Rangeela [DVD]

Another reviewer reviewed this movie highly but commented on a lack of subtitles. My copy was from one of the main Marketplace vendors and definitely had subtitles so don't be dissuaded.
I originally heard of this movie referred to in another movie (Swades). I then saw references to it on Bollywood sites as much loved with music that is still fondly regarded.
Its music is written by A.R. Rahman who at the time of me writing this had just won a Golden Globe for best soundtrack for 'Slumdog Millionaire' and won elsewhere for the soundtrack of 'Jodha Akbar'.
One of the 3 main stars of Rangeela is Aamir Khan who had the biggest box office success this year in India with Ghajini.
My pre-doubt about getting this DVD was its age. It is from 1995 and the cover looks a bit dated. India of the 1990s seems to often sport hairstyles and clothes of the West's 80s and the colour quality can be dodgy.
In fact those doubts were unfounded - one hairstyle and a couple of outfits aside, this still holds its own.
The dancing by Aamir (who just eats up the screen every time he appears as he is charismatic, attractive and notably a very fine actor) and also Urmila Matondkar as the lively bewitching heroine were extremely good.
There was a lot of dance and good choreography. So often in Bollywood choreographers seem to have to work with a limited repertoire from their actors but the limits were off with these two.
The cinematography was also good with the shooting always well framed and often atmospheric.
Urmilla, who I can't recall seeing before (though I see she has a long list of acting credits and awards), is also an excellent heroine.
The movie is a romantic triangle about an aspiring dancer who wants to make it in movies. She is 'found' by the star of the romantic movie 'Rangeela' (which seems to mean something about colours). The star is a shy, lonely, ageing lothario (played very well by Jackie Shroff)and he falls in love with her.
Will she end up with the successful star or with the penniless friend of her youth who cant admit his love for her in his awkwardness?
The music and dancing are both good- though I think Rahman took many of the numbers and evolved then in 'Taal' (as there are some similarities in sound and style) in 1999 - also recommended. In fact the plot is not dissimilar too!)
Definitely to be recommended.

'Rangeela' (literally, 'full of colour') was the film that projected Urmila Matondkar to stardom. The sulty Urmila set the tone for much of her later career in this film: other than the occasional art film ('Satya' for example) that displays her undoubted acting talents, a 'heaving bosom' erotic dance style has been her trademark.

This is an enjoyable movie that deserves proper DVD treatment. Be warned that there are no English subtitles on this DVD, so you must speak Hindi or watch the film with a Hindi-speaker. That said, the plot is somewhat predictable, and even without knowledge of Hindi one could follow events.

There is immense style in the filming and music of the movie. The unforgettable melodies are still popular today, a decade after its release. In summary, 5 stars for the film and 1 star for the DVD. We await a proper DVD release of this Bollywood classic.

Ok, Aamir burns up the screen in every scene he's in, Urmilla is beautiful and Jackie sympathetic. The style of the film is more modern than much of Bollywood from the mid 90s and it starts well at introducing Urmila's starlet, Jackie as the film star who discovers her and Aamir as the childhood friend and street gang member who is afraid to tell her he loves her. There are two songs, both with Aamir, where the choreographer really stretches his leads. However, except for "Kya Kare Kya Na" the music was, for me, forgettable (was it really Rahman?), I found the rest of the choreography ugly and I quickly tired of watching Urmila gyrating yet again. You know you're having trouble as a Bollywood fan when you go "Oh no, not another dance number!"

Maybe my expectations of an Aamir Khan film were just too high. While he is as outstanding as ever, the script gave his character no opportunity to grow and I felt let down that I could see no believable future for this hotheaded blackmarket ticket tout and his film star love. So the second half bored me and the ending left me unsatisfied.

Worth watching once for Aamir but not one I wanted to keep.