Raag Desh (transl. Love the country) is a 2017 Indian historical action drama film directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia and produced by Gurdeep Singh Sappal and Rajya Sabha TV.[3][4][5] The film is based on Indian National Army trials, the joint court martial of Indian National Army officers Colonel Prem Sahgal, Colonel Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon, and Major Shah Nawaz Khan on charges of treason against the British Empire during World War 2.[6] The leading roles in Raag Desh have been played by Kunal Kapoor, Amit Sadh, Mohit Marwah and Mrudula Murali.[7] The film was released on 28 July 2017.[8][1] Rishi Punjabi is the cinematographer of the film.
| Raag Desh | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Tigmanshu Dhulia |
| Written by | Pramod Singh Tigmanshu Dhulia |
| Screenplay by | Tigmanshu Dhulia |
| Produced by | Rajya Sabha TV - A public sector entity |
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | Rishi Punjabi |
| Edited by | Geeta Singh |
| Music by | Songs Rana Mazumder Siddharth Pandit Background Score Dharma Vish |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | UFO Moviez |
Release date |
|
Running time | 137 minutes[1] |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
| Box office | ₹33 lakh (US$40,000)[2] |
Premises
editA period film based on the historic 1945 Indian National Army Red Fort Trials.
Cast
edit- Kunal Kapoor as Shah Nawaz Khan
- Amit Sadh as Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon
- Hikaru Ito as Japanese Army officer
- Mohit Marwah as Prem Sahgal
- Vijay Varma as Jamal Kidwai
- Keneth Desai as Bhulabhai Desai
- Kenny Basumatary as Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose
- Mrudula Murali as Captain Laxmi Sahgal[9]
- Alexx O'Nell as Col. P. Walsh
- Zakir Hussain as Lt. Nag
- Kanwaljit Singh as Prem's Father
- Rajesh Khera as Jawahar Lal Nehru
- Deepraj Rana as Afzal Khan
- Amrita Rai as Col. Dhillon's Mother
- Kuldip Sareen as Col. Dhillon's Father
- Vishwas Kini as Mohan Singh
- Anil Rastogi as Kailash Nath Katju
Soundtrack
edit| Raag Desh | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Rana Mazumder, Ram Singh Thakuri & Siddharth Pandit | |||||
| Released | 25 July 2017[10] | ||||
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack | ||||
| Length | 16:51 | ||||
| Language | Hindi | ||||
| Label | T-Series | ||||
| |||||
The soundtrack of Raag Desh consists of four songs composed by Rana Mazumder, Ram Singh Thakuri & Siddharth Pandit.
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Hawaon Mein Woh Aag Hai" | Sandeep Nath & Pt. Vanshidhar Shukla | Rana Mazumder & Ram Singh Thakuri | Shreya Ghoshal & K.K. | 04:04 |
| 2. | "Tujhe Namaami Ho" | Sandeep Nath | Rana Mazumder | Shreya Ghoshal, Sunidhi Chauhan, K.K. & Rana Mazumder | 04:17 |
| 3. | "Ghar Chaado" (Bengali) | Rana Mazumder | Rana Mazumder | Shreya Ghoshal & Rana Mazumder | 04:04 |
| 4. | "Teri Zameen" | Revant Shergill | Siddharth Pandit | Shriya Pareek & Revant Shergill | 04:26 |
| Total length: | 16:51 | ||||
Critical reception
editRohit Vats of Hindustan Times gave the film a rating of 3.5 out of 5, saying that the movie is, "A heavy dose of patriotism that is totally worth your time."[11] Nihit Bhave of The Times of India gave the film a rating of 3 out of 5 and said that, "Had the screenplay been freed of its half-hearted side-tracks, it would have made for great infotainment. The movie is only half of that word now."[12] Kunal Guha of Mumbai Mirror gave the film a rating of 2.5 out of 5 saying that, "Tigmanshu Dhulia's historical drama has a compelling story but is fleshed out half-heartedly".[13] Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express gave the film a rating of 2 out of 5 and said that, "Raag Desh has lofty ambition, but the stagey treatment lets it down. The war scenes are plentiful but you can't help seeing the clunkiness."[14] Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV gave the film a rating of 3 out of 5 saying that Raag Desh "is a riveting, if not exactly exhilarating, epic tale that presents a prudent blend of war, patriotic fervour, expert legal sleights and good old human drama."[15]
Rohit Bhatnagar of Deccan Chronicle gave the film a rating of 2 out of 5 and said that, "On the whole, Raag Desh is an average film with an untold factual story. The film could have been a much better plus in the era of commercial films, Raag Desh is a niche in its own genre."[16] Kennith Rosario of The Hindu commented on the film that, "It is rather disappointing to see a film that ticks all the right boxes, fall apart because of the lack of a captivating narrative."[17] Nandini Ramnath of Scroll praised the film, saying that, "Despite numerous rousing speeches for freedom, the movie never slides into chest-thumping jingoism, and at 137 minutes, provides an absorbing account of a fascinating and underexplored chapter of the freedom struggle."[18] Sameeksha of News18 gave the film a rating of 2.5 out of 5 and said that, "Tigmanshu Dhulia brings forth a forgotten chapter of 1945 Red Fort trials and makes it into a history class rather than an engaging watch."[19]
References
edit- ^ a b "Raag Desh Cast & Crew". Bollywood Hungama.
- ^ "Box Office Collection". Bollywood Hungama.
- ^ "Raag Desh Official Trailer". YouTube.
- ^ "Raag Desh director Tigmanshu Dhulia: I still can't say I am from Bombay". The Indian Express.
- ^ "Tigmanshu Dhulia's period drama 'Raagdesh' is back on track". The Times of India. 14 June 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
- ^ "Raag Desh is India's family portrait: Tigmanshu Dhulia". Retrieved 2 July 2017.
- ^ "The real and reel life characters of Raag Desh". Rajya Sabha TV.
- ^ "RSTV's Raag Desh releases countrywide". Rajya Sabha TV.
- ^ "Mrudula Murali: I became more patriotic after listening to the soldiers' tales and their sacrifices". The Times of India.
- ^ "Raag Desh (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". iTunes.
- ^ "Raag Desh movie review: A heavy dose of patriotism that is totally worth your time". Hindustan Times.
- ^ "Raag Desh Movie Review - Courtroom Drama, Classroom Lecture". The Times of India.
- ^ "Raag Desh movie review". Pune Mirror.
- ^ "Raag Desh movie review: The stagey treatment lets it down". The Indian Express.
- ^ "Raag Desh Movie Review: This Riveting Tale Is Part War Film, Part Courtroom Drama". NDTV.
- ^ "Raag Desh movie review: A niche within its own genre". Deccan Chronicle.
- ^ "Raag Desh: Lessons in history". The Hindu.
- ^ "'Raag Desh' film review: A history lesson from 1941 that echoes in the present". Scroll.
- ^ "Raag Desh Movie Review: Overdose of Information Takes Away The Engagement". News18.