Chrysanthepop Ketan Mehta perhaps wanted to make a lavish 'Braveheart' with 'The Rising: Ballad of Mangal Pandey'. Well, the end result is far from it. The depiction of the rebellion and the pursuit for revolution was very bleak. I can understand that Mehta wanted to make a lavish epic-type movie about an Indian hero but there is just too much exaggeration for the story to resonate. So much is spoon-fed to the viewer while it fails at telling a proper story. There are so many sequences that are unintentionally funny. Forget historical accuracy, even the characters (with the exception of a few) felt one-dimensional. Even the title character was poorly developed. The mutiny preparation was rushed. While each and every one of the songs are beautiful, the holy song could have been left out as it doesn't add to the story and only slackens the pace. Even the romance between Jwala and William looked forced (this track shouldn't have been included at all).Mehta does introduce some interesting issues that have not been depicted on screen earlier. Such as the Indian nanny breastfeeding the British baby while she struggles to feed her own child. His cinematographer does a superb job in capturing the picture with his camera. The art direction is eye candy.A.R. Rahman's score deserves special mention. It is of an eclectic mix with a variety of songs, all of which have been beautifully visualized. I especially liked how 'Rasiya' and 'Vari Vari' were executed. Rani Mukherjee dances wonderfully. Many have made unfair comparisons to that of Madhuri Dixit's 'mujra' in 'Devdas'. Madhuri's character was a trained dancer while Rani's Heera had just been sold to the brothel and her primary task was to seduce. Back to Rahman's music, his background score is highly effective. It remains consistent and always contributes well to the scene (sometimes it's the only thing that works in a scene).Aamir Khan makes a comeback after four years. However, this is far from his best work. He looks uninterested and wooden in most places and is easily overshadowed by Toby Stephens. He does seem to enjoy playing with his fake moustache. Stephens has the best character and he does full justice to it with a remarkable performance. Rani Mukherjee acts with full guns blazing. Whether her character is relevant or not to the movie, the actress is sensual, spontaneous and natural on screen and that's always great to watch. Amisha Patel has a few fits of hyperventilation (even though her character wasn't supposed to be someone sick with asthma).'The Rising: Ballad of Mangal Pandey' is a lackluster film. It has very little to offer whether in the form of entertainment, enlightenment or engagement.

heislloyd I started watching this film on television, having no idea what it was about. In common with almost all Indian films it contains several song and dance sequences that have little to do with advancing the plot. The scenery is quite pretty and some of the buildings used as locations are beautiful (although a little out-of-period in look). It starts with a flash-forward to near the ending of the story, and we see preparations made to execute a prisoner. He is a handsome muscular dignified magnificent specimen, so he has "hero" written all over him.It then became clear what the film was about: the 1857 Indian Mutiny. The simple fact is that most people seeing this will not know the details of what actually happened and will accept much of what is shown as history. Of course they will know that specifics of dialogue and so forth are invented, but the emotional impact of the message of the story has power, and so there is a responsibility on the film makers to use this power wisely and fairly.The film then commits several terrible acts of inaccuracy. I will concentrate on one: a rumour is spread that pig and cow grease are used on the cartridges issued to troops, and this displeases the Hindus (cows) and Muslims (pigs). It is historically true that the RUMOUR of this existed and contributed to the starting of the Mutiny, but the film then goes on to tell the audience that the rumour was true. In historical reality it really was just a rumour. The cartridges were waxed. Hollywood and Bollywood seem very comfortable with portraying the British as incompetent and evil and here we see this lazy scripting at work again. The East India Company did make a big mistake in not taking the rumour seriously, but it was not so stupid or so evil as to actually use pig or cow grease on the cartridges.H/Bollywood might be forgiven for a certain amount of artistic convention with characters etc. (in this film, the lead characters in the story also happen to be best friends, having saved each other's lives in the past etc.), but it really should not take liberties to the point when the story is just a lie, nor should it, as here, make political points at the end of the film, dressed up as history. The film ends with a statement that Mangal Pandey as portrayed was a real man (the real man was very ordinary and claimed in court to have been under the influence of drugs when he did what he did), and that the Mutiny was really the first war of Indian independence, throwing off the yolk of subjugation and exchanging this for happy freedom. Historians will differ in their interpretations and emphases of the past, but it must be pointed out that the East India Company ruled India as a far more prosperous, advanced, just, and peaceful place that it had found it. Also, the instant that India gained its dependence, it was rent into parts, with Pakistan and what later became Bangladesh splitting away, and a tremendously bloody civil war flared up in which vastly more Indians died than did at the hands of the British, and more people were displaced than at any other time in history.I am sick of one lot of rulers replacing another lot's being shown as "freedom" in films. "Braveheart" did the same - I am unconvinced that the Scots fighting for the "freedom" to be subjugated by a slightly different set of feudal lords really did themselves much good.There are so many interesting themes in human interaction and history to be explored. It is a shame that films like this always tell the same few tales over and over, and reduce everything to a few stereotypes. The Indian Mutiny would make a good setting for a film exploring the nature of good rule, the power of rumour, the importance of religious tolerance, the randomness of historical events, but instead we get the standard farm-boy becomes hero, kills black knight, rescues maiden, fights the Evil Empire story. This works in Star Wars largely because Star Wars is so self-consciously legend. In the setting of historical events that still today have political implications, it is pernicious.The film looks good, has reasonably decent performances in it, and a few scenes with lots of costumed extras, but it is far too long, too familiar and low-brow. The heroic British officer in the court room scene is made to rant and yell for the sake of drama. How much more powerful and fair the scene would have been if he had spoken calmly. History records that after the mutiny, the trials held were very fair and threw out most charges of rape that were reported against white British. There was no savage retribution - quite the reverse. That is another interesting story here ignored.

Sherazade It was such a great attempt at a good film and everyone who participated in this movie really brought their own to the table. I guess people were just too tired of freedom fighter themed films, or maybe they'd had their fill of Yash Raj productions for the year after films like 'Salaam Namaste', 'Bunty Aur Babli' etc. etc. Last year, I remember accidentally reading a review of the film before I saw it, and anyone who knows me knows that I hate reading what people have to say about a film I'm interested in seeing before I see it. But anyways, the review slammed Rani Mukherjee and Amisha Patel for their wooden portrayal of the characters they played in the film. The reviewer called Rani 'particularly wooden' and accused Amisha Patel of doing nothing but "whoop cough" her way through her scenes. Naturally, when I went to see the film, I kept looking for wooden performances and whooping cough. Let me just tell you that there is nothing of a sort in the film. Rani Mukherjee and Amisha Patel were both in their element in the film.The story centers around the sometimes controversial and now infamously notorious noted premiere Hindistani freedom fighter Mangal Pandey (played here by none other than the incomparable Aamir Khan) for which the movie is named. He plays an officer of the British company Raj -- a private organisation from Britain that has come to colonise and profit from India.The film begins very much like its predecessor 'The Legend of Bhaghat Singh' with the dastardly act (in this case Pandey is about to be hanged and in the case of Singh the act had already taken place when the film begins) and we are shown a good portion of the film in flashback via Captain William Gordon's memories (played by British TV star Toby Stephens) who is also a good friend of Pandey's. In these memories, we find out just how inhumane the Private British rule was on India, how Hindustani soldiers were trained and used to suppress their own people, how there existed brothels and harems created especially for White soldiers, how an Indian servant used her own mammary glands to fed the child of a White woman while her own baby starved at home (later to be fed opium as a suppressant for its incessant and insatiable cries), The sort of racism that existed (Indians were actually referred to by the British as 'DARKIES, BLACK DOGS, & even hard as it may be to believe THE N WORD') and so and so forth.But the straw that breaks the camels back comes when Pandey gets word (ironically from an UNTOUCHABLE) that the gun cartridges be used by Indian soldiers in the battalion were been manufactured with the use of animal byproducts forbidden by both Muslims and Hindus. He tries to investigate this but is re-assured every time by the Whites that there is no truth to the rumours. Then while sightseeing with friends one day, he spies a slave girl named Heera (played by that hurricane of an actress known as Rani Mukherjee) being sold to the highest bidder, despite the abolition of slavery which was already in effect. One evening, Pandey rescues Heera from being taken against her will from the brothel she had been sold to, much to the dismay of Lol Bibi the proprietress(played by ever stunning Kiron Kher) and the man taking her away, Hewson (famous British TV star Ben Nealon) and this leads to further instigation on the part of Pandey to stand up and take action for India as well as the budding romance between him and Heera.Gordon on the other hand, has his hands full trying to protect Pandey from his rebellious ways, as well as managing to save and fall in love with Jwala (played by a very youthful looking Amisha Patel Sans makeup) who is about to be a victim of a 'Sati'(The ancient ritual of burning a bride after her husband has passed away) when he meets her. Pandey tries to warn Gordon from interfering but to no avail, and you'll have to watch the movie to see what the man goes through all in the name of saving a beauty queen of a bride.While the ill-fated romance between Pandey and Heera blossoms, confirmation finally arrives when Pandey is physically taken to the manufacturing depot and he sees for himself that the gun parts are being manufactured using animal products. This causes him to lash out against the company, as well as call into question his friendship with Gordon who gave him his word. Other Indian soldiers join in to back Pandey up and the company wages a war against all of them, isolating them and promising to bring them all to justice. Pandey and friends then join forces with suppressed Indian Kings and Queens as well as their people and followers, but the alliance comes too late when the British company Raj meets them with a deadly force of British soldiers, sent from Britain by the Queen. Needless to say, Pandey is captured and tried before a court of law and found guilty of all the crimes he is accused of. The rest as they say, is history.The very best part of this film for me, apart from the stunning cinematography, the stellar music, song and dance(Heera's Mujra song especially, the Holi song, and the gypsy bonfire song were awesome), comes at the very end when Heera (now a warrior bride) leads a battalion of rebels against the British and shady Indian business men. That scene alone was worth the price of the entire film and then some. I didn't cry when Pandey was killed, but I did when I saw Heera take up his cause. A must see for most, especially those who won't over analyse it. The film is narrated by the stellar voice talents of Om Puri.

mmr_08 Film : The Rising - The Legend Of Mangal Pandey Director : Ketan Mehta Producer : Bobby BediThe Intense Wait Of 4 Years Is Finally Over For Aamir Khan Fans As The Rising Is Released . Though Not As Thrilling As LAAGAN , I Must Conclude That It Is A Masterpiece , Though Many People Left The Theatre Disappointed , Expecting It To Be Another Gandhi .Right From The Cinematography , Costumes , Locales , It Is All Top Grade.Aamir Khan As Mangal Pandey Is A Treat To Watch , Be It In The Scene Where He Comes Out Of The Ganga After Having A Bath Or The Scene He Is To Be Hanged . Toby Stephens As CAPT William Gordon Almost Overshadows Aamir Khan . Another Gifted Actor In The Making .