The start

"I always thought there were two kinds of men in this world. The first kind are ones that silently go to their deaths and the second kind are ones that go to their deaths screaming. And then I met the third kind"-Rang De Basanti

The movie actually does not mention the third kind. It never says, "the third kind are those etc etc". However, allow me to take a (bleedingly obvious) guess. The third kind are those who's fear of death has been replaced by anticipation, satisfaction, and excitement. In short, the third kind are those who go looking for death with a glint in their eye. Therefore, it is fair to cast Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan, Sardar Bhagat Singh, Suhkdev, Rajguru in this third group.

I wanted to start creating a blog after watching RDB, so that I could pen down my opinions on not only the movie, but its demographic, i.e the youth of this country, which I am proud to say I belong to. The movie RDB completely hooked me from the first scene to the last. In my humble opinion, no (Bollywood) movie has set me thinking on the freedoms that I enjoy.

RDB sets out questions to today's generation that may or may not be easily answered. The most obvious question it asks the 15-25 age group is "Will you be whole-heartedly willing to sacrifice yourselves for the service of a greater good, just like your predecessors did?". However I believe that the part of "sacrifice" has changed. Whereas our predecessors sacrificed their lives, and went to the gallows unmarried, I believe the context of sacrifice here may quite possibly mean the sacrificing of a "plush lifestyle" (i.e the kind we youth perceive the West to be having). Moreover, I think ROM has sort of answered this question with a disappointing NO, and I tend to agree with the director on the answer. As a "local" student of a university in Australia, I see many international Indian students coming onto the campus. While their external reasons may be different, the real reason they are there for is to get Permanent Residency, after which they can go back home, get married with a huge fat dowry, and live "happily ever after" (in Australia). Only a very few decide to come back and use their services to make things better. In the lines of Madhavan/Siddarth, "No country is perfect, it is our responsibility to make it better". This line seems to be going to deaf ears in the country if we look at the current situation.

Another question RDB and ROM seem to ask us, is whether or not we remember the sacrifice of the freedom fighters and whether we can completely analyze their thought processes. Again the answer we face is a NO. I could not agree more with this answer, both in my experiences as well as what was portrayed in the movie. Siddardth in RDB cannot comprehend the fact that Bhagat Singh, who was just around 19 at the time would forsake his life for something bigger, something more fulfilling than on a mundane plane. Furthermore, I myself am surprised at the complete disdain bordering on apathy, at response of a selection of P3 youngsters on the national anthem. Therefore, it is no surprise to see the answer as it is.

RDF takes India in the 20-21st centuries and dishes it out on a plate, saying "Here is the situation, you work it out". I believe this is evident in the character of Atul Kulkarni, who starts out as a "brain-washed" right-wing party worker, and in the end, realizes the folly of it all. Furthermore it is also evident in the actions that the right-party took in the movie. It was against "Western Culture" which apparently is eroding our minds, yet did not come out with a statement after the MiG incident. This mirrors the RSSs, the Bajrang Dals, the Shiv Senas etc of today. While they have strong opinions on Valentine's Day celebrations and enforce moral policing on young people, they strangely and surprisingly turn a blind eye to the thousands of women harassed by their in-laws for dowry. Mr. Thackeray, I thought that to uplift Hindus, we also had to look within our own society as well. So why is your party and your ideological allies not assaulting the thousands of men and their in-laws who not only take dowry, but treat their wives worse than street dogs? Hmmm....Maybe you can answer that after slowly thinking about it eh??

Anyway, that is my general opinion of RDB and the things I believe it portrayed. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, and truly felt Indian (in an un-jignoistic way) walking out of the theatre. I would recommend it to all between the ages of 13-25 to re-assess their opinions of what it means to be Indian.

Hopefully you liked my first blog and keep commenting!!