by warrior aircrafts and Saif’s discovery of the romance blossoming between Shahid and Kangana.

He is ably supported by the cinematographer who has done an absolutely splendid camera work which makes Rangoon looks plush and almost dreamlike at times. However, apart from the cinematography, the moments which have the capacity to hook you on through the run time are very few.

You cannot take the Shakespearean influence out of Bhardwaj’s work. Tragedy has to strike inevitably but it seems a little too forced in Rangoon. Also, the gamut of euphemisms and metaphors absent from the screenplay have been incorporated in the dialogues and what is a first for VB film, the dialogues are disappointing.

The Indian Army under the British command seemingly cared only about Miss Julia’s night shows, with proper set designs and lighting rather than on their training drills. The superstardom of Miss Julia is almost impossible to be believed to an extent where the army jawans are shown holding Placards stating – LOVE YOU JULIA!

The entire movie could have ended immediately after the first strike on the troop but why does the troop decide to continue, where does all the set and props come from after getting destroyed in the attack, why does CGI has to screw up climaxes? Sadly, Rangoon does not answer these questions. In fact it leaves you with many more but these are more about the existence of the movie altogether.

So Rangoon is a disappointing fare, a rare from Bhardwaj. The performances only lift the film a bit but do not have potential to carry it through. And if you try to look beyond the obvious, as is the case with most of the VB movies, or even focus on the obvious, headache is a guarantee for sure.

In the end I’d close it with the lines that most significantly describe what this film could have been –

“Ek hi TU Khuda to nahi,

Yu kabhi koi Jiya to nahi,

Alvida, Alvida, to nahi”

BLOODY HELL!!

*Why art thou so awesome GULZAR SAHAB!!!*

*1.5STARS*