From Aamir’s swag and Urmila’s act to stylish music, when ‘Rangeela’ hit our screens

There are very few films that remain remarkably unique and fresh whenever we watch them. Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma’s ‘Rangeela’ is one such gem of a film that struck the right chords, went on to win hearts and eventually became a cult classic. The film starred Aamir Khan, Urmila Matondkar and Jackie Shroff playing the lead roles and it was today, on September 8, when the movie had hit the screens, and we got to experience the magic of this movie.

This movie is special for innumerable reasons. To start with, Bollywood’s Mr Perfectionist aka actor Aamir Khan’s transformation for the character of Munna was brilliant. It was a stark departure from the roles he had played earlier, ever since he had made his debut in Bollywood. The actor had imbibed and enacted the character of Munna so well that one could never deduce his starry persona from his act. Munna and Aamir were one and only on the screen. His body language, tapori style of dialogue delivery and costumes were bang on, and made Munna a cult character.

Once one gets over Aamir’s swag as Munna, we have to admit that we just could not take our eyes off the stunner that Urmila Matondkar was, in this movie. There’s no doubt that ‘Rangeela’ reintroduced Urmila in Hindi films. Her character Mili, who aspires to be a film actress, saw her as a simple charming girl-next-door who later becomes the queen of oomph. Both the phases of Mili’s character, and her transition, was played to perfection by her. Jackie Shroff’s performance as Raj Kamal was equally sensitive and one of the best in his filmography. (Also Read: When Anil Kapoor and Jackie Shroff redefined bromance with their first film together)

The film will literally be incomplete without the mention of its soul; the melodious music by AR Rahman, with lyrics by Mehboob. Many would be aware of this fact that ‘Rangeela’ was Rahman’s debut soundtrack in Hindi films. Earlier, all his songs were dubbed from his Tamil films. From ‘Rangeela Re’, ‘Kya Kare Kya Na Kare’, ‘Mangta Hai Kya’ to ‘Hai Rama’ and ‘Tanha Tanha Yahan Pe Jeena’, every song was splendid and a chartbuster. The songs of this movie also had a stylish edge which was different from the soothing tones that Rahman was famous for. ‘Rangeela’ even marked the return of veteran playback singer Asha Bhosle, who sang ‘Rangeela Re’ and ‘Tanha Tanha Yahan Pe Jeena’, which went on to become a sensation in Bollywood. The movie also proved to be a turning point for fashion designer Manish Malhotra who received instant fame especially for the makeover of actress Urmila Matondkar.

Well, what are you thinking? Let’s go binge-watch the movie and croon, “Chal Mere Sang Sang Lele Duniya Ke Rang, Hoja Rangeela Re Rang Rang Rangeela Re.”

Amod Pandit

Quiet, resonant, and creative, he can be seen immersed in his own world, and puts in his heart and soul into the one passion that he has, Bollywood. His line for survival? Feel happy to be a part of it.