The Rising: Ballad of Mangal Pandey (2005)

Director:

Ketan Mehta

Writers:

Farrukh Dhondy (screenplay)
Ranjit Kapoor (Hindi dialogue)

Release Date:

12 August 2005 (India)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | History | War

Tagline:

Legend of Mangal Pandey

Plot:

Based on the life and times of Mangal Pandey, 1857: The Rising is a film about the leader of the 1857 mutiny and his fight against the British rule.

Plot Keywords:

Breast Feeding | Drunk | Bhang | Public Hanging | Terror

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Aamir Khan	...	Sepoy Mangal Pandey
Rani Mukherjee	...	Heera (as Rani Mukerji)
Toby Stephens	...	Captain William Gordon
Coral Beed	...	Emily
Amisha Patel	...	Jwala (as Ameesha Patel)
Kiron Kher	...	Lol Bibi (as Kirron Kher)
Om Puri	...	Narrator
Ben Nealon	...	Hewson
Habib Tanvir	...	Bahadur Shah Zafar (as Tanveer Habib)
Varsha Usgaonkar	...	Rani Laxmibai (as Rani Lakshmibai)
Kenneth Cranham	...	Kent
Tom Alter	...	Watson
Mukesh Tiwari	...	Bakht Khan
Shahbaaz Khan	...	Azimullah
Amin Hajee	...	Vir Singh

Also Known As:

1857: The Rising (India: English title) (working title)
Mangal Pandey (India: Hindi title)
Mangal Pandey: The Rising (India: English title)

Runtime:

150 min

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi | Urdu | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Ireland:15A | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Ontario) | India:U | Brazil:14 | Malaysia:U | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | UK:12A

Company:

Kaleidoscope Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.

Trivia:

Hugh Jackman turned down the role of Captain William Gordon.

Quotes:

[Pandey marches in front of a cannon. The soldiers loading it look at him in shock]
Mangal Pandey: Fire!

Soundtrack:

Rasiya

A magnum epic 4 years in the making

Kudos to Aamir Khan for the dedication he put into the production of The Rising, an unfairly over-hyped film, that sets out to deliver the story of Mangal Pandey.

The fact that Aamir took 4 years to make this film complete with growing his locks and that awesome moustache along with tons of research is an anomaly in the Bollywood film industry. Films are churned out 3/day at the last estimate, but Aamir being the professional he is, waited years to make this movie after the unprecedented success of his Oscar nominated Lagaan.

Without a doubt Aamir carries the film on his shoulders. There were many naysayers about the fact that Aamir may have been a bit lacking in the height department for the role of a freedom fighter, but when you see his towering performance on screen, his small frame is all but forgotten.

The man is Indian Cinmas answer to Edward Norton from Hollywood. A great actor for his generation who is going to continue to bring Indian cinema (not bollywood masala flicks) to the international audience....i think it's his calling. Amitabh Bachchan seems to have chickened out of this task of elevating Indian cinema to an art rather than a mockery that it usually is.

Without a doubt another actor who comes close to stealing the film away from Aamir is British actor Toby Stephens... i was under the impression that his role would be quite small. Instead he has a fully fledged three dimensional character who is in the entire movie. And on top of that, he acts the entire movie in Hindi. A best supporting actor nod is in order.

This film could theoretically get an Oscar nod (unfortunately a win maybe a hard sell). The songs are probably distracting for a Western audience, but they'll have to live with them.

The film does fall short of being an all time classic. But i think we may have to wait for the initial hype to settle down, because the movie is without a doubt the best one of 2005.

The film is slow to start, with the first half being an introduction of all the characters. But pre-interval, the story and Aamir Khan rev into the 6th gear, getting ready for the inevitable Rising post interval.

Get this. I think the movie could have been a bit longer. A little more development was needed with some of the glossed over aspects of British rule.

But, all in all, a magnificent effort from all involved, especially Aamir Khan and Toby Stephens.

8/10