Rangoon #MovieReview

When I had seen the trailer of Rangoon, I was curious. A love story set against the back drop of war is not a new theme. However, it is a relatively unexplored territory in Hindi films. Add to that the period element and a love triangle and we have a potentially interesting tale in our hands.

Plot of Rangoon

Rangoon is set in 1943 when the Indian freedom struggle was at it’s peak. The main players in the movie are Rusi Billimoria played by Saif, Miss Julia played by Kangana and Sergeant Nawab Malik played by Shahid. Rusi is a Bollywood studio boss and Julia is his Prodigy and lover. Nawab Malik is a soldier. The film opens with Rusi agreeing to organise a tour in the North East with Julia and the company performing for the soldiers of the British Army. Nawab is Julia’s personal security chief. The love triangle unfolds amidst World War II and the growing support for Indian National Army. There has been a lot of controversy around the characters Julia and Rusi being based on Fearless Nadi and Riyadh Wadia. I don’t think the story is real though.

What I Liked about Rangoon

Where do I start? The acting is as brilliant as the cinematography. I doubt that anyone has managed to make the abandoned war wrecked villages coated in monsoon slush look so good. You see the muck but not the grime. I do not know how the cinematographer Pankaj Kumar managed to not only avoid the repulsion but also make it poignantly beautiful.

The key characters are very well etched out. I found Rusi unidimensional as compared to Julia and Nawab. The best written character though was Major General Harding beautifully played by Richard McCabe. He goes on to prove that the jolly, seemingly happy go lucky people are not all made of gold.

The costumes in the first half of the movie were very nice. The movie party, complete with parsi sarees and the maharani in her jewels looked good. I liked the script a lot. The movie does slow down in the second half but does keep you engaged. You see the growth and transformation of the characters as they go through their experiences. A nice touch was that the songs that had a potential to become item numbers are not exploited so. The story is moving on even while Julia’s performances are happening.

Lastly, let me applaud the three Leads. Saif, with his upper class accent and piercing looks is an epitome of jealousy and control. Shahid looks so sincere as the soldier and the lover that you forget this is the same actor who jested around in Phata Poster and snorted coke in Udta Punjab. But the performance that takes the cake is Kangana. On stage, she is the confident daredevil Miss Julia. Off it, she is just a girl, looking for acceptance from the man who rules her heart. She is sheltered and naive as much as she is loving and caring. She is brave and strong as much as vulnerable. The story is also coming of age for her in some sense because you see the child woman become an independent person with her own opinions and one who is not afraid to take destiny in her own hands.

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What I Did Not Like about Rangoon

The music. Bloody Hell has been popping up all over TV so there is no way to have missed it but I did not like any song. Even Rekha Bhardwaj’s soulful singing could not elevate Mere Piya Gaye England. I also did not like the VFX. At all. Even steam rolling out of the engine appeared over drawn. I would be nitpicking here but some costumes Julia wears are downright modern. Jersey vests and flirty floral summer dresses in 1943? Wasn’t that the era of tailored, structured dresses?

Final Thoughts on Rangoon

One has high expectations from a Vishal Bhardwaj film and Rangoon is no exception. It balances the light and the dark beautifully. When you leave the theatre, the experience stays with you but it is not overly heavy. It is definitely good cinema. As you can see, my own dislikes pale in comparison with the likes. Watch it for the story and the performances.