Rangeela

Rangeela was the movie that started a new era in Hindi movies - one where the heroines started wearing skimpy outfits without looking vulgar. Prior to this I remember shuddering at Karishma Kapoor's crass numbers in Raja Babu and Khuddar.

This was a movie that was the turning point for 4 major film personalities:

1. Ram Gopal Verma: He was a pretty good director with movies like Shiva in his repertoire, but Rangeela was the movie that really made people sit up and take notice. Subsequently RGV delivered several movies of style and substance, though he did generate some stinkers.

2. A. R. Rehman: OK, this is an unfair statement. Rehman entered the major league with his very first score in Roja. But Rangeela was his first score for a Hindi movie. And what a success it was! It had several foot-tapping numbers, a lot of which are popular even today.

3. Aamir Khan: I became a big fan of Aamir when I watched Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander. I later watched some of his earlier movies and really loved his performances. But his performance in Rangeela was mind-blowing. The ease with which he slipped into the "Munna" persona was really praiseworthy and marked a turning point in his career. Hereon he started picking up roles with more nuances and challenges and became a veritable hit as an actor and the industry started referring to him as a "perfectionist".

4. Urmilla: Oh Urmilla! I remember watching the trailers of this movie and thinking, "This movie will survive on the lack of Urmilla's clothes". It probably did, but while watching the movie not once was I thinking about what she was wearing. Prior to Rangeela it was customary for Hindi film heroines to dress up in a manner that did not offend Indian sensibilities. Actresses like Karishma Kapoor and Mamta Kulkarni were frowned upon and in general considered B-grade actresses. Urmilla blew the theory out of the water with this film and overnight established herself as a sensation after quite an indifferent start to her career (I am discounting Masoom, which she did as a child actress). Several of her scenes are referred to even today in reverent terms, albeit in a comical manner: Shah Rukh Khan and Saif Khan referred to the "Banian on a beach" while MC'ing for the Filmfare Awards in 2004, nearly 10 years after the movie. Urmilla in subsequent movies has proved that she can do a lot more than look sexy.

Does the movie have flaws? I would be surprised if it didn't. It stretched the limits of believability a bit thin and some songs didn't need to be present. But I am not complaining. For a ticket price of Rs. 15 those days, it was great value for money. And thanks for boosting four personalities who have, since, been a source for high-value and high-class entertainment!

The Plot idea of "Rangeela" is not original.. its Bollywood inspired by Bollywood itself.

Any guesses ? Well Year -1970 Movie - Mere Humsafar.. only difference here is in the old movie the director played by non other but Balraj Sahini has his eye on the lady and woes to win her, make her career etc., while the poor village boy (Jeetendra) almost looses her to the film world & glamor..

Plot very similar and identical..

Incidentally there is another Aamir Khan movie again inspired by an old blockbuster movie of 1971 and that's Caravan again starring Jeetendra, and the movie is "Mela", but that attempt was a failure, as the Original was too good.

RGV who now does nonsense mostly did some great films till COMPANY and SARKAR

RANGEELA is a true funny movie and a nice romantic movie too

The film also at it's times was perhaps the first movie to show bollywood digs which is now done to death and the digs are damn funny

Even the characterization of Aamir and his love to Urmila is fantastic The film is handled brilliantly only it dips in between with too many songs especially in the second half and also too many sleazy shots of Urmila which were shocking then but it was forgiven too then The climax too is brilliant

Direction by RGV is brilliant Music is a winner Amongst actors Aamir got a huge turning point in this movie, though he was always praised in films like JJWS, QSQT, DIL in between 1993- 1995 after HHRPK he started getting many flops which include the one of the top comedies ANDAZ APNA APNA(1994) where too his comic act was praised but RANGEELA gave him a big hit and he got praised for his role The best part is the way he grabs the nuances of the role and makes a tapori role seem his second skin He is outstanding Urmila too does a good job though at times too over enthusiastic Jackie Shroff however has a shorter role and he does it well but his looks(perhaps now) don't suit the superstar tag Amongst rest Avtar Gill is funny, Achyut Podar is likable and so is Reema Lagoo rest are good too

Rangeela, directed by Ram Gopal Varma (who has made very good and very bad films) is a pretty good musical movie to watch with the family.

Even though the movie had some faults, like a typical and predictable storyline along with some editing mistakes, there were still some good things in this film.

First off, the film itself is clean and more of a family film. It has some pretty funny comedic scenes and I'm sure a lot of kids would enjoy it.

Second, the performances. Urmila Matondkar, who the film is focused on, does a pretty decent and convincing job, and also danced well in the songs. Jackie Shroff had an average performance, his performance was a typical Jackie Shroff performance. Aamir Khan, however, did a great job. In this film he played one of the first tapori street thug type of characters in Bollywood history, and he did very well. He fit in to his character to the finest and maintained the accent and style of his character throughout the film, which is very hard to do. It wows me that this is the same man who was in Andaz Apna Apna the year before. He stole the show for me.

And last, A.R. Rehman's soundtrack. This was one of his finest soundtracks, and all the songs, from "Rangeela Re" to "Yaaron Sun Lo Zaara" were all very melodious, catchy, and overall good songs which helped the film.

Overall this film is a nice film to watch with the family and to watch for Aamir Khan's classic performance.

Rangeela is a great musical hindi movie. It is stylishly edited and directed by Ram Gopal Verma which helps quicken the pace between the seven or so songs throughout the movie.

But it is definitely Aamir Khan who steals the show in the movie as an uneducated but street wise slacker. Aamir always chooses challenging roles that are different from the mainstream hindi cinema. He has great talent a great range as an actor and this movie along with Akele Hum Akele Tum are some of his best.

The story is kind of light and predictable, but the songs and urmila will keep you happy.