Rang Rasiya is a colourful triumph, director Ketan Mehta meriting applause for his portrait of painter Raja Ravi Varma, skillfully blending a biopic, a period film, a love story and a social critique, within a tight frame. Rang Rasiya portrays Varma as India’s first cultural rock-star, adored, attacked, commercial, inspired, excited and challenged by a new consciousness he sees – and shapes. Vitally, Rang Rasiya emphasizes Raja Ravi Varma’s commitment to the freedom of ideas which creates philosophy, science and liberated love, ephemeral, yet lasting – like the pages of his calendars.

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But the trouble is that Rang Rasiya feels like a choppy costume drama marred by false notes and static acting : the fluidity and the authentic sense of time and place needed for a film like this, qualities so beautifully woven through Mehtas classics Bhavni Bhavai and Mirch Masala, are missing. Both Hooda and Sen are presented as gleaming bodies on ample display we are meant to fall in lust with, and both are eminently drool-worthy. But in all this, the characters go missing. Varma deserves a deeper, more layered film.

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Ratings:3.5/5 Review By: Saibal Chaterjee Site:NDTV

Rang Rasiya is by no means a perfect film, but for the manner in which it tackles an extensive range of important themes related to the place of art in a tradition-bound society, it is an impressive achievement. This film has been in the cans for several years, but given the timelessness of the story it tells and the crucial issues it addresses, it has lost none of its relevance. Rang Rasiya is as good a film as any you have, or will, see this year. Strongly recommended.

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Ratings:2/5 Review By: Rahul Desai Site:Mumbai Mirror

However, as I watched Raja fund young Dadasaheb Phalke’s moving-picture dreams, the meta-ness is hard to ignore: I was watching an ordinary cinematic representation of an artist indirectly responsible for us watching films at all. What if he hadn’t been generous to the future Father of Indian cinema? Would we be in a position to gauge the uniformity of his legacy? Perhaps not.

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Ratings:3/5 Review By: Koel Purie Site:India Today

Ketan, I am glad you are out of your circumstantial hibernation because you still tell a story more beautifully than most, but, this is not one of your best. I give it 3 stars mainly for the message.

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Ratings:3.5/5 Review By: Rohit Vats Site:Hindustan Times

Ketan Mehta has done a commendable job as Rang Rasiya is far ahead of its contemporaries, which are still dealing with insane item numbers and illogical heists.Rang Rasiya is much more than just a period film. Its a statement on behalf of people who reject intolerance and are continuously striving for a new India which will give space to free voice. Its a piece of art.

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Ratings:4/5 Review By: Mohar Basu Site:Koimoi

Ketan Mehta doesnt shirk from taking the pique stand in telling a well blended tale about love, passion, virtue, chastity and he brooding demand to adhere to social norms, bringing into relevance of Raja Ravi Varmas story which is more than a century old. Mehtas line of thought was simple, while gadgets and technology is progressing, our minds are still not free from the shackles of primitive thinking. This is one Ketans most effortless, most nuanced and most impactful works and definitely one of recent times most powerful and moving films, I had the good fortune of watching.

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