'Mangal Pandey' fetches lukewarm response at Locarno

Mumbai, Aug 14 (IANS) Not everyone among the audience at Locarno who watched Ketan Mehta's "Mangal Pandey - The Rising" liked the historical film at its screening there last week.

Though Mehta claimed the film got a standing ovation at the Switzerland venue, according to some the response to the film was lukewarm.

Ketan said: "We saw the response of 8,000 people. They gave the film a standing ovation. The critics also wrote favourably...."

But here's what a prominent member of the crew who was present for the Locarno screening, had to say. "Er...people got up at the end of the film, some clapped as they do for every premier, and then they all left the auditorium. Is that what's meant by a standing ovation?"

The verdict from Locarno is even more damning.

"Lukewarm...very, very lukewarm," says an extremely reliable source from Locarno.

"A lot was expected by the international audience from Aamir Khan after 'Lagaan'. Sadly and strangely it was unacceptable at most film international film festivals. During pre-selection 'Mangal Pandey' went through several editings and re-editing before it got into Locarno.

"After the screening all one can remember is the character Gordon, played by Toby Smith. Not one character, including Mangal Pandey, made any impression. You certainly don't come away from the film wanting to delve deeper in Mangal Pandey's psyche.

"Aamir has tried hard, very hard. But his performance doesn't leave any lasting impression. The film is nothing but an exercise in British-bashing with a lot of all-round bad acting."

According to this source, "Mangal Pandey" disappointed the foreign audience at Locarno on several counts. "Though they enjoyed the colour and passion they found the narrative far from smooth. While the songs in 'Lagaan' just flowed with the narrative, here they are a major impediment. They just stop the story. The songs seem to have been put in as indigenous money-making gimmicks rather than for intrinsic need. In fact the westerners who were hoping for another 'Lagaan' are largely disappointed by 'Mangal Pandey'."

"No," concludes the source firmly. "There was no standing ovation for 'Mangal Pandey' at Locarno."

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Mangal Pandey - The Rising