Mangal Pandey is a historical figure, who is now attributed to having begun India 's slide towards independence, even though independence was finally achieved some 100 years later. Recreating that period of history is a mammoth task and Mehta has a stab at it… Does he however succeed?

The film opens with the inevitable. Pandey (Aamir Khan) being taken to the gallows, avoiding the glance of Captain Gordon (Stephens) but is saved temporarily when the hangman fails to appear for the execution. The English, irked by this refusal, agree to put off the execution and we then recount the story of Pandey through Captain Gordon's flashback in time.

Mangal Pandey is an Indian sepoy serving Britain 's East India Company. He saves his commanding officer William Gordon [Toby Stephens] in a battle and we find a friendship of sorts building up between the two men. Unlike his English superiors, Captain Gordon is accessible to the locals and even appears to care. He saves Jwala (Amisha Patel) from a sati and ensconces her in his home and takes up for the locals whenever he can.

At this point, the British introduce a new set of rifles which require the local sepoys to bite the bullet to release the gunpowder. Rumour is abound that the casing is greased with pig and beef and pig fat, which neither the muslim or hindu speoys are prepared to do on religious grounds. Gordon is advised by his superiors that this is merely rumour and that the cartridges do not use beef and pig fat. Gordon tells the sepoys of this and trusting the word of his friend, Mangal bites the cartridge to show his faith in the word of his friend. Unfortunately, Gordon has been misled and when the truth dawns on Mangal Pandey, that in fact the cartridges are greased with animal fat. he feels betrayed by his friend and by the English, thereby leading to a chain of events, which leads to “the Rising”.

Unfortunately, Mehta's attempt at reaching a wider audience by making a bi-lingual film appears to have ricoched back onto him in that the film is simply not emotionally involving enough for your local audiences whereas the English version is simply too melodramatic for the West. For a film Like Mangal Pandey to work, and given the importance of the subject, history must be presented correctly and accurately. However, Mehta's rendition of this patriotic tale never seems to emotionally wrap you up in its midst and seems to meander from one episode to another building up to a rather lame climax. Mehta also includes sub-plots, that of a nautch girl who takes a shine to Mangal Pandey and of Jwala, who appears to become the love-interest of Captain Gordon which impede the film further. This simply dissipates the effect of the film and drags it back into the realms of bollywood. The inclusion of gaudy songs and dances simply adds credence to the argument that this is more bollywood than historical truth. The lowest point of the film must be the inclusion of the “item number” which degrades the film and relegates it to the pile of films with potential but which deliver little.

Mehta also fails to develop his characters and except for captain Gordon, you do not really feel connected to any of the characters. The English are depicted in the most clichéd manner and characters appear and disappear without any real significance. Even the character of Mangal Pandey appears sketchy and his heroics, perfunctory. Mehta may not be to blame and it is more a case of a faulty script..but resorting to drunken interludes with silly pranks being played on the English by the unlikely twosome of Gordon and Pandey, reeks of Bollywood and far from any sense of historical accuracy.

Aamir Khan has given up three years of his life for this film and for that in itself, he needs our commendation. But there is only so much that Aamir can do and the way the character is written, and with some curious editing, he simply is unable to make his character believable as a real life hero as opposed to a reel life hero. I have deliberately avoided any comparisons to Lagaan, which even though completely different in context, had much more subtle metaphors and references to the British oppression than Mehta's film has to offer.

Toby Stephens really walks away with the film and may in fact, have the better role. He is simply outstanding and gives the film the depth that it has.

Rani is very good in what little she has to do but seems completely out of place. Whilst the point that nautch girls were introduced by the English to keep their lads from getting up to mischief anywhere else, we seem to have a Devdas hangover and plunging necklines and seedy mujras only seek to take the film away from any sense of realism, which of course it aspires to attain. Furthermore, she plays Heera as a firebrand, obviously with a heart of gold, later seen ludicrously fighting the English during the “Rising”. Amisha simply whinges and whines like she does so well and makes no impression whatsoever.

Rahman's music falls well short of expectations but the setting and cinematography of the film is breathtaking.

Mangal Pandey may be judged harshly because of the expectations that were riding on the film…when you aspire for a certain height, the harder you fall. So whilst this is superior to much of the dirge that is dished out, the fact that it falls well short of delivering, makes it that much more of a disappointment. I was interested in the subject and wanted to know more. I simply came out unmoved and unaffected. Its decent enough while it lasts but nothing more than that.