Mehra thanks Ronnie, Aamir for Rang De Basanti

Director Rakeysh OmPrakash Mehra of Rang De Basanti showered high praise indeed on two persons at the premiere yesterday of the excellent film which opened across cinema halls in India and worldwide this morning.

Mehra said, "There was a time when I thought that I would never be able to make Rang De Basanti -- I thought it would end up in the dabba! And that would certainly have happened had it not been for two persons. The first is producer Ronnie Screwalla of UTV. I could never have found a better producer than him. He was one hundred percent committed to making Rang De Basanti an excellent film, and didn't want us to spare any cost or effort.So all thanks to Ronnie for making this film possible."

And the second person Mehra thanked is the film's lead star Aamir Khan. He said, "When Aamir heard the story, he was touched. And he only does films that have stories that touch his heart. I remember he told me, 'Nothing on earth can stop us from making this film!'. Their support is the main reason why Rang De Basanti has seen light of day today, and I am indeed grateful to both," Mehra said.

Mehra said that when he was casting for the main roles, the moment he saw Soha and Alice, "I fell in love with both -- they were just so perfect for the roles!" He has high praise for Kunal Kapoor and Atul Kulkarni too, as also for Sharman and, of course, Siddharth, who is already a superstar in the Telugu film industry, and already has last year's biggest Telugu hit to his name.

Mehra also had the highest praise for cinematographer Binod Pradhan, whom he described as "The best cinematographer in India ... rather, the world! -- look at the wonderful job he has done in Rang De Basanti!".

RDB is a cult film, says Kirron Kher

Actor Kirron Kher, who plays "mother to Aamir and the other kids" in Rang De Basanti, is delighted to have been part of the film. At the RDB premiere in Mumbai, she said, "Rang De Basanti is a wonderfully different film. I'm so proud to be associated with it! It's a film that takes me back to my college and university days in Chandigarh . It's a film that needed to be made today, It's a film that's parth-breaking, It's a cult film, and I'm extremely proud to have been part of it."

After Rang De Basanti, Kirron Kher's next film is another biggie, Karan Johar's Kabhi Alvida Na Kahna, which many were saying will be be the biggest hit of the year. But that was before RDB was released, and going by word of mouth endorsements that RDB has been receiving, all one can say is, only time will tell!