The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Aamir rises, such mouche!

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Aug 13, 2005

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Aamir rises, such mouche!

HIT TWIRL: Aamir Khan all the way in `Mangal Pandey.'

Mangal Pandey - The Rising (Hindi)

Cast: Aamir Khan, Amisha Patel, Rani Mukherjee, Toby Stephens

Director: Ketan Mehta

Mangal Pandey, for long forgotten as a mere footnote in the Indian struggle for independence, is retrieved from the yellowed pages of the past and presented in all his glory by Ketan Mehta in a film that is good as an entertainer but not quite an epic.

Mehta does a neat job of seamlessly weaving history with folklore, facts with make-believe to stitch together a film that has enough masala to score at the box office, and enough loopholes to keep the critics busy. It has a rain dance, a Holi song, a smooch, a furtive meeting between lovers, and, of course, the final battle. Not to forget Aamir Khan, back at the box office after 1,461 days! All the elements that get the turnstiles register jingling.

Yes, at more than one place, Mehta plays with history. Mangal, as expected, is larger than life hero. He is brave, he is robust, he is a loyal friend, and a good lover. It is a one-dimension character Aamir does well to imbue with life and blood. Here he is a brave heart taking on the British on the issue of greased cartridges. No motive is explained. Mehta goes on to give a short shrift to other participants in the so-called Mutiny. Not a minute is spared for Kunwar Singh and Zeenat Mahal.

Sheer visual beauty

And Mangal is called the first martyr of independence struggle, the first step that enabled the nation to cross over from Mangal to Mahatma.

But leave those nagging doubts behind, enjoy the film for its visual beauty, and for the sheer sweep of the events in the second half. Dhamija's camera tells us there can be something beautiful in ruins — even in death and destruction. And Aamir, who took about a year-and-a-half in growing his hair and moustache for the film, delivers a punching performance. There is ample support from Toby Stephens, who gets almost as much footage as the hero. Amisha Patel as the girl saved from the funeral pyre of her husband and Rani as the slave-sold-into prostitution, who gets Mangal's attention, complete the scene.

Watch Mangal Pandey because the heroes of our freedom struggle deserve better than the dustbin of history. And watch it if you are an Aamir fan.

Ketan Mehta's film is only incidentally about history or hero. It is about commerce. And commerce derives itself from art!

ZIYA US SALAM

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