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.

A commendable effort when someone decides to document an important chapter in history and bring forth to patrons of 'cinema of substance' Aamir Khan in and as Mangal Pandey. But the director Ketan Mehta has only managed to scrape the dust off the episode in history, ravaged by time and failed to extract its vibrancy that would emulate the similar desire and passion in those watching it. Neither does the film keeps you on the edge of the seat where you let the warm squall of adrenalin sweep over the thousand thoughts bombarding the mind. Some of them being, why is the film following the same pace from beginning to end or why am I not getting charged? I love my country and I want to do something for my country, like for the record there was a recruit for Kargil war after the young boy fresh from college watched J.P. Dutta's Border. Why is Mangal Pandey not telling me to take some action or even do an honest introspection? Whose fault is it? Certainly, the flaw lies in the insipid direction. In the past, films like Shaheed, Kranti or even Raj Kumar Santoshi's Bhagat Singh have scored better when it comes to audience empathy. Any accosting to the director will have to be half guarded because of the vagaries that are like eye-sores including female characters, which tip from crude to unconvincing, average music and poor screenplay among other things. Films like Lagaan was not a one-man show and bigger than Aamir Khan as the actor. All characters etched out properly, like in the cricket team even when you have your favorites in Sachin Tendulkar, you would also care when Harbhajan throws a googly or when Yuvraj comes in for a fantastic cameo inning. But like Mangal Pandey in history who was passionate and overzealous and took the cause of struggle for freedom on his shoulders, in the film, Aamir Khan the actor consciously or subconsciously projects himself as the last man standing. What Shahrukh couldn't do for Swades, Aamir does for Mangal Pandey. The gamble pays off because the film despite a shaky structure and narrative will be a crowd puller thanks to the long exile of Aamir Khan and his reputation of being the perfectionist and the untouchable, but the truth…the film lacks the soul and an ability to stir any sentiments of patriotism or even connect the audience on an emotional level. The Story-Mangal Pandey (Aamir Khan) is one of the many sepoys of the 5th Company, 34th Native Infantry Regiment, Barrackpore. Loyal to his superiors in the army of British East India Company, Mangal Pandey is the man with exceptional skills and bravery; and has also befriended an officer called William Gordon (Toby Stephens). Toby Stephens performed his part of an officer pulled between his white man's burden and friendship and empathy for Mangal Pandey and his cause, delivers a powerful, credible and sensitive performance. On learning that the new cartridges are greased with animal fat, a widespread resentment breaks amongst Indian soldiers fostering Hindu-Muslim sentiments. Mangal Pandey leads the mutiny and turns it into the first war of independence, becoming the first rebel and first martyr in history. There are two love stories in the film, one between Gordon and Jwala; (Ameesha Patel) a Sati he rescues and the other between Mangal and Heera; (Rani Mukerji) a prostitute. Both Ameesha and Rani played their parts with desired vulnerability and passion. Aamir Khan did justice to his role and as reiterated, indeed is the last man standing in the film.

A colourful Bollywood film, typically melodramatic, which co stars Toby Stephens as a native-sympathetic Engish officer on the eve of the First War of Indian Independence (formerly the Indian Mutiny, 1857). Aamir Khan looks good but is a bit lightweight and without depth as the central hero. Well staged and photographed, the long (210mins!) film suffers from some intrusive narration and several needless songs, which detract from the required gravity of events. Also it failed to transmit any real, necessary, social outrage at British rule a la Braveheart - instead substituting stereotypes for historical accuracy. Good to see the British in a less than positive light in this imperial context though, while Stephen's Indian dialogue, which didn't seem to be dubbed, was very impressively carried off. Film included one kiss, as well as some overt, non-symbolic lovemaking - a refreshing sign of the new Indian censorship policy. But it was all more entertaining than the plodding JINNAH (1998), also seen of late, in which another English actor, Christopher Lee, has a central role in playing similarly momentous events - this time as the founder of modern Pakistan. Another film handicapped by unimaginative incidentals, this time a clumsy framing device.SPOILER Best moment: at the end, when the hero, about to be hung for his part in the uprising, shouts ATTACK!!! is hoisted upwards to infinity while the appalled crowd of native onlookers surge forward to start the revolution. Even Prince Charles apparently clapped at this at the premiere...

Ketan Mehta has no idea what 'uprising' means and surely no clue about revolution. The 1857 mutiny was about RAGE, it was a bloody revolt. There's NO RAGE in this movie. Mehta fails to depict the atmosphere, struggle and sacrifice behind all that happened. And instead turns it into a crappy romantic love-fest with an almost celebratory touch to it. Plus the song-and-dance nonsense. Is it a party or what??Mangal Pandey has been short-changed throughout the movie. Too many disconnected and irrelevant incidents seem like distractions that could have been avoided. Entire perspective is that of ruling British. The lives of Indians are trivial side shows that we can ignore while we munch on our popcorn. Gordon hogs footage that could have been devoted to Mangal, with the result that we get no insight into the psychology of the main character. Then why on earth make a movie about him?!! Its ridiculous.Mehta seems to think that the Sepoys just out of the blue decided to go up in arms against the British. How idiotic. His lack of accurate research and distortion of historical facts show in the movie. He fails to live up to the basic honesty of film.People like that really pxxx me off. It seems Indians must still bow to and pay homage to whatever is left of British era in India, either real or imaginary. The drudgery of the bonded imagination etched deep, the intellectual slavery continues unabated. WHY??? Ketan Mehta, Deepa Mehta, Mira Nair, Shashi Tharoor, Naipaul, Rushdie they are all exactly the same. India does not need this lousy breed of pseudos of the Macaulayite kind aka "bloody bxxtxxds the British left behind".If Holi was horrible, Mirch Masala was maddening. And Rising has made my BP rise to stratospheric levels. Watch the movie but ignore what it tries to mislead you into believing.