Rang Rasiya Inception: Guns and Roses?
Big, larger-than-life, color-seeped vistas...lilting folk music...villagers dressed in their colorful, traditional best...and then a bullet shot that rudely pierces the apparent normality of a bus ride. So begins the first episode of a show that we had been waiting for eagerly, for some time now. An explosive start, shall we say? It is quite apparent that the makers and channel have pulled out all stops to make this one of the more memorable shows on TV these days. Sweeping, panoramic camera shots, and authentic costumes and locales lend it a movie-like look and feel.
We are taken through the painful childhood of two kids Rudra and Paro, each with its own peculiar tragedy that will most certainly define their lives to come. A young, doll-loving Paro loses her parents in the bus massacre, while an angry, helpless Rudra misses, and fights for, his absent mother when he is quite cruelly told by his just as helpless, and probably just as angry father,
"Bhool jao usko...dhool dalo...khoobsurat auratein kisi ki nahin hoti...na apne baap ki, na apne pati ki, na apni aulaad ki...kissi ki nahin..."
Seminal words that we will surely hear echo time and time again as the show goes on...
Just as seminal as Brabantio's caustic words to Othello:
"Look to her Moor, if thou has eyes to see
She has deceived her father, and may thee"
Rudra's reaction to these words, and the world around him in general, was wonderfully depicted by the child actor. Young Paro's heartbreak at the sight of her beloved parents being burnt on the funeral pyres was equally heart-rending. I liked that the past was established so decidedly in the very first episode, and there is no room for interpretation or guesswork.
The second part of the episode showed the beautifully svelte Sanaya as the grown-up Paro, prancing around effortlessly among the sand dunes. She comes across an injured camel and sits down to talk some relief to it as she waits for her cousin/friend to get some bandages. Suddenly she spies a silhouette, and calls out to it for help...but the man turns out to be a foe as he makes a circle of fire around her. She screams, and the camera freezes on her terrified face as the shadowed man looks on.
Despite sky-high expectations, and the huge build-up, the episode delivers...it manages to sustain the interest and packs an almost equal amount of emotional and dramatic appeal. Music is superlative and the title song is just asking to be downloaded to my playlist.
There is a quiet sort of ruthlessness in the desert...a kind of silent treacherousness that needs to be guarded against at all costs. Rudra, even as a child, is able to convey that very same sense of menace and danger. Paro, on the other hand, is all tenderness and care...the one who feels for others, who sees the beauty in her surroundings, who loves to chase the elusive idea of a butterfly. Wonderful depiction of contrasts.
RR team has done a superlative job in this episode and my interest and attention is theirs to lose.
First things first - I loved the cinematography! The detail in setting up the shots is apparent and was a total treat to watch.
Inka saath hei jaise..
maati sang kumhaar
Maati ban jaave hei murat..
laage iska haath
Chaap jhalak dono ki hovee..
Jab hovee yeah saath
In a show where every shot was set up with perfection, the two buses stopping next to each other, two kids dealing with their individual heartaches and their interaction with these lines in the background was beautiful to watch.
Dil ke dhadkan sooni sooni..
Saanse bhi adhoori
Aadha aadha mile to hovee..
kamiyaa saari poori
She lost both her parents, the biggest love in a child's life is now gone.
His mother left him and he get's no warmth from his dad. Only lesson in life, not to trust any beautiful woman.
Two kids living aadha aadha life.
Rahee kyoin tu rutha rutha..
Tu Manbasiya!
Rangrasiya rang ja ve, rang rang de sapnoin mein
Their journey towards each other - Rangrasiya.
The kids for me were the best part of the show. Her innocence and her happy smiling ways (ignoring the butterfly). His anger, his heartbreak, his breakdown - The little guy aced it. He was amazing to watch.
Titali jasi udti phire hei..
Bholi si yun udaan
Aankhoin mein hei tim tim taare..
Mithi si muskaan
This is Paro, will there be a Rudra version of the song as well?
Rangrasiya mil ja ve, kab se teri raah takein
The title song is beautiful, with beautiful lyrics and soulful music. I love the ektara that gets played through out the song, true blue sound of Rajasthan.
Things I did not understand:
- why would the BSD gun down a bus full of people for no apparent reason? And they said that is the case most nights!! So anyone who travels by bus at night is a suspect? Head scratching me!
- why did Mr R surround Ms. P in the ring of fire? That too on first meet with no words exchanged? (Got to know about it being a dream..errr nightmare. Tomorrow will bring a few answers, I guess.)
<font color="#660000" face="Comic Sans MS, Times, serif">Thirst things first - I loved the cinematography! The detail in setting up the shots is apparent and was a total treat to watch. </font>
<font color="#cc0000" face="Comic Sans MS, Times, serif">Inka saath hei jaise..
maati sang kumhaar
Maati ban jaave hei murat..
laage iska haath
Chaap jhalak dono ki hovee..
Jab hovee yeah saath </font>
<font color="#660000" face="Comic Sans MS, Times, serif">In a show where every shot was set up with perfection, the two buses stopping next to each other, two kids dealing with their individual heartaches and their interaction with these lines in the background was beautiful to watch. </font>
<font color="#660000" face="Comic Sans MS, Times, serif"><font color="#cc0000">Dil ke dhadkan sooni sooni..
Saanse bhi adhoori
Aadha aadha mile to hovee..
kamiyaa saari poori
</font>
She lost both her parents, the biggest love in a child's life is now gone.
His mother left him and he get's no warmth from his dad. Only lesson in life, not to trust any beautiful woman.
Two kids living aadha aadha life. </font>
<font color="#660000" face="Comic Sans MS, Times, serif"><font color="#cc0000">Rahee kyoin tu rutha rutha..
Tu Manbasiya!
Rangrasiya rang ja ve, rang rang de sapnoin mein</font> </font>
<font color="#660000" face="Comic Sans MS, Times, serif">Their journey towards each other - Rangrasiya. </font>
<font color="#660000" face="Comic Sans MS, Times, serif">The kids for me were the best part of the show. Her innocence and her happy smiling ways (ignoring the butterfly). His anger, his heartbreak, his breakdown - The little guy aced it. He was amazing to watch. </font>
<font color="#cc0000" face="Comic Sans MS, Times, serif">Titali jasi udti phire hei..
Bholi si yun udaan
Aankhoin mein hei tim tim taare..
Mithi si muskaan </font>
<font color="#660000" face="Comic Sans MS, Times, serif">This is Paro, will there be a Rudra version of the song as well? </font>
<font color="#cc3300" face="Comic Sans MS, Times, serif">Rangrasiya mil ja ve, kab se teri raah takein </font>
<font color="#660000" face="Comic Sans MS, Times, serif">The title song is beautiful, with beautiful lyrics and soulful music. I love the ektara that gets played through out the song, true blue sound of Rajasthan. </font>
<font color="#660000" face="Comic Sans MS, Times, serif">Things I did not understand:
- why would the BSD gun down a bus full of people for no apparent reason? And they said that is the case most nights!! So anyone who travels by bus at night is a suspect? Head scratching me!
- why did Mr R surround Ms. P in the ring of fire? That too on first meet with no words exchanged? (Got to know about it being a dream..errr nightmare. Tomorrow will bring a few answers, I guess.) </font>