Rang Rasiya
| Rang Rasiya | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster for the film | |
| Directed by | Ketan Mehta |
| Produced by |
Deepa Sahi Aanand Mahendroo Ketan Mehta |
| Written by |
Sanjeev Dutta (screenplay) Ketan Mehta |
| Based on | The life of Raja Ravi Verma |
| Starring |
Randeep Hooda Nandana Sen Feryna Wazheir Triptha Parashar Gaurav Dwivedi |
| Music by | Sandesh Shandilya |
| Cinematography |
Rail Raltchev Christo Bakalov |
Release dates |
|
| Country | India |
| Language |
Hindi English |
Rang Rasiya (Colours of passion) is an Indian drama film based on the life of the 19th-century Indian painter Raja Ravi Varma.[1] Made as a bilingual, the film is titled Rang Rasiya in its Hindi version and Colours of Passion in English. The film, directed by Ketan Mehta, is produced by his wife Deepa Sahi and by Aanand Mahendroo. It stars Randeep Hooda as the title character and Nandana Sen as his love interest.
Script and fictionalization
Mehta thought that Varma was the most fascinating artist of that era and his character, persona and paintings fascinated him from his days at Film and Television Institute of India. After reading Desai's novel, he formulated the story of his new film.[2] Mehta moulded the script to project Ravi Varma as a radical painter, and This change, Mehta felt, would help the film achieve more traction with the intelligentsia, and ease the path to awards and honours.
Production
After his last commercial production Mangal Pandey: The Rising (2005), Mehta chose to make a film on the 19th-century painter, Raja Ravi Varma's life. Incidentally both these movies were based on a subject from the 19th century. Rang Rasiya is an adaptation of the biographical novel Raja Ravi Varma authored by the Marathi writer Ranjit Desai.
Cast and crew
When Mehta first met Nandana Sen at her house, he saw two life-size reproductions of Raja Ravi Varma's paintings. This indicated to him that she was familiar with the artist and his works, something that he thought would make his job as a director easier. Speaking of the character she was to portray, he said:
"To me, she was the perfect woman to play the muse of an artist who sparked off debates about censorship of art. She has that child-woman quality, which was so much a part of Sugandha's personality."[3]
The much desired controversy regarding "censorship of art" was quickly forthcoming, and Nandana was the willing lynchpin of that achievement. Among several scenes in the film that depict her in various grades of undress, one wide angle shot shows the bare breasts of a skimpily clad Nandana. The Central Board of Film Certification, which regulates the ratings and certification of media in India, duly objected to the scene, terming it nudity.[4][5]
Mehta saw Hooda's previous films Risk and D.[2] In this film, he played the role of Raja Ravi Varma in two phases — first as a 60-year-old and then as a 20-year-old in a span of 10 days.[6] As a preparation for his role, Hooda tried to learn the basics of painting. He was happy working in the film and said that his acting skills were well-groomed by Mehta's abilities.[7]
Paresh Rawal plays an important role in the film.[2] Triptha Parashar, whom Mehta spotted in an advertisement, was immediately offered the role of a princess without auditioning.[8] Feryna Wazheir, who was born and raised in the UK to Kashmiri parents, plays a Parsi girl in the film.[9]
Sangita Kathiwada is the creative consultant and Niharika Khan, the award winning designer is the costume designer.[10]
Cast
- Randeep Hooda as Raja Ravi Varma
- Nandana Sen as Sugandha
- Gaurav Dwivedi as Raj Varma
- Vipin Sharma as Paachan
- Paresh Rawal as Seth Govardhan Das
- Jim Boeven as Fritz Schleicher
- Feryna Wazheir as Frenny
- Rashaana Shah as Kaamini
- Darshan Jariwala as Chintamani Maharaj
- Suhasini Mulay as Sugandha's mother Bakubai
- Sachin Khedekar as Dewanji Madhavrao
- Tom Alter as Justice Richards
- Triptha Parashar as Poorutarthy
- Vikram Gokhale as Keshav Shastri
- Sri Vallabh Vyas as Sugandha's father Hirachand
- Tom Alter as Justice Richards
- Ashish Vidyarthi as Raja Thiurmal
- Rajat Kapoor as Auctioneer
- Shamim Ahmed Shaikh as Old Man Praying
Soundtrack
The soundtrack of Rang Rasiya is composed by Sandesh Shandilya and lyrics are written by Manoj Muntashir
Track listing
| No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Rang Rasiya (title)" | Sunidhi Chauhan, Keerthi Sagathia | 4:01 |
| 2. | "Kahe Sataye" | Roop Kumar Rathod, Sunidhi Chauhan | 3:57 |
| 3. | "O Kamini" | Sonu Nigam, | 3:39 |
| 4. | "Anhad Naad" | Kailash Kher, Anwar Khan | 4:38 |
| 5. | "Sun Balam" | Rajashwari Pathak | 3:56 |
| 6. | "Rang Rasiya (Re-mix )" | 5:15 | |
Total length: |
24:06 | ||
Release
The film was screened at 2008 The Times BFI London Film Festival.[11]
Rang Rasiya had been languishing in post-production from the year 2008 due to the Censor Board's objection with certain bold scenes that involved paint and nudity. It has been given the release date of 7 November 2014.[12] special screening at Mumbai on 6 November 2014, expected box office Collection is around 5 Crore on first day.
Critical reception
Subhash K. Jha said Rang Rasiya is the best film of the year and gave it 5 stars.[13]
See also
References
- ↑ "Ketan Mehta's Rang Rasiya at BFI London Film Fest". Screenindia.com. 22 August 2008. Retrieved 22 August 2008.
- 1 2 3 "No scope for controversy in 'Rang Rasiya': Ketan Mehta". Nowrunning.com. 27 November 2007. Archived from the original on 8 October 2012. Retrieved 22 August 2008.
- ↑ "Meet the seductive Nandana Sen". Man's World. Rediff.com. 22 July 2008. Retrieved 22 August 2008.
- ↑ ApunKaChoice. "Rang Rasiya Censor Board Objects to Frontal Nudity". ApunKaChoice.com. Retrieved 13 September 2008.
- ↑ "Nandana Sen asks for NOC on Rang Rasiya promotions". Patrika Group (2 August 2014). Retrieved 2 August 2014.
- ↑ K. Jha, Subhash (22 September 2007). "Randeep back in the gym to get in shape". Nowrunning.com. Retrieved 22 August 2008.
- ↑ Nagarajan, Saraswathy (29 September 2007). "Portrait of an artist". The Hindu. Retrieved 22 August 2008.
- ↑ Sahgal, Geety (15 August 2008). "Good going". Screenindia.com. Retrieved 22 August 2008.
- ↑ Ghosh, Aparajitha (16 September 2007). "Bollywood newbie Feryna Wazheir is an angelic beauty! Hollywood Actor Jim Boeven was cast as Ravi Varmas friend Fritz Schleizer.". Screenindia.com. Retrieved 22 August 2008.
- ↑ De Cunha, Uma (25 July 2008). "Connecting film with other art forms". Screenindia.com. Retrieved 22 August 2008.
- ↑ "Ketan Mehta's Rang Rasiya to screen at London Film Fest". Businessofcinema.com. 12 August 2008. Retrieved 22 August 2008.
- ↑ "Rang Rasiya to release on November 7, 2014". indialglitz.com. 22 September 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
- ↑ "'Rang Rasiya' - thank god For Raja Ravi Varma". Ians Live. 7 November 2014. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
External links
- Rang Rasiya at the Internet Movie Database
- Rang Rasiya on Facebook
- Rang Rasiya on Twitter
- Rang Rasiya on Instagram