Read this review

Chandrahas has a superb, scathing review of Rang de Basanti up on the Middle Stage. Interestingly, his take is as far as it’s possible to get from that of most other reviewers, who have been praising the film to the skies:

“In almost two decades of watching Bollywood productions I have never come across such preposterous drivel as that served up in the second half of this film…The worst thing about Rang De Basanti is that not only does it sloppily promote the idea that violence is fine as long as you are persuaded that the cause is right, it uses an absurd parallel from history to legitimise it, and at every stage superimposes the frame of history upon the action.”

Of course, whether one likes or dislikes a film is secondary (I haven’t seen Rang de Basanti yet and so have no opinion on it); what matters is that the review should be honest and well-argued. This is the kind of passionate film writing I wish there was more of in India, and it makes me want to get back to movie-reviewing myself.

Read the full thing. And Uma has a not dissimilar take on the second half of the film, here.