O.K. I know I am going to get a lot of flak for this post, but what the hell, it's never stopped me before. So here goes.

Rang De Basanti -- An immature film for immature audiences.

If Mr. Rakeysh Mehra keeps making films like this, he's going to have to insert many more y's into his name before he sees a change in his fortunes. To me this film is like a brightly coloured cocktail that looks good in the glass, but one that you just cannot drink because it tastes so bludy awful.

And yes, I did taste it. I went to see it yesterday afternoon and came away thoroughly disappointed. It looks to me like the makers of this film were determined to pack in as much entertainment as they possibly could in the first-half, and then after the interval you get the feeling that they're saying: Okay folks, we've given you what you came for, now let's wrap it up quickly and go home!

In the first-half Aamir Khan appears to have gone back into Dil Chahta Hai mode with all the youthful mauj-masti ... only this time it's a bit of an overdose (there is also the fact that the wrinkles on his face are now starting to show). There are a few catchy tunes to keep you awake and a steady stream of one-liners that I did not find even remotely funny; though others in the audience seemed to be lapping it up with relish. The second-half of the movie is such utter nonsense, it's surprising that someone like Aamir would want to have anything to do with it. Perhaps it was the failure of Mangal Pandey that pushed him into it.

If this was never intended to be a serious movie with a serious message, then I guess it would have been okay -- we've come not to expect too much from Hindi movies anyway. But after listening to what Aamir and the rest of the production team had to say on NDTV recently, I thought they were actually trying to get a serious message across.

And honestly, I didn't expect that message to be something as jejune as: "Don't just sit there and complain, go out and change the system. Join the armed forces, the civil services; get into politics and make a difference!"

But what was really shocking was the way the film goes about conveying this message during the second-half. First Aamir and his pals assassinate the country's Defence Minister (whom they blame for their air-force pilot friends' death in a faulty MIG) and then after realizing their folly, go live on All India Radio and tell listeners not to do what they have done; that they were wrong! No, the right way to change the system is not to finish off all the politicians and bureaucrats, but to join their ranks and do it from the inside! ... Seriously, what do they think we are - a bunch of primary school students??

And how many young men and women do you think will be inspired to join the armed forces when the movie itself shows the Indian Air Force and the Defence Ministry in such a bad light? ... After watching this film, I doubt there will be too many out there eager to be strapped down in a flying coffin, just so they can be called martyr's.

So now do you see why I call it immature? Because the film is childish and contradicts itself.

I think film-makers like Rakeysh Mehra tend to forget that there are people in the audience who expect more than just the regular time-pass fare. 'Change the system' it seems. Well, I'm sure educated men like Mehra know fully well that the system cannot be changed. The rot has set in too deep. Changing it would be akin to taking out so many bricks from the wall that eventually the wall itself will come crashing down. And in a country like India, a collapse like that could be disastrous. Hence, I tend to side with those who argue that a corrupt system that manages to preserve law and order is better than having no system at all ... which would result in anarchy and chaos.

With all due respect to those of you who think it deserves a 5-star rating, I personally would not give Rang De Basanti anything more than one-and-a-half stars out of five. One star because all the actors put in quality performances, and an extra half because Alice Patten did such a wonderful job of her Hindi.

BFN.