RANG RASIYA: One of the most hurried, confusing and uneventful biopics! [2/5]

The fact that even today more than a billion people worship Indian Gods in pictures painted originally by the ace painter Raja Ravi Varma in 19^th century, India; alone is a promising motivation to go for Ketan Mehta’s RANG RASIYA. There is also an interesting episode not known to many that Raja Ravi Varma once enthusiastically donated funds to Dada Saheb Phalke as token of encouragement to go ahead with his spirit of making moving pictures. Still, RANG RASIYA turns out to be one of the most hurried, confusing and uneventful biopics made in Bollywood.

Based on Ranjit Desai’s novel on the most fascinating Indian artist, RANG RASIYA is a film that tries to be bold but only in projection and not in intention. The disclaimer itself at the very start declares that the film is not based on true events and any resemblance to anyone dead or alive is purely coincidental. And you are making a biopic! What sort? Only God knows. Film hurriedly moves from one to another event in the life of Varma like Mr. Mehta is only interested in playing ‘touch & go’ but things behave differently whenever there is a sequence of painter’s physical participation with his muse. Mehta suddenly is reminded to bring depth, serenity and artistic satisfaction to explore as much as he could.   

Film’s another failure is the baffling screenplay where the judge at the court is named Richards but speaks Hindustani full of Urdu words. This is never a justice to the art but the artist as the actor here is the veteran theatre artist Tom Alter. Aren't we done with him? Offering him roles respective of his skin color and tonal quality! Same goes with the most of the casting; starting from foreigners talking in infuriating Hindi pronunciations to the lead actress [played by Nandna Sen] trying to impress you with her best of emotions but a Bengali touch in the intonation kills most of it. and if you look at the lines they are given to articulate, you would notice that very conveniently one uses English words or popular Urdu words in the middle of all the ‘Sanskrit driven’ Hindi sentences.

The biggest relief is Randeep Hooda, cast as Raja Ravi Varma. He’s the blessing in disguise for film. He’s the only one looking more interested and attached to the film than the director. Nandna Sen plays the part well, mostly when there is not much to emote. In rest, there are a dozen of small roles done by known faces but most are typical with no signs of any surprise element. Music is strictly average, so are the dialogues. Camerawork is efficient but the unevenness in the settings is too visible to trust the time zone.

Overall, it is a story that needed to be told but in a more in-depth impression and a lot more authenticity in the execution. The story of a defiant artist who dared to gift Indian Gods a face and a line of art accessible to common people breaking all the barriers planted by religious extremists, is anyways pertinent even in today’s much liberated times. Hadn’t Mr. Mehta taken the liberty to focus on intimate moments between the painter and the muse and to at least the intense confrontation between him and the social establishments, film would have been a worthy tribute. Watch it on Home-video! It will bring back glimpses & hints of episodes from some good old Doordarshan Serials, at the max! [2/5]