Rangoon

#Rangoon: Do you remember Sachin Tendulkar’s 241 not out at SCG against Australia ? As Jason Gillespie and Brett Lee steamed in to bowl full length deliveries outside off stump and Sachin, instead of creaming them through the cover, would put his head down and play straight or simply let it go. As an audience, when the innings was in progress, we all sighed at the sight of a missed opportunity to hit a boundary. Something similar happens while watching Rangoon. Every scene of Rangoon is visually breathtaking and pregnant with possibilities and yet it stays short of touching the soul.

 It is not easy to live up to the standards of Haider , arguably Bharadwaj’s finest . And this time he didn’t have either Shakespeare or any of his tragic characters to fall back on. A magnificently picturesque canvas, heavy slice of history, a love triangle in the backdrop of war for independence, some superlative performances, Rangoon had all the ingredients of being another Vishal Bhardwaj epic. But then probably he had so much to say that the film misses out on what exactly it set out to portray. Bhardwaj tries to do what Tarantino did in “Inglourious Basterds” to present historical fiction using a large paint brush. But then while the later stayed true to the theme, the former strays around too much. The shoddy editing and an overstretched and convenient climax don’t help the matter much.  Every time the film comes close to exploring the emotions, the screen play veers around.  

However even a struggling Vishal Bhardwaj can give one a cinematic experience which only a handful of directors can claim to give. And Rangoon on that account is a film that must be seen to understand what scale, canvas and aesthetics mean. Even simple scenes are made to look magnificent. The performances have been even and Kangana Ranaut once again shows who the real queen is.  While the backdrop can be anything, Kangana makes sure you will remember Rangoon as the story of a fierce yet vulnerable Julia .The cinematography won’t let you take your eyes off the screen.

Remember the Sachin innings. Only after it got over we realised it was history in making. It was not fluent, it was not flawless. Yet it was an innings that you will watch every time you want to understand what mental strength and concentration means.  Rangoon too has its share of issues especially in editing and screen play, but then it’s a film that helps you understand the medium. It’s a film that is visually enriching and who knows how history will look at Rangoon. Bloody hell, after all it’s a “Vishal Bhardwaj creation”.

I will go out with 3 out of 5 for this Kangana Ranaut starrer. The show must go on!