IMDb RATING
6.5/10
11K
YOUR RATING
This is a film about the leader of the 1857 mutiny and his fight against the British rule.This is a film about the leader of the 1857 mutiny and his fight against the British rule.This is a film about the leader of the 1857 mutiny and his fight against the British rule.
- Awards
- 1 win & 7 nominations
Habib Tanvir
- Bahadur Shah Zafar
- (as Tanveer Habib)
Varsha Usgaonkar
- Rani Laxmibai
- (as Rani Lakshmibai)
Dibyendu Bhattacharya
- Krupashankar Singh
- (as Dibiyendu Bhattacharya)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaHugh Jackman turned down the role of Captain William Gordon.
- GoofsWhen the opening credits roll, a coin can be seen on which there are the following words "Victoria Empress". The events of the film are set in 1857, but Queen Victoria becomes Empress of India by the decision of the British Parliament only in 1876 and this is announced in India in 1877, 20 after the story of the film. It is important, because the Mughal Emperor (Bahadur Shah II), still alive in 1857, is also shown in the film, and the British Queen gets this title long after his deposition in 1857 and his 1862.
- Quotes
Mangal Pandey: What is "company"?
Captain William Gordon: In your Ramayana there was one villain "Ravana" who had ten heads, company has a hundred heads and they're all joined by the glue of greed.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Story of India: Freedom (2007)
Featured review
Ketan Mehta perhaps wanted to make a lavish 'Braveheart' with 'The Rising: Ballad of Mangal Pandey'. Well, the end result is far from it. The depiction of the rebellion and the pursuit for revolution was very bleak. I can understand that Mehta wanted to make a lavish epic-type movie about an Indian hero but there is just too much exaggeration for the story to resonate. So much is spoon-fed to the viewer while it fails at telling a proper story. There are so many sequences that are unintentionally funny. Forget historical accuracy, even the characters (with the exception of a few) felt one-dimensional. Even the title character was poorly developed.
The mutiny preparation was rushed. While each and every one of the songs are beautiful, the holy song could have been left out as it doesn't add to the story and only slackens the pace. Even the romance between Jwala and William looked forced (this track shouldn't have been included at all).
Mehta does introduce some interesting issues that have not been depicted on screen earlier. Such as the Indian nanny breastfeeding the British baby while she struggles to feed her own child. His cinematographer does a superb job in capturing the picture with his camera. The art direction is eye candy.
A.R. Rahman's score deserves special mention. It is of an eclectic mix with a variety of songs, all of which have been beautifully visualized. I especially liked how 'Rasiya' and 'Vari Vari' were executed. Rani Mukherjee dances wonderfully. Many have made unfair comparisons to that of Madhuri Dixit's 'mujra' in 'Devdas'. Madhuri's character was a trained dancer while Rani's Heera had just been sold to the brothel and her primary task was to seduce. Back to Rahman's music, his background score is highly effective. It remains consistent and always contributes well to the scene (sometimes it's the only thing that works in a scene).
Aamir Khan makes a comeback after four years. However, this is far from his best work. He looks uninterested and wooden in most places and is easily overshadowed by Toby Stephens. He does seem to enjoy playing with his fake moustache. Stephens has the best character and he does full justice to it with a remarkable performance. Rani Mukherjee acts with full guns blazing. Whether her character is relevant or not to the movie, the actress is sensual, spontaneous and natural on screen and that's always great to watch. Amisha Patel has a few fits of hyperventilation (even though her character wasn't supposed to be someone sick with asthma).
'The Rising: Ballad of Mangal Pandey' is a lackluster film. It has very little to offer whether in the form of entertainment, enlightenment or engagement.
The mutiny preparation was rushed. While each and every one of the songs are beautiful, the holy song could have been left out as it doesn't add to the story and only slackens the pace. Even the romance between Jwala and William looked forced (this track shouldn't have been included at all).
Mehta does introduce some interesting issues that have not been depicted on screen earlier. Such as the Indian nanny breastfeeding the British baby while she struggles to feed her own child. His cinematographer does a superb job in capturing the picture with his camera. The art direction is eye candy.
A.R. Rahman's score deserves special mention. It is of an eclectic mix with a variety of songs, all of which have been beautifully visualized. I especially liked how 'Rasiya' and 'Vari Vari' were executed. Rani Mukherjee dances wonderfully. Many have made unfair comparisons to that of Madhuri Dixit's 'mujra' in 'Devdas'. Madhuri's character was a trained dancer while Rani's Heera had just been sold to the brothel and her primary task was to seduce. Back to Rahman's music, his background score is highly effective. It remains consistent and always contributes well to the scene (sometimes it's the only thing that works in a scene).
Aamir Khan makes a comeback after four years. However, this is far from his best work. He looks uninterested and wooden in most places and is easily overshadowed by Toby Stephens. He does seem to enjoy playing with his fake moustache. Stephens has the best character and he does full justice to it with a remarkable performance. Rani Mukherjee acts with full guns blazing. Whether her character is relevant or not to the movie, the actress is sensual, spontaneous and natural on screen and that's always great to watch. Amisha Patel has a few fits of hyperventilation (even though her character wasn't supposed to be someone sick with asthma).
'The Rising: Ballad of Mangal Pandey' is a lackluster film. It has very little to offer whether in the form of entertainment, enlightenment or engagement.
- Chrysanthepop
- Mar 5, 2011
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Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official site
- Languages
- Also known as
- Người Hùng Mangal Pandey: Đất Nước Nổi Dậy
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- ₹340,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $954,108
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $531,018
- Aug 14, 2005
- Gross worldwide
- $8,142,076
- Runtime2 hours 30 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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