Story: Based on Desai's novel on Raja Ravi Varma (Randeep Hooda), the film deals with the court case slapped on the iconic artist for painting nude images of women and giving face to Indian Goddesses. Religious gurus filed him for propagating vulgarity and hurting religious sentiments. The film traces his story through his childhood, his marriage, his muses, his love and inspiration from Sugandha (Nandana Sen) who pushed him to deliver his best work and of course about how the fate of that case changed the face of law's perception towards art and censorship.
A case whose ruling is relevant even today; despite science taking over, logical and wide thinking hasn't prevailed clearly. The film is an eye opener for many who think limited and judge art from a moralistic point of view.
Performances: Randeep Hooda was used in his nascent best. The actor gives his rustic swag a look uncannily different from what we recognize him from. From playing a frivolous flirt in scenes to a heartbroken painter whose muse was socially humiliated because of him, he brings an ethereal quality in his performance delivering undoubtedly his best.
Nandana Sen looks radiant in every frame, bringing poignancy to her performance. Vulnerable in love, drawing strength from the same, it's her heartbreak and breakdown of faith that makes the climax so surreal.
Paresh Rawal as the the scheming Seth was great. Sachin Khedekar was again good in his part. Even the naive, young and equally stellar Ferena Wazair has done a memorable job.
Direction & Screenplay: Rang Rasiya is Ketan Mehta's victory alone. While all may feel his story, it is he alone who has truly empathized with his fellow filmmakers and artists all over the world, who are still suffering the wrath of fake societal norms. In very few terms, Mehta takes on the system and poses pertinent questions – should the views of all govern the views of an artist and why doesn't the common man open himself up from fundamentalist thinking; a critical take on religious leaders whose charisma is borne out of unscientific, often regressive thinking. Mehta wastes little energy on what doesn't fit with the film's theme, focusing solely on Ravi Varma's life and all that pertains to him and his battle in revolutionizing the Indian thinking.
The director's delight in conveying cinema is evident in that one scene where Ravi and his friends witness the screening of 'L'Arrivée d'un train en gare de La Ciotat'. The ecstasy in the shot of the moving train is unmissable. Based on a rich tapestry, the film's valiant approach towards art and how Ravi Varma wins the case is significant and the last scene where a gorgeous nude painting of Raja Ravi Varma is destroyed all speaks volumes about how art in democratic India still doesn't have the freedom to remain alive and breathe. A complex and diverse country dominated by people who cannot think freely, Ketan's baseline remains at How free are we?
The last word: Smeared in color, vibrancy and sensuality, Rang Rasiya revels in its operatic, dramatic beauty and narrates a liberating tale of love, passion and freedom of vision. Ketan Mehta brings out the best from his actors Randeep and Nandana; especially the latter who unleashes on screen much beyond her sublime beauty, the vulnerability of her character. The inspirational story tells an uninhibited tale of a man who will always remain eternal through his art. I am going with 8/10.
A case whose ruling is relevant even today; despite science taking over, logical and wide thinking hasn't prevailed clearly. The film is an eye opener for many who think limited and judge art from a moralistic point of view.
Performances: Randeep Hooda was used in his nascent best. The actor gives his rustic swag a look uncannily different from what we recognize him from. From playing a frivolous flirt in scenes to a heartbroken painter whose muse was socially humiliated because of him, he brings an ethereal quality in his performance delivering undoubtedly his best.
Nandana Sen looks radiant in every frame, bringing poignancy to her performance. Vulnerable in love, drawing strength from the same, it's her heartbreak and breakdown of faith that makes the climax so surreal.
Paresh Rawal as the the scheming Seth was great. Sachin Khedekar was again good in his part. Even the naive, young and equally stellar Ferena Wazair has done a memorable job.
Direction & Screenplay: Rang Rasiya is Ketan Mehta's victory alone. While all may feel his story, it is he alone who has truly empathized with his fellow filmmakers and artists all over the world, who are still suffering the wrath of fake societal norms. In very few terms, Mehta takes on the system and poses pertinent questions – should the views of all govern the views of an artist and why doesn't the common man open himself up from fundamentalist thinking; a critical take on religious leaders whose charisma is borne out of unscientific, often regressive thinking. Mehta wastes little energy on what doesn't fit with the film's theme, focusing solely on Ravi Varma's life and all that pertains to him and his battle in revolutionizing the Indian thinking.
The director's delight in conveying cinema is evident in that one scene where Ravi and his friends witness the screening of 'L'Arrivée d'un train en gare de La Ciotat'. The ecstasy in the shot of the moving train is unmissable. Based on a rich tapestry, the film's valiant approach towards art and how Ravi Varma wins the case is significant and the last scene where a gorgeous nude painting of Raja Ravi Varma is destroyed all speaks volumes about how art in democratic India still doesn't have the freedom to remain alive and breathe. A complex and diverse country dominated by people who cannot think freely, Ketan's baseline remains at How free are we?
The last word: Smeared in color, vibrancy and sensuality, Rang Rasiya revels in its operatic, dramatic beauty and narrates a liberating tale of love, passion and freedom of vision. Ketan Mehta brings out the best from his actors Randeep and Nandana; especially the latter who unleashes on screen much beyond her sublime beauty, the vulnerability of her character. The inspirational story tells an uninhibited tale of a man who will always remain eternal through his art. I am going with 8/10.