Yet another Sanjay Bhansali film, Devdas, told the age old story that most Indians know, however he merged this tale of passion and lust beautifully with that deep undertone of Red to enhance the foreboding stages that the protagonist goes through. The usage of red colour in the film is also justified due to the Bengali setting of the story, as red is most prominent colour of the Bengali sub-culture. Performance wise, though SRK did a marvellous job at bringing out the emotions that prevailed, the dusky red that enveloped the entire film added a feel and even enhanced the setting for the climax. This enhancement brought about with the usage of lighting is a wondrous example of intellectual filmmaking today as we constantly see the line between art and commercial thinning into oblivion.
In stark contrast to the scenario in Bollywood, with film being based on futuristic concepts and unimaginable plots, Dev D stood out. Like most of Anurag Kashyap's films, Dev D had an undertone of a particular message. However, we are dealing with the multitude of colour and its brilliant use. We must say that at this point that Anurag seriously outdid himself with the portrayal of the character's minds through colour. Like when the main protagonist Dev thinks about his tumultuous affairs in a drug induced state, the turmoil of various shades just enhances our understanding of what really runs behind the scenes.
Apart from this, the colours also helped to take the story forward, as, at points in the film where there are no dialogues, the melange of bizarre shades step in to help.
It was titled as a path breaking film, not just script and story wise, but also with respect to the direction. Rang De Basanti told the tale of youth and drew attention to certain national issues that have lain undisturbed for ages. However, the high point of the film was the multitude of colours that were used. The first of its kind, RDB fused the monotone flashback sequences with the current lively concoction of colour prevalent. Truly a path breaker, RDB set a new standard in story telling with the use of varied shades and hues.
Need we say anything more? The title of the film itself explains pretty much everything. The film Red based on fear, seduction and betrayal involves and uses the passionate hues of red to the hilt with the mysterious character of Ria and the lonely yet passionate Anahita seeking to emerge from her self-induced solitude. The entire film revolves around the main theme which signifies Red (fear, seduction and betrayal) that ties up the three lives in one winding story.
It is a film that launched two star kids, but failed to click despite all the hype and is termed as one of the biggest flops of 2007. One of the striking traits of the film was the overdose of the colour Blue. Right from the set to the characterisation, everything was tinged with the touch of blue. It was like watching the film through blue shaded glasses. However, this did work as it set the mood and also the tempo for the story's progression. In fact, the colour enhanced the ease of narrating the story and proved as leaf motif as the film progressed.
