Rangoon, directed
by Vishal Bharadwaj, is such an unendurable and unapologetically tedious film
to sit through that it urges you to question your faith in Hindi cinema itself.
Still, there is nothing more disappointing than watching a filmmaker of his
caliber blatantly abandon his masterful vision and impassioned storytelling for
the sake of elaborate set-pieces and the desperate but misplaced desire to
deliver nothing short of an epic.
The film
starts off with an impressive war set-up of the British forces invading the
Japanese battalion in Rangoon. We are then informed about the Indian National
Army devising a strategy to overthrow the British forces under the leadership
of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. So far so good. The film, from here on,
revolves around a love triangle between its leads with a loose, snail-paced narrative
constantly punctured by mediocre songs, hammy acting and hopelessly misguided
attempts at evoking sentiments of nationalism, especially in the final act,
which by the way, turns out to be quite unintentionally hilarious.
And all of
this, believe it or not, is the brain-child of one of the most influential filmmakers
of our times. Barring Saat Khoon Maaf, Vishal Bharadwaj has delivered something
special in every film of his. Be it the ingenious adaptations of Shakespeare
(Maqbool, Omkara and Haider) or the remarkable noir-film Kaminey, VB never
failed to surprise us with his unconventional take on dark, cynical themes
laced with the right dosage of rationality. Also, blame it on the indifferent
storytelling or not, for a director who entrusted Irrfan Khan and Tabu with
roles of a lifetime, Rangoon doesn’t boast of any affecting performances either.
Nor do you often associate the words predictable or dull with his films, but
Rangoon is a serious test of patience. There are flashes of conviction on part
of VB in the second half, but unfortunately by then, the ship has sunk deep.
