Rang De, Nithiin-Keerthi Suresh In A Shameful Sexist Rom-Com

Rang De(Zee5, Telugu)

Starring Nithiin, Keerthi  Suresh

Directed  by  Venky Atluri

Rating: *

The boxoffice success of this trashy rom-com during these times  of  a pandemic should worry all those who care  about the future  of Indian cinema.Is this the kind of  shoddy cinema we would like to see  flourish in  the  post-pandemic era when, speaking hypothetically, audiences  return to movie  theatres….

To see, this???!!! Rang De  is  the  kind  of addlebrained ramshackle he-loves-she-loves-they-love -not nonsense that  prospered  in the  1970s. Rang De reminded me  of  the 1977 Telugu hit Aalu Magalu where Vanisri   is treated  with  unsettling contempt  by Akkineni Nageswara Rao even she  continues to adore him unconditionally.Women in  films did that. They still do. Doormats will never go out of fashion.

 43 years  after Aalu Magalu the gender  equation has not  been revised much. Sure,  Nithiin and Keerthy Suresh speak  the “young” language  and  talk about sex with  each other(in one ribtickling homage to young mindsets  Nithiin tells Keerthy, “Just because we had sex last night doesn’t mean we  have to become committed to one another”)  and  try to behave  how  normal  people do when it comes to  relationships and commitment.

Rang De tries so hard to  be young it should have actually been titled Young De. The  lead pair are neighbours. The  two families are inseparable and  it is presumed by all that Arjun and Anu are a  couple. Anu adores  Arjun  although he is  a certifiable wastrel  with a penchant for  delusional  self-worth.  All their friends can see they are not meant  for  each  other. Except Anu who  worships the ground  he walks  on  while he walks all over her. I almost expected her to lie down prostrate  to  let  him walk  over her literally.

So much of  the plot here is   mothballed  and  outdated that  sitting through many passages  of  the  gender battle of the  twits(with  not even a modicum of wit)  I thought  the whole exercize  is  meant to be  a send-off , a  spoof on the  romances  of  yesteryears when heroes  bullied and heckled the heroine while she  sobbed  and  slaved  over  her  lord and monster…pardon me, master.

 But no. These guys are dead serious  about  Keerthy Suresh’s  prolonged humiliation by a chap who  clearly needs  to be taught how to behave with women. Maybe too much time  with the boys drinking beer  and watching porn, eh? Is that Arjun’s back story? What a  pity Nithiin with his  starpower,  agreed to be  part of something so sickeningly regressive. As for Keerthy Suresh  she had rightly won  the National award for her portrayal  of   the legendary actress Savithri in  the bio-pic Mahanati .

Ironically Savithri was  tossed around  by the men in  her life  and taken  for granted by those she  favoured, just  like Anu  in Rang  De.

The more things change,the  more they are the same.