Book to mark celebration of ‘Rang De Basanti’ decade

The team of “Rang De Basanti”, including Aamir Khan, R. Madhavan and director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, will on Monday get together to unveil a book which has the screenplay of the movie, which completes a decade since its release.

The film had released on Republic Day 10 years ago.

“Time flies, 10 years and feels like yesterday. We are 10 years older and ‘Rang de Basanti’ remains relevant. It was destiny to be part of a movie that became a movement,” Mehra said in a statement.

UTV Motion Pictures and Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra Films will celebrate the decade mark of the film with a screening for the entire cast and crew of the film here. At the event, the screenplay book of the film will also be launched.

Other cast members expected to attend the event are Waheeda Rehman, Siddharth Narayan, Kunal Kapoor, Sharman Joshi, Atul Kulkarni and Soha Ali Khan. It also featured British actress Alice Patten in a key role.

According to a source, Aamir, who is shooting for his upcoming film “Dangal” in Delhi, will specially fly down to attend the reunion.

“Oscar-winning composer A.R. Rahman is also expected to be a part of the press conference. And a grand party at Mehra’s residence is also on the anvil post the conference,” said the source.

“Rang De Basanti” splashed colours of patriotism while narrating the story of a group of youngsters and how they are drawn towards leading a freedom movement after independence.

The twist in the tale was the smooth transition from past to the present and back. The film brought forward a flashback to the freedom struggle about how freedom fighters like Chandrashekhar Azad, Bhagat Singh, Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan and Rajguru continue to inspire youngsters.

“Rang De Basanti” also has a political angle with a sub-plot revolving around MiG-21 crashes, giving a push to the story of the film.

The songs of the film were also very fresh, energetic, catchy along with melodies like “Tu bin bataye” and “Luka chuppi”, and the power-packed title track.

“Rang De Basanti” turned out to be the most impactful and poignant film for UTV Motion Pictures, which has worked across several projects with both of them over the last decade.

Amrita Pandey, vice president and head of marketing and distribution, Studios, Disney India, said: “’Rang De Basanti’ is a movie which we are really proud of. Now that the movie has completed a decade, it seems as if it were only yesterday when we worked on this fabulous film.

“It holds a truly special place for us in our hearts as it started our journey as a true blue studio and we hope that the legacy of the film continues to reign supreme even in the years to come.”

The film garnered both critical acclaim as well as commercial success. It bagged the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment in addition to various popular awards of the country.

The movie was also nominated for the Best Film (non-English language) at the 2007 British Academy of Film and Television Arts awards.

Inputs by IANS