Mysorean

When your tagline says, “A generation awakens”, it means serious business. A great dream and a very high aim for yourself. This “sms generation” for whom anything beyond four lines is a lecture, you are presenting a two hour forty minute dawdle. I am surprised that it’s been accepted so well. But since perfection is an illusion, I still hear people say, “Yeah, nice movie. But then what’s the point? Should we take up arms in response to whatever’s happening?”. This write-up is for people with this attitude towards the movie. 

Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra says it loud and clear in the website and as well as in the movie (Aamir says it on AIR), “Zindagi jeene ke do tareekhe hote hain. Ek, jo ho raha hai, usse hone do, bardaasht karo. Doosra, jo ho raha hai usse badalne ki khoshish karo”. “There are two ways of living life. One, accept (in fact he says tolerate, but acceptance is a better virtue) whatever’s happening and live. Two, accept the responsibility to change whatever’s happening and do it.” RDB is a movie about the second type – responsibility.

So, what happens in the movie? The five boys take up arms, kill the Defense Minister and get killed themselves. So isn’t the answer obvious? Take up arms and kill the Minister! But you know that nobody will publicly acknowledge that it’s a possible step. So, people begin thinking this way and shirk their responsibility. It’s unfortunate that people think this way and spoil the spirit of the movie itself. It’s these people, who actually are of the first kind (accept that life is like this and continue to live) but think that they are of the second kind (responsible to change whatever’s happening) who speak like this. They are caught in a tremendous identity crisis.

Ok. I agree you can’t decide what kind of a person you are. Atleast respect the sensibilities of people behind the movie: Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra (Director/Producer, Screenplay), Ronnie Screwwaala (Producer), Kamlesh Paandey (Screenplay and Story), Aamir Khan (Actor) and others. Do you think they would make a movie to inspire youngsters to take up arms? Call it “Rang De Basanti”, and spend Rs. 30 crores to just incite violence in the country? What a joke it would be!

Since we are not able to be strong, we also say is the system really screwed up? We try to cover up for our lack of knowledge. Some of our esteemed NRI’s who stay abroad start thinking publicly about how the system needn’t be victimised by films like these. It’s happening for heaven’s sake! Why would over 200 MiG planes crash over the last 15 years? Think! Damnit think!

I have dealt with the Government during my early days in my job. I know what a dirty game it is. I refused to be a part of such stuff and resigned. But I know that it’s still happening. Despite knowing I am unable to do anything about it. It’s my money, it’s our money that goes waste that way. And people ask, why is the gap between poor and rich getting wider?

Like Madhavan’s character, Flight Lieutenant Ajay Rathod says, “Is desh ko badal sakte hain. Police main bharthi ho jaao, military join karo, IAS bano, politics main utaro aur badalo is desh ko. Lekin hum nahi karenge. Pata hai kyon? Apni ghar ki safai main apne haat koun gande kare.”

Yeah maybe he stops with Police, military, IAS and politics. But the essence of the message is that, “Have you ever tried to do anything? Sitting and cribbing is so easy to do. Go out there and do something first”. And that’s the awakening that is intended to be brought about through the movie. And what’s the interpretation? The movie suggests that the answer to all the problems is violence. Ha! Ha! Ha!

Finally, “Koi bhi desh perfect nahi hota. Usse perfect banana padta hai” [No country is perfect. You need to make it perfect!]

You, Me, Us! We can do it!