Actor Aamir Khan, who just turned 60, reflected on his career in an appearance on the Just Too Filmy YouTube channel. Aamir said that he has always swum against the current, and that Rang De Basanti's climax was born out of an idea that he had in the 1980s . In the interview, Aamir said that the central thesis of Rang De Basanti is that violence doesn't pay, and that to bring about societal change, one must work peacefully within the system. Directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Rang De Basanti was a critical and commercial hit, going on to score a BAFTA nomination in the foreign language film category.
In the interview, Aamir spoke about the many ways in which the original climax of Rang De Basanti was different from the one that audiences eventually saw. "In the original script, after shooting the minister, the group scattered. They didn't want to get arrested, so they ran away. Each one of them is eventually caught and killed. My fundamental question was that why are they running away if they don't believe they've done something wrong? They shouldn't run," he said.
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In the final version, the character congregate after the killing of the minister, and realise that their plan didn't work because it resulted in the minister being honoured posthumously. "They have an argument, and only then do they go to the radio station. They feel that they need to talk to people. Like Bhagat Singh did during his time, they do via the radio. Very importantly, they explain that they also thought that violence is the solution, but it actually isn't. It's the first film that verbally tells you that violence is not the answer," Aamir continued.
Explaining the point that the film was trying to make, Aamir said, "No country is perfect. You have to make it perfect. Outsiders won't clean the filth in your country, you have to get your hands dirty and clean it yourself. Become a part of the system and change it from within was the overall thought (behind the film)." Aamir said that the radio station sequence was inspired by a story that he wrote for himself several years ago, and suggested that it be included in Rang De Basanti. "We reworked the climax, so that instead of running away, they go to the radio station, where they do get killed. But they make their point before they die," he said.
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