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Cinema A to Z: All you need to know about Rangoon, Vishal Bhardwaj’s World War II drama

This episode of Cinema A to Z brings to you everything you need to know about Vishal Bhardwaj's Rangoon

After giving us path-breaking films like Maqbool, Omkara, Kaminey, 7 Khoon Maaf and Haider, Vishal Bhardwaj is coming up with his latest venture Rangoon. The World War II drama is centered in the pre-independence era and has created a lot of buzz before its theatrical release. Here’s all you need to know about the film.

About the film

The film has been produced by Vishal Bhardwaj, Sajid Nadiadwala, and Viacom Motion Pictures. The story has been written by Bhardwaj along with Matthew Robbins and Sabrina Dhawan. It should be mentioned that Robbins had co-authored the filmmaker’s 2011 project 7 Khoon Maaf.

Cast

The Vishal Bhardwaj directorial has an ensemble cast comprising Shahid Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan, and Kangana Ranaut. It also has British actor Richard McCabe and Japanese actor Satoru Kawaguchi.

It happens to be Shahid’s third collaboration with Bhardwaj after Kaminey and Haider. On the other hand, Saif last worked with the director in Omkara in 2006, which won the National Award.

On the other hand, Kangana plays an actor Julia. It is believed that her character is inspired from yesteryear stunt queen Fearless Nadia.

Trivia

The film was supposed to be shot after Omkara, but the project got delayed due to some unknown reasons. Also, the flick was tentatively titled as Julia.

The pre-Independence era film was shot in Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur. Initially, Shahid was supposed to play a Sikh character but his role was changed later. During the shooting, he learned Japanese and ate Japanese food with help from Satoru Kawaguchi.

Music

Besides being an acclaimed director, Vishal Bhardwaj is a music composer par excellence. This time, he does not disappoint as well. Rangoon has melodious tracks which have become an instant hit among viewers. The most popular ones are ‘Bloody Hell’ sung by Sunidhi Chauhan, ‘Ye Ishq Hai’ by Arijit Singh and ‘Mere Miyan Gaye England’ by Rekha Bhardwaj. The lyrics have been penned by veteran songwriter Gulzar.

Check out ‘Ye Ishq Hai’ song from the film.

And last but not the least, the ‘Mere Miyan Gaye England’ song by Rekha Bhardwaj.

Controversies

The film got embroiled in controversy before its theatrical release. Wadia Movitone Ltd filed a commercial suit against the film, alleging that they own the rights of Fearless Nadia. They also accused the makers of Rangoon of lifting 19 scenes from Hunterwali.

Box Office Prediction

With Jolly LLB2 continuing to make money at the box office and The Ghazi Attack performing decently well, it is likely that Rangoon may pocket a little over Rs 5 crore.

Also read: Rangoon undergoes 70 cuts, but Censor Board is not to be blamed this time