The ThinkTank Chronicles.

Actors

sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai
dekh naa hai jor kitna baazuaen kaatil mein hain

Ram Prasad Bismil's immortal words, how for the first time hearing it being spoken by Lakshman[Atul Kulkarni] brought tears to my eyes. Speaks volumes about the couplet itself, not to speak less of the passion it embodies and the sincerity that Atul brings to his character.

Brooding, silent, intense character of Siddharth on an equal footing with Aamir living in denial of their true selves, leading lives leaving out the tough questions for later. Sukhi[Sharman Joshi], Aslam[Kunal Kapoor] happy go lucky with their own demons. Four lives without a single passion that binds them all; a single passion that makes them friends that they are. A passionate pair played by Madhavan & Soha.

All changes when Alice Patten comes to place. Go watch it. And if this small story isnt enough go on read...

What is the movie about

• Five movies on Shahid Bhagat Singh & his friends, this is just another one
• 306 206 migs lost & 78 most able pilots killed during the last 15 years, this one is about them
• Oodles of optimism and life covered in the grime of cynicism and helplessness, this is about them
• Stories of passion and the struggle for an intangible word called Aazadi which they will never be able to enjoy; this is the story about them
• 50 years of freedom and how the General Dyers are still very much a part of the country that we are, this story is about them
• A view of violence as an answer to all ills, this is a story about it
• The youth that actually should shoulders the country & sculpts it; have shrugged their shoulders, this is the story about them.
• A past lost, lives forgotten, visions smudged, this is a story about them.

Why should you watch it

• Go watch it for the sincere performances by the actors even if you hate lecturebaazi
• Go watch it even if you think patriotism is a word that has lost its meaning and we are all a global village; you might just be welcomed to the real world
• Go watch it even if you are a believer of non-violence and a votary of peace; because "for the deaf, only an explosion can wake them out of the slumber" and how only violence is the only answer against a despot
• Go watch it even if you believe that violence is the only solution to all problems and how all the current crop of politicians should be lined up and killed; because an eye for an eye leaves everyone blind
• Go watch for a well thought out answer on violence as a weapon, tool & example
  
• Go watch it, because even if you think the country is going to the dogs and is beyond repair; there just might be a small solution to it hidden in the movie
• Go watch it because you might just learn about a government that covers up the death of a ace fighter pilot due to malfunctioning and under-quality equipment to pilot errors
• Go watch it because you might just learn something about how screenplay can be the best actor & director of a movie; and how it can lift a script from abyss to that of cinematic helm
• Go watch it how sometimes silence can speak volumes of cynicism, passion, pentup anger & great determination and how eyes can be your voice and mind
• Go watch it for reality can hit like a ton of bricks knowing how the martyrs if they ever come back alive would wish they were dead, for the India that is now is not the one they dreamed of and sacrificed for
  
• Go watch it because if this movie turns out to be a flop, we might just have lost another brilliant and a sincere director.
  
• Go watch it to see how the story of Bhagat Singh & his comrades can be shown twice in the same movie without you ever getting bored
• Go watch it to see how the story of our independence struggle is not an anachronism but a contemporary tale
• Go watch it because for the first time a Bhagat Singh actually reflects his age!
• Go watch it for the skill that is in Rakeysh Om Prakash Mehra, a brilliant director & to learn how very far ahead of most of us all he is

My rating : 9.25/10