http://www.screendaily.com/story.asp?storyid=22895

The Rising: The Ballad Of Mangal Pandey


Jonathan Romney in London 04 August 2005 00:01



Dir: Ketan Mehta. India. 2005. 150mins

The story of the Indian Mutiny gets a swashbuckling spin, complete with musical numbers, in The Rising, a film that director Ketan Mehta originally planned to make in 1988.

The presence of Aamir Khan – star of Lagaan, one of the few Bollywood films to achieve a healthy degree of non-niche prominence – suggests that The Rising might follow suit, though much will depend on its reception in Locarno where it premiered on Wednesday (Lagaan was launched in similar style).

Crossover potential could be hampered, however, by what mainstream audiences may perceive as a jarring incongruity between taut, realistic historical drama and the extravagant dance sequences scored by star composer AR Rahman.

Slightly less than a full-blown epic, the film is handsomely mounted rather than truly spectacular, but at time of viewing, some CGI work, notably in the battle scenes, was yet to be completed. Whether or not it can break out of the specialised market, The Rising’s seriousness and political sense of purpose should give it an edge both theatrically and on DVD. The film is released in the UK and Us on August 12.

The film begins after the 1857 court martial of the historical figure Mangal Pandey (Khan), a sepoy – an Indian soldier enlisted in the British army under the all-powerful East India Company. A voice-over tells us we will learn what brought Pandey to this point, and how his actions led to the downfall of the East India Company, and sowed the seeds for the eventual dismantling of the British Raj.

The action flashes back to a skirmish between the British army and Afghans, in which Pandey saves the life of a young Scottish officer, Captain William Gordon (Stephens). The two men’s friendship is later cemented in a wrestling match but is tested when the sepoys come into conflict with their British commanders, as a result of the introduction of a bullet cartridge lubricated with beef and pork fat, and therefore offensive to the Indian soldiers.

Meanwhile, both men embark on romances with Indian women - Pandey with Rani (Mukerji), a young woman sold as a prostitute in a brothel for British officers, and Gordon with Jwala (Patel), a young widow whom he saves from death by suttee.

The Rising strikes an uneasy balance between factually-based historical drama and very broad melodrama, especially where some of the British characters are concerned, although Kenneth Cranham excels as a boorishly corrupt trader.

Writer Farrukh Dondey manages to impart a great deal of historical information about both the economic voracity and the cultural ignorance underlying British dominion, giving the film a distinct Marxist spin. But that requires an awkward amount of exposition, and it stretches plausibility that Gordon should deliver an angry lecture on the oppressive function of the opium trade, anachronistically signing off, “And we call it the free market.”

The talk, however, is offset by some taut dramatic sequences, especially in the climactic stand-offs between the sepoys and the British, with Khan excelling as an intense, charismatic leader who finally achieves a quasi-messianic status. He’s well matched by Stephens as a thinking gentleman-of-action.

Several song-and-dance sequences provide vibrant interludes, especially when Mukerji lets rip with jubilant, flirty brio.

I would very much doubt capabilities of Ketan Mehta/Boby Bedi to make a film of International standard and not to put commercial Masala!

When did Lagan was no no to commercial Masala or Swades etc etc!

http://www.shadowsonthewall.co.uk/05/rising.htm

The Rising The Legend of Mangal Pandey

4/5

R E V I E W B Y R I C H C L I N E

dir Ketan Mehta
scr Farrukh Dhondy
with Aamir Khan, Toby Stephens, Rani Mukerji, Amisha Patel, Coral Beed, Kiron Kher, Amin Hajee, Kailash Kher
release India/UK/US 12.Aug.05
05/India 2h30

The Rising This ambitious epic is a thunderously strong examination of how friendship and principles can actually change the world. Audiences put off by the concept of a very long Bollywood romantic-musical-comedy historical epic will be gripped by this one.

In 1857 Mangal Pandey (Khan) is a sepoy, an Indian serving under the command of Britain's East India Company, which by then had controlled the subcontinent for a century with its own laws, military and government. Mangal's a close friend of the sensitive British captain William Gordon (Stephens), but the introduction of a new gun cartridge drives a wedge between them. Greased with cow and pig fat, it's deeply offensive to both Hindus and Muslims. And a small standoff develops into a full-scale indigent rebellion.

On the surface, this is pure Bollywood: colourful sets and costumes, expansive cinematography, big musical numbers, local culture, blood-soaked violence, lusty romance and a cast of hundreds (OK, some scenes feature impressive crowds). What sets this film apart is a storyline that focuses not on the romance (there are two of them here) but on themes and ideologies. It's also a gentle and layered examination of the strong but shaken friendship between two upstanding men who find themselves on the wrong side of the law--and each other.

Khan and Stephens are excellent--introspective and fiercely emotional, with fire in their souls that's outlined clearly right from the start. This means we're never really surprised by their noble actions, no matter how many red herrings the filmmakers throw at us. And it also makes the greedy villains of the piece rather one-dimensional--callous colonialists and impassive local rulers. The company's ruthless avarice is a fairly heavy-handed swipe at today's globalisation, but the point is a strong one.

These global-political issues are vitally important, and are fascinating to see in a film set 150 years ago. But what grips us is the intense humanity that drives the film: tensions between east-west, old-new, male-female and the local castes. These details maybe a bit overwhelming, but they're also fascinating to Western audiences, as is the historical context for the free market system. That it boils over into a massive uprising is hardly surprising. And it's the intimate drama that brings it home.

Mhafner-ji?

I have seen the film twice now. And took pics of Rani and Aamir.
Aamir has eaten himself into chubbiness. Probably required for his current role or a leftover from Rising where he's a well fed sepoy with a bit of a belly.
He does some semi nude mud wrestling with an Indian officer too. No kidding. And Tobey Stephens kisses Amisha Patel full monty on the mouth. Aamir does not do the same with Rani. Cowards...
How's the film? Certainly a lot better than the average Bollywood film.
I have some issues with the digital intermediate (noise reduction, aliasing) and some stylistic issues. Overall a pretty good film. Probably not Bollywwod enough for the Indian masses and too Bollywood for the West. There is some Lagaan hangover (similar characters and conflict).
Rahman's 4 note motive for Pangal is... great. The male leads are very good as well. The women play second fiddle. The script has good moments but the flow of scenes is not always optimal. The ending looks somewhat messy with bits dangling. Go see it. It's worth to be seen on the big screen. And it will get many award nominations.

Thanks, can you please write a feature for front page zulm, that has not been updated for long time?

If hollywood appeal is Balleballe, damn, bride and prejudice, I'll stick to good bollywoodish film.
Lagaan, was bollywood too, and was appreciated as it is.
I hope Rising is not more than 2 1/2 hr long?

Mhafner,

Are you also gonna watch Rituparno Ghosh' ANTAR MAHAL on Friday at 14.00 at the film festival?
http://jahia.pardo.ch/jahia/webdav/site ... nc_ing.pdf

Yes. Jaya Bachchan is coming and Ghosh. Abhishek is not announced so
far.

OMG, I just saw the film, and I thought it was excellent. First of all, I appreciated a story about a lesser-known/"non-Gandhi" figure of Indian history. Second, I though both Aamir Khan and Toby Stephens turned in amazing performances. (Rani Mukherjee was OK, and Amisha Patel — I suppose — was adequate [though, personally, I think the less Amisha there is, the more palatable a film can be].) The cinematography was sweeping and perfectly portrayed the setting and events of the film. The music was in-tune with the tone of the film (and not over-used, unlike in the recent "Sarkar"); that said, I did feel that a couple of songs were unnecessary (the "tawif," and holi, ones). Personally, I felt this film could be compared easily to "Lagaan" (which I feel is marginally superior), though it manages to be different enough to not feel like a "sequel." Though I feel that any Indian (or any cine-goer, at that) could guess the events and ending, regardless of his or her (lack of) knowledge about Mangal Pandey per se, I felt that the execution was genuine enough not to let the audience roll its eyes while falling asleep. I'd say that the biggest shortcoming of the movie, was Om Puri's incessant narration. I understand that this was done to make the film more accessible and palatable to the "average Indian who lives in India" (or, if not "average," then at least the one who represents a significant enough percentage of the population that decides whether a film does well or not), but it really just ending up taking away from the film. When one watches a movie, one wishes to hear the dialogues, and not a voice-over translation that casually sums up what is going on. (Perhaps the film could have been released in America without the narration track. Hell, [the somewhat superior] "Black" managed not to "Hindi" it up, and it seems to have done just fine...then again, here, the tale is meant for the Indian...whatever.) Anyway, some hinderances aside, I think that "The Rising"/"Mangal Pandey" told its story effectively and — very important — without resorting to any type of "sanitization" of Indian values or any sort of blatant jingoism. Very good film.

*The commercial at the start of the film (there was none given during the intermission) was for "Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara."

Saw this in the UK yesterday. A lot of the dialogue was in English and there was no voice-over.

The film was good - but could have done without the sleeze in a couple of the songs. The songs (despite the fact that I liked them on the CD) seemed to jar with the continuity of the story. Make a comparison with the song at the saint's tomb with a similar song in Veer Zaara. In Mangal Pandey the situation of the song really did not have a lot to do with the story. There was no reason given for the soldiers being at the tomb ... and the song was used for a few minutes and suddenly ended. I didn't get it ... and to me it just seemed like it was there to fill some time.

At this point I noticed that the audience (mainly non-Asians) took a toilet and popcorn break!

Probably a better director would have been able to weave these songs in to the screenplay to help continue the story.

Aside from these minor points it was a good movie ... but could have been better.

DVD expected this week.

Since its yashraj, I am not expecting this week, but should come out in 3 weeks time

2 Disc edition - making of Mangal Pandey, theatrical trailers and the usual stuff. Comes in Dolby (no DTS). - HINDI version only, subtitled in around 12 languages.