Mangal Pandey??? Review??? This late??? Why on earth??? I am sure all these questions have popped into your already frustrated-by-reading-Mangal Pandey-minds....
But as I always say... Its never too late to review a bad film... At least i can save the lives of those lucky few who havent watched the film.
As i ventured into a multiplex armed with a 150Rs. ticket in one hand and a popcorn in the other, i
was genuinely looking forward to actually watching a film after a long time. THe last time i was so
keen on watching a film was for Ashutosh Gowariker's SWADES which i must say was one of the best
films i have ever seen. That apart, i was looking forward to Aamir Khan... after 4 years. The lights
went off, the projector switched on to life, and images of MANGAL PANDEY-The Rising started to
flicker across the screen. I raised the popcorn in anticipation and then started, what i can call
the worst three hours of my life.
From whatever two and a half paragraphs dedicated to Mangal Pandey in my fourth standard history
books, all i knew about him was
1> He was India's first martyr
2> He was a sepoy in the British Army who revolted against the British because of some cartridges which had a coating of cow and pig fat which had to be removed by your teeth.
The film however enlightened me more, with facts like, India in 1857 was full of nautch girls, sex starved British officers and their equally sex starved wives, army sepoys who had long hair, girls performing dances on streets at night which can put all our current remix divas to shame...
But the big question is, Is this the true picture or is it some kind of a gimmick to make THE RISING
more of a commercial masala flick? Was there really a need to portray Mangal Pandey the way he was
portrayed in the film? Was there ANY need to show Amisha's character in the film? What was Rani
Mukerji doing in the flick? Was there the need to show the jail sequence(between Aamir and Rani) pre
climax? Lets leave the bhang alone...
There are bigger questions than these...
was genuinely looking forward to actually watching a film after a long time. THe last time i was so
keen on watching a film was for Ashutosh Gowariker's SWADES which i must say was one of the best
films i have ever seen. That apart, i was looking forward to Aamir Khan... after 4 years. The lights
went off, the projector switched on to life, and images of MANGAL PANDEY-The Rising started to
flicker across the screen. I raised the popcorn in anticipation and then started, what i can call
the worst three hours of my life.
From whatever two and a half paragraphs dedicated to Mangal Pandey in my fourth standard history
books, all i knew about him was
1> He was India's first martyr
2> He was a sepoy in the British Army who revolted against the British because of some cartridges which had a coating of cow and pig fat which had to be removed by your teeth.
The film however enlightened me more, with facts like, India in 1857 was full of nautch girls, sex starved British officers and their equally sex starved wives, army sepoys who had long hair, girls performing dances on streets at night which can put all our current remix divas to shame...
But the big question is, Is this the true picture or is it some kind of a gimmick to make THE RISING
more of a commercial masala flick? Was there really a need to portray Mangal Pandey the way he was
portrayed in the film? Was there ANY need to show Amisha's character in the film? What was Rani
Mukerji doing in the flick? Was there the need to show the jail sequence(between Aamir and Rani) pre
climax? Lets leave the bhang alone...
There are bigger questions than these...
1> How could the British, known for their stickler for strictness image allow a sepoy to have such long hair?
2> Does Mangal Pandey, a strict Brahmin, have any reason to have an affair with a nautch girl?
3> Why does Mangal Pandey have to dance in holi, one day before their planned fight?
Not only such seemingly illogical flaws, MANGAL PANDEY fails to strike a chord... the emotional
chord... the audience doesnt feel the agony of the character... like we did in Rajkumar Santoshi's
brilliantly made BHAGAT SINGH.
I am sure there will be hundreds of people who would beg to disagree with my opinion saying it is
technically sleek, brilliantly enacted and elegantly handled, blah blah blah...
I have just one thing to say... It lacked the soul. AVOID!!!
My Rating: **
2> Does Mangal Pandey, a strict Brahmin, have any reason to have an affair with a nautch girl?
3> Why does Mangal Pandey have to dance in holi, one day before their planned fight?
Not only such seemingly illogical flaws, MANGAL PANDEY fails to strike a chord... the emotional
chord... the audience doesnt feel the agony of the character... like we did in Rajkumar Santoshi's
brilliantly made BHAGAT SINGH.
I am sure there will be hundreds of people who would beg to disagree with my opinion saying it is
technically sleek, brilliantly enacted and elegantly handled, blah blah blah...
I have just one thing to say... It lacked the soul. AVOID!!!
My Rating: **
1 comment:
mangal pandeyy... hmmmm....... gr8 last scene dats all i can rmbr now.. well reminded me of gaja gamini still tryin 2 figure out wot was actually been shown.. somewot like hussains paintings!! (ps a review on gaja gamini pls ie if u understand it)
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