Rang Rasiya

Rang Rasiya is much more than just a period film. It's a statement on behalf of people who reject intolerance and are continuously striving for a new India which will give space to free voice. It's a piece of art.

Irrespective of any fault Rang Rasiya is a piece of cinema you could watch. This one will stand as one of the most deserving biopics in an industry which is suddenly trying to make films on just about anyone. Rang Rasiya is on a league of its own, meaningful and relevant a century after the man has gone.

Watch it if you have a thing for history, to know how Dada Saheb Phalke played a prodigy to Raja Ravi Varma and of course for the aesthetically rich treatment of the plot.

For those in the creative field and who love works of art, watching RANG RASIYA should definitely be on your 'to-do list' this weekend.

It's these superfluous sex scenes and the appalling acting by the girls (except the delicate Feryna Wazheir playing Frenny) that just destroyed this otherwise interesting and smoothly told tale. By adding (because they really do seem lathered on top) these dispensable, obvious moments of lust, the film cheapens itself and stops feeling like an artistic A-grade take on the life of a world class artist that it should and could have been.

Rang Rasiya is not a perfect film and not for everyone but for those who would like to know more about one of the best painters ever, this one will be worth your time.

For choosing to tell the story of this extraordinary artist and for standing up for artistic freedom, Rang Rasiya is recommended. That it could have been a far better film, is another story.

The relevance of this movie then will be lost on no one in the audience. The relationship between art and morality (or the public and morality itself) has not been a linear one. We tend to go back and forth on this subject every few generations.

...for the artistic and creative people who believe in freedom of expression but it surely won't woo the janta who are looking for entertainment and a getaway this weekend.

Although, Ketan Mehta's Rang Rasiya isn't a perfect ode to the great painter, it certainly deserves applause. Rang Rasiya is a bold film. It is a colorful portrait of love, passion and the dreams of an artist.

The film's high point is seeing Ravi Varma's paintings. It establishes that the painter-artist's life is a powerful story that needs to be told by a better, more accomplished director and actors.

Wish there was more subtlety of desire and less in-your-face lust and sex. However, Mehta deserves huge credit for tackling a subject of this kind — the sensitive issue of petty politics curbing freedom of art and expression has been dogging us for centuries and continues to do so.

I would still watch Rang Rasiya, for what it's trying to do. The hope is that as there are more and more bold themes, these creases will be ironed out to give us a wholesome, less self-aware film. Till then, this is a decent enough start.

Despite all its flaws, it is relevant even today. It has a message that humanity struggles to accept a lot of things, and the more open-minded we are – the more towards greatness we move as a race. But the message gets lost in the overly forced romance. Watch it to learn the story of a great artist, who is historically significant to the rise of Indian art. But there is little else to offer.