It  hit theatres on August 15, 1992 — and became a landmark film. Mani Ratnam’s Tamil film Roja — also dubbed into Hindi, Telugu and Malayalam — told the story of an innocent village girl whose husband gets kidnapped on their Kashmir honeymoon. Roja marked the debut of actress Madhoo, who played the title role, as well as A.R. Rahman who gave us an album that’s become a cult classic. It made Arvind Swamy an overnight heart-throb and it is still watched and rewatched on TV today. A Roja — and Ratnam fan — picks her favourite moods and moments, songs and scenes…

♦ The edge-of-the-seat opening scene is still a firm favourite. Jeep headlights shining through dense fog, the snow-clad trees standing still, army dogs on the hunt barking loud, a terrorist hideout being busted and then gunfire as terror chief Wasim Khan is captured by the Indian troops… it’s a scene that defines the tone for the film and for all that will change Roja’s life forever.

♦ The beauty of Roja lies in how it seamlessly juxtaposes the playful with the serious. The chilling first scene gives way to a happy village backdrop as the now-iconic strains of Dil hai chhota sa — this song, rendered by Minmini, remains an indelible part of many a childhood —  play out. As an innocent Roja (Madhoo) prances around a field, bathes under a waterfall, plays cricket and chases a swarm of geese, the heart soars now as high as it did as a pre-teen back in August 1992. “Dil hai chhota sa, chhoti si asha/ Masti bhare mann ki bholi si asha/ Chaand taaron ko chhoone ki asha/ Aasmanon mein udne ki asha”. A.R. Rahman the maestro was born.

♦ That first glimpse of Arvind Swamy (as Rishi) getting out of his car and lighting a cigarette. Roja, hiding behind the rocks, couldn’t take her eyes off him. We were guilty as charged too. And when he turned around in a roomful of people and said he wanted to marry Roja — and not her elder sister Lakshmi — our hearts skipped a little.

♦ The awkward but growing chemistry between Roja and Rishi still brings on a smile. Like he grabbing her from behind and making her take a puff off his cigarette or she getting tongue-tied when he shakes his wet hair after a bath and kisses the water droplets settled on her shoulder or she prancing around the room wearing only his pullover. And when she begs his forgiveness — “S-O-R-R-Y” — for misunderstanding him, he looks at her and smiles. #Cute

♦ The joy on Roja’s face as she glimpses snow for the first time is probably one of the most innocent moments played out on the Bolly screen. The camera pans on the snow-capped mountains and then moves to Roja’s spellbound face as we hear the soulful Yeh haseen vadiyaan, that dominates playlists even today. Rahman’s score, Mani Ratnam’s direction, Santosh Sivan behind the lens… pure magic.

♦ Roja sees Rishi being abducted in front of the temple, right in front of her eyes. She runs and runs and runs behind the car, finally stumbling and falling to the ground even as it speeds away leaving behind a trail of dust. A perfect interval moment, that sets the film up chillingly for Half Two. Even today, that scene gives all Roja and Ratnam fans goosebumps.

♦ The beautiful picturisation of the title track — Rishi in captivity, Roja fighting loneliness and fear, both pining for each other — is still a YouTube winner. Hariharan’s voice brought alive P.K. Mishra’s lines: “Aankhon mein tu hai/Aansu mein tu hai/ Aankhen bandh kar loon/ Toh mann mein bhi tu hai….”

♦ That absolutely heart-rending moment when the army storms into the terrorist’s den, but they have escaped, with Rishi. Roja spots a message carved on the floor by Rishi and lies down to put her cheek on it, even as her eyes well up.

♦ Roja’s transition from a simple and naive village girl to a woman who moves heaven and earth to bring her kidnapped husband back is among the strongest She acts on the Indian screen. Roja’s inspirational fight against all odds still makes for a riveting watch, even as your heart goes out to her. Her unlikely friendship with Chhajju — who becomes a silent ally — is heart-warming. 

♦ Bharat humko jaan se pyaara hai to Rishi hurling himself on a burning Tricolour to douse the flames — Roja brings on a rousing sense of patriotism without hammering it in.

♦ Roja is perhaps the rare Indian film that gave a human face to terrorists (Ratnam took it further in Dil Se), with Pankaj Kapur’s Liaqat gunning down thousands but still having the heart to set Rishi free at the end. Roja had a lot of political undertones that are relevant even today — the Kashmir problem to terrorism, jihad to the apathy of the administration. A substantial part of the film focused on Liaqat defending jihad and Rishi questioning it — that moment when Liaqat remembers his slain brother and breaks down still brings a lump to the throat  — making the film pertinent 25 years later.
 
♦ What makes me go back to Roja time and again? That final moment when Rishi is set free. He runs through the greens, Roja spots him and runs towards him; he trips and topples, she cries out loud; he gets up and smiles at her even as blood streams down his face and she inches towards him slowly, fighting back tears. He smiles and calls her “gaon ki kabootri”… and then they hug. Time to YouTube this classic again!

ROJA RECKONER

• Roja was featured in Time magazine’s ‘10 Best Soundtracks’ list ever
• The role of Liaqat was offered to Nana Patekar
• The film won three National Awards
• Karisma Kapoor was first offered the role of the Kashmiri girl who is sympathetic to Rishi while he is in captivity. She opted out because it was a supporting role.

Priyanka Roy
I still love Roja because....
Tell t2@abp.in

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TEAM TOLLY — AND TEAM T2 — ON ROJA THE FOREVER FAVE

SWASTIKA MUKHERJEE

Roja is the first film I watched sitting in the Stall of a single-screen hall, Basusree. I then bought the Hindi as well as the Tamil audio cassettes and knew all the Tamil lyrics by heart. I was in Class VII then and for the next one year in school, we only spoke about Arvind Swamy, from lunch break to assembly, library to PT class to even the school chapel! We would discuss and dissect every part of him — from the hair on his head to his little toe! Arvind Swamy in a towel…aah! We were obsessed with the film. I can even tell you what Madhoo and Arvind Swamy were wearing in which scene… such was the impact of the film on me. I can also tell you what the guy (Chhajju) who helped Roja wore! I also liked the way it depicted terrorism and the Kashmir crisis. With Bombay, Roja is possibly A.R. Rahman’s best… nothing he does can top those two. Every frame of Roja worked… it’s a film that gets into your bones. I don’t think anyone can ever say that the film could have been better.

ABIR CHATTERJEE

The moment you said Roja is turning 25, the first thing that came to my mind is that I am getting old! I remember when the movie was released in 1992, everyone started saying that Roja was a first-of-its-kind in Indian cinema. I was in school then. I remember the whole family watching the film together at my mamabari on a VCR. Usually if any intimate scene used to be shown on TV when elders would be around, we kids used to go out of the room. But, for the first time while watching Roja, none of us moved… we were so engrossed in the film that we forgot! I was numb after watching the film. Also, the songs were sooo good! Even today when I hear the music of Dil hai chhota sa, I get goosebumps. Roja introduced me to stalwarts like A.R. Rahman and Mani Ratnam. All the women loved Arvind Swamy. Later when I went back to the film, I realised the political theme behind it and I feel it took some courage to make a film like that during that time. When I started getting pocket money, I remember buying the audio cassette of Roja.

I’VE LOST COUNT OF THE NUMBER OF TIMES I’VE WATCHED IT

My parents were not too fond of me watching movies when I was in school...

I still remember fighting with them and watching Roja on TV. I had to study
double the hours but it was totally worth it. Even now, every time Roja is shown on television, especially on August 15, I religiously watch it. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve watched it. From songs like Dil hai chhota sa, Yeh haseen vaadiyan, Bharat humko jaan se pyaara hai and the title track to the story and acting, Roja remains a firm fave. In fact, the songs are a must on my playlist even today.

Malancha Dasgupta

AAH... THE ROMANCE!

I was 11 when I watched Roja in the theatre. Yes, my parents didn’t know where to look during Yeh haseen vadiyaan. Over the last 25 years I have watched the film almost as many times... and it never fails to move me. For a long time “gawaar kabootri” (that Rishi refers to Roja as) was, in my opinion, the cutest endearment. Rishi was the ideal of what a man should be (the crush on Arvind Swamy lasted well into adulthood). And Roja’s first glimpse of snow! I think it was one of the primary reasons why I have been drawn to the mountains ever since. For many it was the feeling of patriotism that the film evoked that was special. For me it was the romance between Rishi and Roja that made the film memorable. Today, the romance bit feels even more refreshing given how innocent and simple it all is. What I like about the film is that it doesn’t paint people —  militant leader (Pankaj Kapur was phenomenal) or stubborn military and government officials — in black and white. That last scene when they run to each other on the bridge... it gets me sniffling every time, even as Bharat humko jaan se pyaara hai gives me goosebumps.

Chandreyee Chatterjee

WELCOME RAHMAN...

“A.R. Who?” That was the question on everyone’s lips as Rukmini Rukmini with borderline risque undertones blared out of speakers at the then ubiquitous roadside cassette shops in Calcutta. Mani Ratnam’s Roja had released on Independence Day 1992 and its debutant music composer A.R. Rahman burst onto the Indian film music scene and shook it up as his music did those tinny speakers that cracked trying to handle the sheer force of his thumping rhythm. We hadn’t heard anything that fresh in a while and, now, a quarter of a century later, we are still tapping our feet to Rahman’s music. Even before we watched the film or even knew its name, we had heard the music — and been hooked to it. Dil hai chhota sa and Roja jaaneman crossed the Vindhyas with ease and played from every audio system in every corner of the country. It was a phenomenon, no less. The film made Mani Ratnam a national celebrity and his film appealed, somewhat simplistically, to nationalistic sentiments, while some watched it thinking it was the only way they’d ever see the trouble-torn but excruciatingly pretty Kashmir. But long after the projector is switched off, it’s likely we’ll still be humming Rukmini Rukmini....

Abhijit Mitra