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The Rising
The Rising is a Bollywood movie - with a vibrant palette and a song on the
lips - unless it is a historical epic with a vibrant palette and a scowl on
the lips. Oscillating between scenes of village life, romantic intrigue,
communal harmony and British racism, oppression, exploitation, it sets the
viewer up perfectly for the inevitable Uprising that follows.
There are set pieces of history that are told through captions and
explained in a voice-over by Om Puri. The British East India Company was
corrupt; it fixed the system and called it Free Market; it destroyed
lives and villages; it considered the Indians superstitious fools; the
Company was white and the Indians were black [dogs]. Dont look here for
any nuance. Amidst the history lives Bollywood. Songs break out with marked
frequency - silver ghongroos and all. The film manages to show us a
traditional mujra; a rajasthani/gypsy drum-beat; the inevitable and
unescapable Holi number; a qawwali; an a-capella barbershop quartet - all
in the service of showing the diversity and harmony of India. The English
get a loony looking masked ball/halloween party.
Historical dramas are notoriously hard to pull off - not least because the
cost of getting the period details right is prohibitive. Add to that the
ire of history buffs and aggrieved parties, and it becomes a uninviting
challenge for anyone. But. Like I said, The Rising isnt really a
historical drama - even though it wants to tell the history of the Mangal
Pandey - it is romanticized history designed to have a universal market. It
is a crowd-pleaser that has its anti-imperialism raw and upfront. Sadly,
the anti-imperialism doesnt go beyond platitudes and simplistic
statements. Take, for example, the issue of exploitation. The narrator
tells us that EIC is forcing Indian farmers to grow opium, buying the opium
at fixed rates and shipping it to China. There are two elements of this
story thread that are noteworthy. First, is that the Indian collaborator, a
Parsi businessman, is shown to be profiting along with the English. At that
point, the audience has a hint of what made EIC rule possible. However, the
black-and-white [no pun intended] history of The Rising cannot sustain an
Indian of dubious morality, so the Parsi redeems himself by showing Mangal
Pandey the truth behind the cartridges. That was it. There are no other
Indians who even remotely appear compromised. Second, is that while opium
becomes a bad thing within the anti-imperial discourse in the movie
it
sure gets consumed a lot by everyone involved. Mangal Pandey has numerous
shots of downing jugs of bhang. Grandmas to newborns all have a taste for
the poppy.
Am I coming off negatively? Cause I loved the movie. I did. But, then, I am
not in the habit of going to the multiplex to get my history lessons. The
acting, cinematography, visual design are all impeccable. Aamir Khan
carries a mustache like Burt Reynolds can only dream of and his glower can
only be matched by Denzel Washington. In fact, these two, Khan and
Washington, need to make a movie together. Toby Stephens does a good job
with Hindi and with the script. Rani Mukerjis bosom should get its own
billing.
The Rising is a good set-piece to follow Lagaan. It has some powerful
moments [Mangals wedding, Mangals biting of the cartridge]. It has a song
and a dance geared for the international audience. It wants to show us the
exotic India just as much as it wants to proclaim that the Indians are
like anyone else [snakecharmers and firebreathers notwithstanding]. There
is a healthy dose of nationalism as well of populism and communal harmony.
Whats not to like? At some point, us historians will have to chuck the
books and start writing screenplays and novels. Why let the Farrukh Dhondys
and the Dan Browns enjoy all the fruits of our labor?
ps. yes, I am not going to nitpick the history presented in the movie.
There is no point in that. Incidentally, if you want to see a fantastic
fictional movie about 1857, try Shyam Benegals Junoon.
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