I’m not a film critic and I won’t even pretend to have any expertise in the field. However, I am a movie lover and my first Bollywood film on the big screen in 2017 – Rangoon – has absolutely blown me away. The litmus test, for me, is when you don’t notice time pass by (it is almost three hours long), you come away on cloud nine, eager to watch it again. In this case you’ll come back resolving to watch the uncut DVD version as all the love-scenes have been snipped out of the Pakistan-version. Oh, AND you log onto SAAVN and download the entire playlist and put it on repeat.
Kangana Ranaut, as expected is marvellous in every sense of the world. You watch the film in awe of her skill, her expression, her athleticism and just about everything. “Bloody hell!†you’ll find yourself saying over and over again.
Shahid Kapoor is impressive. Vishal Bhardwaj always brings out the best in him and Rangoon is no different; you feel for Jamedar Nawab Malik. One just wishes a happy ending for Shahid Kapoor just once, in just one of his films maybe. The last happy ending we saw him in was Jab We Met and while he has been choosing the underbelly of roles in movies like Kaminey, Haider and even Udta Punjab, we would like to see him happy, for once. This could be considered a happy ending for him but not the kind we’d like to see.
The heart goes out to Rustom ‘Rusi’ Billmoria, Saif Ali Khan, who’s always delightful. More so here, as a man struggling between love and loyalty. I can’t say more without giving the story away but you’ll love his swordfight with Julia.
Rangoon is almost a musical and while I do believe several songs have suffered the final cut of the film, the remaining just reveal how brilliant Gulzar and Vishal Bhardwaj are when they come together. My favourites are ‘Bloody Hell’, ‘Tippa’ and ‘Yeh Ishq Hai’. The music is almost Rehmanesque.
Last but not least, the cinematography and very crisp 20s-treatment of the film is a visual delight. The frames are all well thought out and artistic and if you want a teaser on how gorgeous it is, just watch this spectacular train-sequence. Here’s popular starlet Julia, who’s been packed off to entertain the troops as they fight the Japs during WW2. She’s been sent against her will but the star in her can’t resist getting her ego stoked.
