Raajneeti

It was one of the most anticipated releases. It had a writer who I admire. I thought it would be the first wow film of 2010. I WAS WRONG.This polit... read more

It was one of the most anticipated releases. It had a writer who I admire. I thought it would be the first wow film of 2010. I WAS WRONG.

This political adaptation of Mahabharata turned out to be a rehashed version of Godfather & both the Sarkars. It works perfectly well till the interval point with enough twist and turns and lots of Drama which had gone missing from Hindi cinema for awhile now but post interval the screenplay goes haywire trying hard to manage all the sub plots & layers. In fact towards the end the film looked like an underworld flick & ended like a revenge drama. What works for the film are some key performances. The surprise performance of the film was Arjun Rampals. It seems the national award has boosted his confidence & it shows. It is by far his best performance. The other actor who stands out amongst everyone is Manoj Bajpayee. It is a treat to watch him. His performance is magnetic. Nana Patekar underplays his role perfectly. Ajay Devgn is completely wasted. Katrina Kaif has almost nothing to do in the film. She is like a glorified extra. All that talks about preparing for the role was bull shit. She only gets to perform in the last few minutes and there also she shows how bad an actor she is. A film like this needed some really hard hitting dialogues something you take home. It could have also done away with some of the subplots. Even with so many characters and so much happening the screenplay doesnt do anything to your heart. You are as passive to the characters as you are to the real politicians in our country. In fact certain characters and situation are un intentionally funny like towards the end Ajay Devgn in a funny looking wig.

Final few words: its flawed but its engaging. At least it is trying to tell a story. Now, when was the last time you saw a good story on screen?

Rating: ** (above average)

Ticket Meter: Rs. 180/- (worth it)

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Ajay Devgn, Ranbir Kapoor, Arjun Rampal, Katrina Kaif, Nana Patekar, Manoj Bajpayee & Naseeruddin Shah..phew...Prakash Jha must have been out o... read more

Ajay Devgn, Ranbir Kapoor, Arjun Rampal, Katrina Kaif, Nana Patekar, Manoj Bajpayee & Naseeruddin Shah..phew...Prakash Jha must have been out of his mind to even think of getting this ensemble cast together in one movie! That was my initial thought. How is he going to manage to ensure that none of these stars come across as 'eye-candy' or 'to pull in the masses'. But that statement stands corrected! In today's time, when we have to be content with either houses being full, people proclaiming their surnames as a mission statement or movies named after flying objects, comes a movie, which is relies not on Pritam to lure the crowds in, or the 'package' or the marketing by the corporate honchos! Javed Akhtar had said in a film awards function this year, that there is no dearth of good stories in today's times, we just need to give the writers a chance! This venture is exactly that. It is a complete motion picture experience, where the story is KING!
The film seamlessly weaves two of the greatest stories ever told - 'The Mahabharat' & 'The Godfather'.
The film is based in the Hindi heartlands of the country, with politics as the backdrop for the story of the warring cousins - Kauravas & Pandavas. Where Jha has excelled is that he has picked actors and stars and transformed the stars into actors!
Prithviraj Pratap (Arjun Rampal) is the heir apparent to a powerful political family. He is brash, loud and loved by the people. His only objective is to lead the party into the future in today's everchanging world of politics. His cousin, Veerendra Pratap (Manoj Bajpayee) considers it his own birthright to lead the clan. How the clash of egos of these two political heavyweights leads to the chain of events is what RAAJNEETI is all about. Veerendra using the local Dalit leader, Suraj Kumar (Ajay Devgn) to increase his vote base and the situations that lead to the family recluse, Samar Pratap (Ranbir Kapoor) to join mainstream politics and become a master of the game, using friends, family, love, Indu (Katrina Kaif) just to achieve a single aim is what this epic saga is about.
Manoj Bajpayee, gives his best performance till date. An excellent comeback vehicle for the actor who floored us with his acidic Bhiku Mhatre or classy Maharaja Vijayendra Singh in Zubeida. His dialogue ' Kararaa Jawab Milenga' is sure to become a cult dialogue in the coming times.
Arjun Rampal again proves that if given a meaty charater, he is going to 'rock'!. As the crude, violent, impulsive leader, he has the maximum screen time and delivers a volcanic performance. Truly, whoever said models couldn't act, have not seen Arjun Rampal.
Katrina Kaif delivers a decent performance and her transformation from the bubbly girl to the CM has been very deftly handled. This role might not get her the national award as publicised earlier, but is sure to leave a mark for future possibilities.
Nana Patekar excels in his role of Brij Gopal, the mentor of the Pandavas. Only an actor of his calibre can deliver such dialogues with such ease.
Ajay Devgn goes to prove that he is a director's actor. One sorely misses the fact that his character does not get to mouth any fiery dialogues or has very little to do in terms of individual characterisation. As 'Karna' he is left merely as 'Duryodhan's' side kick. But it goes to show how comfortable as an actor he is, that he plays his role effortlessly and leaves you wanting for more. I feel he could have easily swapped with Bajpayee and still won the show! But that goes to prove his belief in Jha and his vision as a director!
Naseeruddin Shah in a cameo is good. Kiran Karmakar, Chetan Pandit, Dayashankar Pandey, Shruti Sheth deliver good performances.
But the show belongs to Ranbir Kapoor. As Arjun/ Michael Corleone he is first rate. Ranbir is blessed with not only good looks, lineage and opportunity but also talent.Just like Amitabh Bachchan in the 70s, Shahrukh Khan in the 90s, he is getting roles which in their diversity are bringing out the actor in him. He is not only a star but a ROCK STAR! His metamorphisis from the soft spoken 'outsider' to the master strategist is the piece de resistance of the movie.
The cinematography is excellent, not easy to get 4-5 actors in 1 frame at any given point in the movie. The screenplay is solid, the editing tight and dialogues powerful. Jha has done an excellent job in making this movie. He know what he expects from his actors and gets it from them. He is in such good control, that even the hot selling music, only comes as in the background sparingly. The background score is excellent, like in all Jha films by Wayne Sharp. His Hitchockian cameo is not be missed.

The only thing missing for me is the famous 'Karna V/s Arjun' episode. Wish there could have been atleast 1 or 2 such scenes. It would have taken the film a couple of notches higher!
Will rate this movie 9/10.

When you ask, does this film have the 'Y' factor - The answer is a resounding YES! Do yourself a favour, GO WATCH RAAJNEETI.

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It takes someone of the mettle of Prakash Jha to make a modern day Mahabharat out of the political drama & bureaucratic turmoil. Mrityundand, G... read more

It takes someone of the mettle of Prakash Jha to make a modern day Mahabharat out of the political drama & bureaucratic turmoil. Mrityundand, GangaJal, Apharan Prakash Jha showed his prowess in portraying politics in his films, with Rajneeti he takes a step further & comes out & out with an entertainment, performance packed political saga.

Right from the beginning of the story the analogy of Mahabharata in each character is very evident. Cousin brothers Veerendra Pratap Singh (Manoj Bajpayee, Duruyodhan) and Prithvi Pratap Singh (Arjun Rampal, Yudhistra) are the heirs of a powerful political empire. Things turn out and Prithivi is given the control to lead it. Notwithstanding the decision, Veerendra ropes a backward class leader Sooraj (Ajay Devgan, Karan) to plot against Prithvi and removes him from his party. Prithvis younger brother Samar (played by Ranbhir Kapoor, Arjun) who was studying abroad & came to India just for his Uncles birthday has to see the killing of his father. He decides to stay back to get the political power back for his elder brother, Prithvi. They starts a new party under the mentorship of Brij Gopal (Nana Patekar, Lord Krishna) to come back in power.

Each character has a shade of grey here. Samar is willing to marry the girl only for getting the money to sponsor his party. As the film progresses so much negativity and ruthlessness comes out of each character that it is hard to determine who is antagonist and who is protagonist. And thats where the story moves from a family political drama to a bloodshed revengeful movie. Its a world where only ends matter, not the means. Samar (Ranbhir) aptly says the politics bring out the monster in you. Its all thrilling though. You can see the inspiration from GodFather too when Ranbir stays back in India to get his father political empire back to the family.

With an ensemble of so many powerful actors the expectations were already set high and the movie doesnt disappoint. The best part is no actor stands out alone but all of them are outstanding. Ranbir shines playing the poised character of Samar, Ajay Devgan is always brilliant when playing intense roles using the intensity of eyes and voice, Manoj Vajpayee acts superbly. Although, his role looks theatrical but the character demanded the same, his dialogue delivery is immaculate. 'Kararaa jawaab milega' will make history in Indian cinemas dialogues as Gabbars 'kitne aadmi the' did. Nana patekar, although takes a back seat, but still is so much convincing that his role looks to be an integral part of the story. His character is a catalyst who takes the story forward. Katrina playing Indu (daughter of a business tycoon) lags behind, looks too fat to play a young girl, also her accent & hindi dialogue delivery could have made her an apt choice for the foreign girl, the love interest of Ranbir in the movie (actually played by Sarah). Although that can be justified as Sarah (Ranbir's love interest) must have be lot more economical for the producer. They could have used voice dubbing for Katrina though. Amidst the brilliant performances by other actors her flaws can be ignored.

It is largely a performance driven film and truly the best adaptation of Mahabharata in the contemporary cinema till now. Prakash Jha truly combines his political experience and an excellent cinematic vision to bring out winner at the box office. view less

After a long time, Raajneeti brings a great cinematic experience on the silver screen bringing respite to viewers who have been suffering through m... read more

After a long time, Raajneeti brings a great cinematic experience on the silver screen bringing respite to viewers who have been suffering through mindless comic capers and mushy romantic films. The best part is that the film has a strong storyline, which has parallels to the epic Mahabharata as well as the classic tale The Godfather. The film is rich with multi-layers and open to interpretation.It has all the ingredients of a great film drama, romance, suspense and more than anything it reflects our society, history and politics in a very realistic manner.The story is well-written and gripping. Director Prakash Jha, who had a stint with politics, gives a vivid insiders account about the dirty world of politics where there are no scruples just hunger for victory.He shows us the partys abuse of media, business, caste, coalitions, law courts, police, bureaucracy, even marriages and friendships for power. And all the actors have slipped into their respected roles as if it was tailor made for them. Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaifs chemistry is awesome and Nana, Arjun, Ajay and Manoj have proved their acting prowess once again. Naseeruddin Shah delights in his miniscule role of a revolutionary.The film has excellent background score, music, cinematography and direction. There is just no reason to miss this one. The film has excellent background score, music, cinematography and direction. There is just no reason to miss this one view less

Bollywood, it is well known, is obsessed with two texts - one is Devdas, the other, Mahabharat. Raajneeti is mostly the latter, with a good deal of... read more

Bollywood, it is well known, is obsessed with two texts - one is Devdas, the other, Mahabharat. Raajneeti is mostly the latter, with a good deal of The Godfather also thrown in for good measure. It starts off well enough (even though you'll spend the first half hour playing Mahjong tiles in your head) - as you'd expect, the modern-day Karna, Sooraj (Ajay Devgn; shockingly underutilized) is an illegitimate child of the Kunti equivalent Bharati (Nikhila Tirkha) set adrift down the Ganga at Benares (as opposed to Moses down the Nile - also, where Ganga and Benares fit into the Bhopal and Madhya Pradesh scheme of things is beyond me) by the ever-scheming Brij Gopal (mostly Krishna with a hint of Shakuni, played by a rock-solid Nana Patekar).

Sutputra becomes a Dalit car driver's son, the party's Dhritarashtra, instead of being blind, suffers a paralytic attack that conveniently allowing him to enunciate "keep your friends close, your enemies closer" in a Marlon Brando fashion. And while all this might seem to be a bit too far-fetched in print, it works really well on screen - what doesn't work is the second half which, by virtue of almost everything being so obviously contrived, is downhill all the way from the peak that was the period just before the interval. Heck, it is so forced that even though there is a plot twist every thirty seconds or so, you aren't in the least bit taken aback - because you've seen/read The Godfather and you know your Indian mythology, so you know almost exactly what's going to happen and who will end up on the winning side at the end of it all.

Ranbir Kapoor as Samar and Arjun Rampal as Prithvi (their characters a composite of the Paanch Pandavas as well as brothers Corleone), while adequate in their portrayals which are definitely the highest points in their respective personal career graphs so far, are unable to completely shed their urban personas. Any of the fine character actors who regularly crop up in the parallel cinema of today would have done more justice to those roles. Then again, there's the tiny matter of box office returns. Among the others, Manoj Bajpai, oops, Bajpayee as Duryodhana urf Veerendra is quite good although he as well as Devgn try a bit too hard to make their limited presence felt and end up hamming on at least a couple of occasions. The females have absolutely no place in the first half; in the second, Sarah Thompson continues to be an unwanted presence, while Katrina Kaif as Indu is forced into the political limelight by the script (the Sonia Gandhi likeliness is definitely by design, what with Kaif mouthing her own Hindi lines with an uncannily similar accent that made it seem that it was she and not Ranbir who had just returned from a stint abroad).

You can talk about cinematic and creative liberties all you want, but you cannot possibly justify such glaring inaccuracies - the fact remains that you just can't expect to be taken seriously if you portray the political activities of one of the largest states of the country to be confined within one regional party which lords over the miniscule presence of the national party in their state, both of whom get away with mere mentions of coalitions and opposition. Such incorrect representations of the prevalent system are the reasons why films like Yuva and Gulaal just end up garnering critical acclaim and gaining a cult following but are miserable failures when it comes to inspiring the people esp. the youth of our nation. That apart, the songs were all unnecessary - and there was, is and will never be any reason for PJ to squeeze that item number in every single time.

All said and done, Raajneeti may have scores of flaws but in spite of them is still worth a watch - it's much better than your usual Bolly fare, and it is powerful, esp. the first half. So lock away your knowledge of the Indian polity, go watch this and give yourself a brownie point each time you correctly identify a Mahabharat or a Godfather equivalency. view less