Mangal Pandey - The Rising (2005)

Truly Dreadful Film

Surprisingly incoherent and boring

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

This movie was so totally definitely epic and worth watching Storyline is superb screenplay is superb background music is superb editing is superb Direction is good Songs they are really impressive Aamir khan is superb other actors are excellent 9/10 this movie is a hundred percent better movie All time blockbuster

An Aamir Khan film is special.A slice of history that explores the mutiny of 1857, Mangal Pandey balances form and content beautifully. Lavishly mounted and recreating the era with precision, Mangal Pandey suits the term 'landmark cinema' and has all it takes to help Bollywood take a giant step into world cinema with pride.Recreating history is difficult and making you glued to your seats for the next 3 hours could be taxing if the content doesn't live up to your expectations. But Mangal Pandey talks about the martyr, his heroism, his contribution to India's freedom movement so effectively and immaculately that you can't help but salute the great freedom fighter. Ketan Mehta's execution of the subject leaves you tongue-tied, the visuals appear true to life, the performances which is so essential in a film of this genre are absolutely spellbinding, the sequence of events that led to the mutiny are carefully explained. Result: The viewer cannot help but get transported to an era when British ruled India.To sum up, Mangal Pandey is a brave attempt on the part of its makers to bring to life an important chapter from history. And make you realize that the freedom we enjoy today is only because of our predecessors, who gave their blood for the nation. The film succeeds in arousing patriotic feelings without a shred of doubt!The songs seem forced in the narrative. Ideally, the film could've done with two songs, 'Mangal Mangal' and 'Teri Adaon Pe Main Vaari Vaari'. The Holi track as also the romantic song filmed on Aamir and Rani, Toby and Amisha can easily be deleted since they only act as barricades in the otherwise smooth narrative.Another drawback is that certain characters remain underdeveloped. The women don't have much to do in the film. Even the track of the maid Mona Ambegaonkar, who feeds the British woman's infant, appears incomplete.Since the film deals with history and British rulers specifically, the usage of English language is imperative, but Om Puri's voice-over in those scenes makes it easier for the average Indian moviegoer to decipher and fathom what's being spoken on screen.Toby Stephens is simply amazing. For an English actor to deliver lines in Hindi and match it with appropriate expressions is no ordinary task. The actor compliments Aamir at every step and delivers a knockout performance that would only draw applause from Indian moviegoers.Both Rani and Amisha don't get ample footage. Rani is wonderful in a small role, but Amisha is relegated to the backseat completely. Kiron Kher is effective in a neat cameo. The film has a number of actors, but those who make their presence felt are Mukesh Tiwari, Sohrab Ardeshir and Amin Hajee.Mangal Pandey would look incomplete without Aamir's awe-inspiring portrayal of the great hero. Not once do you realize that the role is being 'enacted'. It's Aamir's splendid performance that makes the film a memorable affair, besides Mehta's storytelling of course. It goes without saying that his performance in Mangal Pandey should rank prominently in his enviable repertoire.

A commendable effort when someone decides to document an important chapter in history and bring forth to patrons of 'cinema of substance' Aamir Khan in and as Mangal Pandey. But the director Ketan Mehta has only managed to scrape the dust off the episode in history, ravaged by time and failed to extract its vibrancy that would emulate the similar desire and passion in those watching it. Neither does the film keeps you on the edge of the seat where you let the warm squall of adrenalin sweep over the thousand thoughts bombarding the mind. Some of them being, why is the film following the same pace from beginning to end or why am I not getting charged? I love my country and I want to do something for my country, like for the record there was a recruit for Kargil war after the young boy fresh from college watched J.P. Dutta's Border. Why is Mangal Pandey not telling me to take some action or even do an honest introspection? Whose fault is it? Certainly, the flaw lies in the insipid direction. In the past, films like Shaheed, Kranti or even Raj Kumar Santoshi's Bhagat Singh have scored better when it comes to audience empathy. Any accosting to the director will have to be half guarded because of the vagaries that are like eye-sores including female characters, which tip from crude to unconvincing, average music and poor screenplay among other things. Films like Lagaan was not a one-man show and bigger than Aamir Khan as the actor. All characters etched out properly, like in the cricket team even when you have your favorites in Sachin Tendulkar, you would also care when Harbhajan throws a googly or when Yuvraj comes in for a fantastic cameo inning. But like Mangal Pandey in history who was passionate and overzealous and took the cause of struggle for freedom on his shoulders, in the film, Aamir Khan the actor consciously or subconsciously projects himself as the last man standing. What Shahrukh couldn't do for Swades, Aamir does for Mangal Pandey. The gamble pays off because the film despite a shaky structure and narrative will be a crowd puller thanks to the long exile of Aamir Khan and his reputation of being the perfectionist and the untouchable, but the truth…the film lacks the soul and an ability to stir any sentiments of patriotism or even connect the audience on an emotional level. The Story-Mangal Pandey (Aamir Khan) is one of the many sepoys of the 5th Company, 34th Native Infantry Regiment, Barrackpore. Loyal to his superiors in the army of British East India Company, Mangal Pandey is the man with exceptional skills and bravery; and has also befriended an officer called William Gordon (Toby Stephens). Toby Stephens performed his part of an officer pulled between his white man's burden and friendship and empathy for Mangal Pandey and his cause, delivers a powerful, credible and sensitive performance. On learning that the new cartridges are greased with animal fat, a widespread resentment breaks amongst Indian soldiers fostering Hindu-Muslim sentiments. Mangal Pandey leads the mutiny and turns it into the first war of independence, becoming the first rebel and first martyr in history. There are two love stories in the film, one between Gordon and Jwala; (Ameesha Patel) a Sati he rescues and the other between Mangal and Heera; (Rani Mukerji) a prostitute. Both Ameesha and Rani played their parts with desired vulnerability and passion. Aamir Khan did justice to his role and as reiterated, indeed is the last man standing in the film.

I had very high expectations for this film. I had listened to the music by A.R. Rahman for weeks before it's release, and was excited about many other factors including Aamir Khan's presence, the theme, the fact that it was actually about a revolutionary whose story had not been told earlier, etc.I went to the first show on the Friday that it released. When it started off with the song "mangal mangal mangal," I was elated with the beautiful visuals and I remember thinking, "Here we go, finally a good film after a long time." But it was all down hill from there. After the first half ended, I was extremely disappointed. The excessive emphasis on Rani's role, and that whole aspect of the film regarding prostitutes. Even if this was a part of Mangal's life, it did not need to be given such great focus in the movie. I was really hoping that the second half would get better, because so far, the film had not connected with me on an emotional level, at all. Though the second half did get better, not by much. I didn't understand how there could be so many "holes" in the movie, eg. Amisha's role, how she just disappeared, etc. I mean, don't get me wrong, the film was fine technically, it just wasn't a "solid" film, it lacked that "something." When I left the cinema hall, I felt cheated. The last time I came to see an Aamir Khan film, it was Dil Chahta Hai, now that was a film. This, was just a disappointment. I was expecting a film with a lot of josh, emotion and heart. Hopefully "Rang De Basanti" will make up for this film's lack of...well, that "something", I guess you could call it a soul.