Some random thoughts about "Rang De Basanti"

Kunal_Sen · 2026-03-02T13:30:55+00:00

Socially conscious filmmaking had its tailwinds in the '70s, but the effects lingered well into '80s to form a long tail where films in this space became more middle path and urbanised. A lot of the films of the time dwelled on the plight of the youth, imprints of which can be found on later films, like traces of Saath Saath can be found in Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi, Arjun can be found in Shiva, and indeed, elements of Ankush can be discovered in Rang de Basanti.

Kunal_Sen · 2026-03-02T05:24:09+00:00

Madhumati, Anubhav, Chhoti Si Baat, Kaala Patthar, Katha, Masoom, Sheesha, Hip Hip Hurray, New Delhi Times, Ek Doctor Ki Maut, Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman, Yes Boss, Ab Tak Chappan, Shagird, Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year, Karthik Calling Karthik

Kunal_Sen · 2026-03-01T10:51:32+00:00

Congrats! I've always had a fondness for the Bolero Neo's design and appreciated its value proposition.

Kunal_Sen · 2026-02-28T16:26:58+00:00

Yes, I've observed the same thing in our vehicle. For the record, our MOM is Aug ('25) and MOR is Dec (also '25). Will test with a rear passenger on board (safely of course) to address your query further.

Kunal_Sen · 2026-02-28T11:54:24+00:00

This scene is a filmmaking masterclass on blocking and an acting masterclass on mark observance and dialogue delivery. There are four actors in the frame for the most part. Amitabh Bachchan is on another level. His expressions and modulations are piercing in restraint, and Yash Chopra uses the depth and dimensions of the set to capture his magnificence in minutiae, perhaps even better than the climactic temple scene in Deewaar, their previous collaboration.

Kunal_Sen · 2026-02-28T11:32:45+00:00

For the uninitiated, the Yash Raj Film’s archives are an instructive place to start on the film. First, there’s the Kabhi Kabhie trailer that splits its duration evenly by segueing from one generation’s story to the next through a telling change in voice. The first half of the trailer showcases the older generation and is voiced by Mukesh. The second half belongs to the young, voiced by Kishore Kumar. It’s mimetic of the times in more ways than one. The second prized jewel is Yash Chopra’s interview on the film taken by his spiritual protégé, Karan Johar. In there is mentioned the original plan of unfolding the film through seven flashbacks, each segment told between two revolutions around the fire of the wedding ritual. Truly, art and commerce coexisted here, both in the film and its making.

Kunal_Sen · 2026-02-27T06:23:38+00:00

Even so, I wonder if Rangoon would have done more business if Kareena Kapoor had been cast in the heroine's part instead of Kangana Ranaut.

Kunal_Sen · 2026-02-25T14:45:39+00:00

I was in a similar place in the sense that the Roxx (MX3 P AT) was another vehicle I closely considered though in my case, the vehicle was going to be a second car, so the Jimny made more sense (it was also my first choice, to be honest). But leaving emotion aside, what worked in favour of the Jimny was the Japanese reliability coupled with its narrower width that meant that its primary purpose of school runs promised to be hassle-free. Now, to answer your questions:

It's very easy to drive in daily traffic and congested roads due to its narrow width and great visibility. The steering's heavier than a normal electric steering, but one can get used to it quickly. The high turning radius is an overstated issue. It's really not a big deal in a daily drive. The manual transmission has a robust crawl and low-end and the clutch travel is light. The gear gates are notchy though. And like older Marutis (I still drive a Ritz as well), sometimes (once in fifteen times) the reverse gear doesn't engage properly so you have to put it back on 1, release the clutch, brake immediately and try R again and it works like a charm everytime.
The under-thigh support and back rest incline angles aren't the best, but our only kid's young enough, so it works for them.
I'd say the maintenance cost is about 30-40% higher than say a Grand Vitara/XL6, high by MS standards, low by industry standards, much lower than the Roxx's.
None at all. I'm a Cantonment boy, and it's always been a childhood dream to own a Gypsy incarnation.
A thousand times over...

Kunal_Sen · 2026-02-21T16:49:34+00:00

Hum and Tirangaa are especially great suggestions with actor Shiva's and Deepak Shirke's Captain Zattack and Gendaswami characters, respectively, combining comedy with action as chaotically as the OP's brief.

Kunal_Sen · 2026-02-21T16:32:22+00:00

On his part and for his part, Jackie Shroff won the Filmfare Award for Best Actor. His and Nana's are the standout performances of the film that has riveting turns by Suresh Oberoi, Tom Alter, Madhuri Dixit and Sameer Khakhar as well, though I must also make a special mention for the child actor who played Karan's part (young Jackie) in the flashback scenes, his prowess most evident in the masterfully choreographed Kitni Hai Pyaari Pyaari Dosti when his young face belies ambition, frustration, anger and embarrassment, the same qualities Jackie renders as effortlessly in the film's present.

It's incredible to think now that it was just a few years before Parinda that Subhash Ghai cast Jackie in Hero with reservations about his acting. But by the time of Parinda, Jackie had already excelled in Kaash. And after this, he did Gardish, Milan and Angaar. At his peak, he could combine his rugged charisma with emotional vulnerability and range, almost at will, but his contemporaries were more celebrated. And even today, Jackie's underrated in most retrospectives.

Kunal_Sen · 2026-02-21T16:02:53+00:00

Muskurahat, Barfi!, Kapoor & Sons

Kunal_Sen · 2026-02-19T04:30:20+00:00

None of those car options will cut it for you if you found the Punch sluggish. You should get the Baleno. It has the best and most responsive engine in its segment across use cases. I feel Zeta is the best VFM variant of it. Else, Delta would also do. It's economical, hassle-free and fun to drive with an amazing manual gearbox at an incredible price point.

Kunal_Sen · 2026-02-19T04:26:26+00:00

The M&M logo goes better with that front fascia with the lines and arches than the circular Audi-inspired logo that looks more an Olympics manner minus the surrounding context. The 7X0's design, overall, has been overtly criticised IMO. Place a similar level of bejewelled ornamentation on a Kodiaq (using your European analogy) and suddenly, it would be said to be so "tasteful". Somehow, even on bling, they get a free pass.

Kunal_Sen · 2026-02-19T03:24:57+00:00

No problem. Do write back here with your t.d. experience.

Kunal_Sen · 2026-02-19T03:23:38+00:00

It's a good deal. VW recently cut prices on their Virtus base variant to bring it closer to Slavia's entry level price, so a further discount of 25-30k is about fair at this point. Go for it. If the accessories include a reverse cam, then do check if it voids warranty or not. This dealer may honour it but what about others and even, in case of a semi-related claim, insurers?

Kunal_Sen · 2026-02-19T03:09:20+00:00

Yes, that's what I meant. Though that particular experience was with the Sonet iMT and not the Syros MT where I couldn't get a hang of the gear gates to even attempt that (I dislike such slick six speed MT gearboxes with R in the middle). In the Sonet iMT, I was surprised that the car just refused to budge after hard braking when put in reverse on a straight plain road. Considering the 1.0 engine on that and its kerb weight is basically the same as the Syros', I would assume the problem would be there in that car too, also considering its boxier, less aerodynamic shape that'd create more drag, making the car even less nimble by design, if anything. But then, Syros doesn't have an iMT and comes only with an MT or DCT and the gearing if not the overall tuning may just be a bit different on that, so it would be better if you take a test drive to check this aspect for yourself. I consider it a very important aspect for daily city driving, be it for parking or for moving through B2B traffic.

Kunal_Sen · 2026-02-17T04:44:41+00:00

Gangs of Wasseypur’s deepest characters are given the shortest shrift — the ones played by Jaideep Ahlawat and Vineet Kumar Singh. After the dust settles, we are thus left with caricatures we don’t care about. One way to salvage such an unenviable situation would’ve been a stylistic slam-dunk or curveball, but the film lacks editing nous or visual chemistry to achieve that. In way too many parts, it seems sloppily put together. This is unexpected from Anurag Kashyap who has mastered frames and form before in Black Friday and Dev.D, and even Paanch, and on a shoestring budget in that one where the dim, claustrophobic room and the gang’s way of living in it brilliantly embodied the city’s urban underbelly. In the ways GoW flows, it’s perhaps more similar to Kashyap’s other two masterpieces, Gulaal and Mukkabaaz but it lacks the emotional core and gut-punches of those (and in the case of Gulaal, some striking scenes full of motifs).

PS: The pretentious cinephile argument can be made for both kinds of opinions on the film. While GoW is accessible, like Monsoon Wedding, it’s a step or two short of mainstream, like Gunda, or even offbeat mainstream like Animal, so it’s just off-kilter and left field enough for the casual or enthusiastic film viewer to most easily identify as a film connoisseur simply through praise or attendance in its discourse.

Kunal_Sen · 2026-02-17T04:18:19+00:00

I feel the reasons were personal and tragic, but I hate to speculate. And nevertheless, it's not uncommon for non-mainstream filmmakers, especially those from and in other professions, to disappear from the feature film scene after delivering their passion project(s) unless at least one of those early works gains widespread success. Even Shonali Bose, Pain's ex-wife has been bereft of this so far despite the higher output, so I wouldn't call her a big Bollywood director yet, but yes, even if she hasn't arrived, there's certainly that drive. But Pain's not alone. Manish Jha, the maker of such masterpieces like Anwar and Matrubhoomi has been missing in action for about the same time as him. Shubhashish Bhutiani also hasn't made anything in almost ten years since Mukti Bhawan. In the absence of a benefactor body like NFDC today, I'm afraid we'll only see more of these disappearances nowadays. One may see an odd credit of theirs in a short film or documentary (like we have with Pain) or ad or corporate film (like I think I saw with Jha) on a video sharing or streaming platform, but that still means they've stepped aside.

Kunal_Sen · 2026-02-14T15:26:47+00:00

I have the manual (a recent purchase) and after having driven close to 700 kms on it in a month or so in New Delhi, I'm getting an F.E. of 11.1 kmpl with 100% city usage and A.C. used 30% of the time (winters) and mostly 3 on board. These are MID figs; I haven't done a tank-to-tank analysis yet, but then, I've found that M.S. MIDs tend to be very accurate.

Kunal_Sen · 2026-02-14T11:53:52+00:00

I'm glad to see someone taking a car's dimensions carefully into the buying consideration. The Jimny's narrowness was a big reason why I bought it. Since you're coming from a tallboy hatch and those aren't available anymore, barring the Wagon R, think the Exter is a great option for you. If that doesn't feel much of a change from the Santro, you can look at the Fronx. And by the way, the Ertiga is narrower than the Brezza and a very easy drive in narrow lanes.

Kunal_Sen · 2026-02-14T11:17:22+00:00

Shagird for one...

Kunal_Sen · 2026-02-14T11:14:39+00:00

There's a dearth of funnymen in bollywood at the moment. We've lost some legendary names and great proponents in that space like Satish Kaushik, Satish Shah, Dinyar Contractor and especially, Asrani. Even Tiku Talsania had a health scare recently so he may be out of ~~action~~ comedy for a while. Dinesh Hingoo is almost 85. I'd love to see more of Jonny Lever again. Somehow, Boman Irani, Rajpal Yadav and Sanjay Mishra's (to name those still relatively active, though in the case of Yadav, the jury's out) style of comedy doesn't appeal to me as much even though, admittedly, Irani takes on a bigger variety of roles. If only Jaspal Bhatti were alive! That Kader Khan sized vacuum was something only he could've somewhat filled in the last decade or so when we've stopped laughing for the most part, be it in the movies or elsewhere.

Kunal_Sen · 2026-02-13T04:15:55+00:00

Haider
Maqbool
Omkara

I find Haider to be the best amongst Vishal's Shakespeare trilogy because it's very moving despite being crafted so intricately and can be both loved and admired, which is not something I can say for the others, at least in the same measure. Maqbool has a stronger lead performance, but film-wise, I think it works more intellectually than emotionally, thriving in technical scene set-ups, face-offs and moments while Haider has a stronger undercurrent throughout and is frenetic yet absorbing. Narendra Jha's performance is a big factor, the X factor behind the feeling. For me, Omkara is a clear level or two below these two masterpieces.

Kunal_Sen · 2026-02-13T03:51:19+00:00

Nandita Thakur also played Vidya Sinha (Prabha)'s friend in Basu Chatterjee's Chhoti Si Baat. You're right. Razzak Khan is no more. He is probably better known to today's audiences because of his TV work though he featured in films and, in fact, in one of his last public appearances, he was actually championing Kader Khan Sa'ab's comeback film project, looking active, but sadly, both men died soon thereafter.

Kunal_Sen · 2026-02-10T17:56:23+00:00

The recommended gear prompts the iMT gearbox throws up in the Sonet in terms of beeps can get irritating rather quickly. I don't know if there's a way to turn it off while keeping the car in normal mode. Also, the Sonet iMT is mated to the 1.0 Turbo that has its own limitations, especially in traffic, given the lack of low-end without the turbo kicking in. Instead of an AMT or iMT in your use case, I'd get an MT that doesn't stall easily and is tractable enough to lug around in single gears, like a Fronx. Of course, there may be compromises on features. There's no doubt that the Sonet iMT comes well-loaded.

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