’Rang De Basanti’ Turns 20: When Bollywood Had a Voice and a Spine

Looking at the current state of Bollywood—run rampant with its championing of hyper-nationalistic narratives and vapid, half-baked star kid launch vehicles—it might be hard to believe that there was a time, not too long ago, when a big-budget mainstream film not only celebrated student activism, but also made a strong case for dissent and rebellion against a corrupt system. Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s coming-of-age socio-political drama Rang De Basanti (2006) celebrated sticking truth to power.As the film turns 20, it's impossible not to reflect on everything Bollywood has lost in the past two decades—its spine, its voice, its belief in questioning power.Rang De Basanti drew from history, from Bhagat Singh’s ideology, and merged it seamlessly with contemporary resistance. And it wasn’t alone. Films like Yuva (2004), Shahid (2012), Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi (2003), and Haasil (2003) also foregrounded student politics, positioning it as a legitimate and crucial part of democracy.Bollywood Turning Cold on AR Rahman is Stranger Than FictionBased on the story idea by Kamlesh Pandey, the sharply written dialogues by Prasoon Joshi supported a tremendous screenplay by Mehra, Pandey, Rensil D'Silva, and Aamir Khan (who contributed to the climax). AR Rahman’s music added soul to this fiery tale of student idealism and resistance. The cast included Siddharth (in his Hindi debut), Atul Kulkarni, Soha Ali Khan, R Madhavan, Sharman Joshi, Kunal Kapoor, Alice Patten, and Waheeda Rahman.Shortly after the film’s release in 2006, scholar Meghna Dilip, for her thesis Rang De Basanti – Consumption, Citizenship and The Public Sphere, did a study of the blogosphere. This research showed a surge in discourse that zeroed in on public frustration with government inefficiency and corruption, with media frequently referencing the film’s influence through terms like ‘RDB Effect’ and ‘RDB Syndrome’. Its impact was most visible in real-life protests, such as the silent, candlelight vigils for the Jessica Lall murder case, where demonstrators mirrored scenes from the film to demand justice. The film also resonated internationally, influencing activism in Pakistan, and even inspiring the local newspaper Jang to launch a news channel that would focus solely on citizen’s issues.'Satya' to 'Agneepath': How Ganesh Chaturthi Has Influenced Bollywood Films However, today, this spirit of resistance is nowhere to be seen in Bollywood. Some of the cast and crew (including Madhavan and Prasoon Joshi) from Rang De Basanti itself have shifted towards a more conciliatory stance in support of the divisive government at the helm currently. The message of Rang De Basanti is carefully divorced from the present. Last year's re-release of the film in select theatres, as part of PVR INOX’s Cinema Ka Jadugar festival celebrating Aamir Khan’s 60th birthday, might have filled theatres, but what good is nostalgia when the industry itself has abandoned everything the film stood for?Bollywood, which once at least dabbled in stories of rebellion, now plays it safe, choosing to align with power instead of questioning it. Because let’s be real—if DJ and his gang were students today, they wouldn’t be Bollywood protagonists. They’d be labelled “anti-national,” doxxed, and thrown in jail under UAPA. The least offensive portrayal would be one that reduces them to “leftist liberandus” who are the punchline of casually witless jokes. The same institutions that once bred the fiercest critics of the state— Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Jadavpur University (JU), Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), and Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI)—are now painted as dens of “tukde tukde gang.” The likes of Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam have been languishing in prison for years, their trials stalled, their fundamental rights bulldozed under laws designed to silence dissent.In a statement provided exclusively to The Guardian, political prisoner Mahmoud Khalil reminded the world of the value of student protests. “Students have long been at the forefront of change — leading the charge against the Vietnam war, standing on the frontlines of the civil rights movement, and driving the struggle against apartheid in South Africa. Today, too, even if the public has yet to fully grasp it, it is students who steer us toward truth and justice.” he wrote. Khalil, an activist and graduate student at Columbia University, was detained by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on 8 March 2025, following his involvement in pro-Palestinian protests.The same people who mock student protests and tell them to “just focus on studies” equate education to rote learning, not the very thing that teaches you critical thinking, to question, analyse, and fight for a better world. They forget or simply never wake up to the idea that dissent is the backbone of any thriving democracy. Meaningful dissent challenges complacency, holds power accountable, and pushes societies toward progress. Student protests have always been at the heart of societal change, pushing back against systems that need to be challenged.Whether it was the anti-Vietnam War protests in the 1960s that shifted US policy or the Tiananmen Square uprising demanding democratic freedoms in China, students have led the charge. Recent student protests in Bangladesh, demanding an end to government repression, escalated to such an extent that they forced former prime minister Sheikh Hasina to flee the capital temporarily. The ongoing Serbian anti-corruption protests, spread across 400 cities and towns, are being led by university students.In India, student protests have been pivotal in resisting the Emergency, fighting for caste-based reservations, challenging the discriminatory policies of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), and standing by in solidarity during the recent farmers' protest. However, these are not the narratives that find space in Hindi cinema today. Instead, we get hyper-nationalist spectacles and empty nostalgia. Yuva to Tandav: Where are the Women in Filmi Student Politics?Now, we have films like The Kerala Story (2023), Gadar 2 (2023), and Chhaava (2025) that play on exaggerated narratives of (often bloodthirsty) hypermasculine, national pride, with little room for nuance. Tejas (2023) and Operation Valentine (2024) also follow this trend by focusing on one-dimensional military glory.Revisionist nostalgia dominates films like Mission Raniganj (2023) and Bastar: The Naxal Story (2024).They fail to understand labour struggles, vilify tribal resistance movements to push a hard-right agenda without interrogation. Swatantrya Veer Savarkar (2024) adds to this, canonising a controversial figure while glossing over his divisive legacy. These films offer little more than shallow reminiscence of an idealised past, viewed through a radicalised lens. By clinging to a glorified narrative of history, these films reinforce and justify the status quo in a severely class and caste-divided society. They offer little more than cheap entertainment and a quick fix for self-esteem issues in people misled by ideological manipulation and propaganda.'Chhaava' Effect? Nagpur Mayhem & Dangers of Mixing Myth With PropagandaJawan (2023), starring Shah Rukh Khan, does manage to tap into critical issues, from farmer plights to corruption. It attempts to address societal injustices, albeit in a hyper-commercialised way. In the current climate, where dissent and civil disobedience are increasingly criminalised, the film's approach is one of the few ways rebellion can still be depicted—through a star-driven, action-packed, mass-appeal format. It doesn't directly challenge the establishment but by embedding these themes in a commercial framework, Jawan creates a space for protest, albeit in a more palatable, mainstream package. It’s far from the raw, diversified student-led resistance of Rang De Basanti, but Jawan still showcases a form of revolt reframed for today’s reality.Rang De Basanti once championed the courage to question authority as the greatest form of patriotism, but lack of meaningful political commentary in current mainstream films today reflects a broader moral and political bankruptcy within the industry.There is a real fear of backlash and even imprisonment.At a time when voices of even peaceful dissent are silenced, and the youth as well as the media are criminalised for questioning the status quo, the very essence of Rang De Basanti feels lost. It is replaced by films that reinforce, rather than challenge, the establishment. Bollywood now reflects the clueless apathy and conformity that has come to define much of the country's political, cultural, and social landscape.(This article has been updated and republished from The Quint's archives as Rang De Basanti completes 20 years. The author is an independent film, TV and pop culture journalist who has been feeding into the great sucking maw of the internet since 2010. This is an opinion piece. The views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for them.)

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’Rang De Basanti’ Turns 20: When Bollywood Had a Voice and a Spine

What good is nostalgia when Bollywood itself has abandoned all that the film stood for, asks Debiparna Chakraborty.

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