Story: It's a bloody battle for political power between the rivalclaimants of the Pratap family. When the venerable elder suffers a paralyticstroke, the seat of power automatically shifts to his younger brother, much tothe discomfiture of his son, Manoj Bajpayee who considers himself to be therightful heir to his bed-ridden father's throne. He can't see his rivalcousins, Arjun Rampal and Ranbir Kapoor, rising to power while he is leftsimmering in the shadows. He seeks the assistance of dalit leader, Ajay Devgnto play his political cards and clear the path for his ascent to the top job(party president/chief ministership), even if it means traversing ablood-strewn and violent road that leads through assassination and fratricide.Of course, he underestimates the power and political shrewdness of thesupposedly apolitical youngest cousin, Samar Pratap Singh (Ranbir Kapoor) whoostensibly came to India from New York on a short vacation but ended up playingthe role of Arjuna in a veritable political Mahabharata, with Krishna-like BrijGopal (Nana Patekar) guiding him through the intrigue.
Movie Review: Welcome to the return of story and plot to popular cinema.Of late, Hindi cinema had been floundering in a plotless marshland, where youeither had to merely laugh at madcap situational goof-ups, which were mostlyunfunny, or gawk at action cuts, loosely strung by a paper-thin one-linerposing as the plot. By and large -- exceptions notwithstanding -- the good,old-fashioned `kahani' had gone missing in mainstream lore. Raajneeti marks thereturn of twist-and-turn drama to contemporary cinema, which indeed is arefreshing turn of events. The film basically anchors its plot in two classictales -- The Mahabharata and The Godfather -- to create an engrossing diatribeon India'spolitical system where democracy may prevail, but not in its purest form.Dynasty, lawlessness, violence and misuse of power are the ugly underbelly of India'snot-so-clean political framework where the battle for the ballot is wagedalmost like war: unprincipled, belligerent and bloody.
Director Prakash Jha has always been a master story-teller (remember Gangajal,Apharan). This time, his political thriller unfolds as the quintessentialPandava-Kauravas conflict from the Mahabharata, with most of its characterstracing their antecedents to the epic. And that brings us to the second highpoint of Raajneeti: its fleshy and form-filled characterisations. If you gocharacter-spotting, it won't take long before you discover a modern-dayYudhishthir in Arjun Rampal, an Arjuna in Ranbir Kapoor, a Krishnain Nana Patekar, a Duryodhana in Manoj Bajpayee and a Karna in Ajay Devgn. Andas these half-brothers fight out their brutal war for the political dominationof the state, spilling over with its dynastic and caste politics, you begin tosee shades of The Godfather too in Ranbir Kapoor's interpretation of Arjuna.The young actor presents an engrossing desi portrait of Michael Corleone as Samar, the reluctant, albeit ruthless rookie who playsthe political game with masterful strokes. Setting aside his academic ambitionsto teach in NYU, he is thrown into the deadly vortex after an untimelyassassination and learns the rules of the unethical political sport, fasterthan anybody else. Of course, he does have the experienced stalwart, NanaPatekar by his side, to guide him, his explosive, impulsive elder brother,Arjun Rampal to hug him, vivacious childhood buddy, Indu (Katrina Kaif) to adorehim and American girlfriend Sara (Sara Thompson) to whisper sweet-nothings inbroken Hindi to him....But by and large, he strategises alone, like Mikey inhis high-backed chair, and unleashes one bloody ace -- from up his sleeve --after the other. And, there is little the rival camp, headed by Manoj Bajpayeeand Ajay Devgn, can do, other than hiss, rave and rant. Absolutely engrossingfare.
Add to this, a dash of topicality -- Ms G riding the sympathy wave factor --and you have a compelling thriller on contemporary India's politicalscape.Interestingly, Katrina Kaif seems to slip into the high-powered shoes easilywith her awkward accent and climax speech which emphasises her vulnerablestatus and evokes a mandate on the basis of public sympathy. She looks asuncomfortable as you-know-who does on public platforms. But back home, as thesparkling and seductive Indu who tries her best to transform her childhoodbuddy, Ranbir into her romantic lover, she is quite-quite irresistible andmakes you wonder why Ranbir would choose the somewhat pheeka (jaded) firangi,Sara, over this spunky fireball.
Performance-wise, the film scores with its gritty ensemble cast that createscredible characters. Nana, Ajay, Manoj and Arjun grab eyeballs in almost alltheir scenes. If Nana holds the plot together, almost like a sutradhar, Ajayreturns to his impeccable angry avatar as the Dalit leader, Manoj Bajpayeebrings back memories of his mesmeric performances in films like Satya andZubeida and Arjun Rampal once again transcends his eye-candy visage after RockOn. Even Naseeruddin Shah pulls you up with his miniscule cameo as therevolutionary leader who makes khicchdi -- and love -- when he's not deliveringfiery speeches. But the film finally belongs to Ranbir Kapoor who perfects theart of minimalism -- and literally grows before your eyes -- as the simmeringvolcano that cannot be held back, once it erupts. He's as grey and soot-filled,as volcanoes go....Also, there's no forgetting the intelligent script byPrakash Jha and Anjum Rajabali and the thriller-like narration, which doesbegin on a confusing note, but soon settles down as a racy-pacy, action-packedpolitical drama. The audio track too boasts of some compelling numbers (Bheegisi, Mora Piya, Dhan Dhan Dharti) but the film does not leave much space forthem.
Take time out for a serious and compelling celluloid experience. Don't missRaajneeti.
Performances [:(] Everyone's watchable. Ranbir Kapoor's immensely watchable.Katrina's carefree and camera-unconscious.
Story: Prakash Jha and Anjum Rajabali stylishly reinterpret theMahabharata -- with a dash of The Godfather -- in contemporary tones.
Dialogue: It's straight from the Hindi heartbelt, with a realisticblend of English and Hinglish.
Cinematography: Sachin Kumar Krishnan's camera creatively zooms both into thepolitical and domestic arena.
Music [:(] Rajneeti boasts of an ensemble cast of music directors toowho create a value-for-money audio track with three must-listens: Bheegi Si(sung by Mohit Chauhan and Antara Mitra and composed by Pritam), Mora Piya(sung and composed by Aadesh Srivastava) and Dhan Dhan Dharti (sung by ShankarMahadevan, composed by Wayne Sharp).
Stylising: Arjun's in stylish neta attire (kurta-pyjama), Ranbir inurbane chic, minus the pink T's, Katrina grows from small town girl, bindi etal, to stiff sari-clad political leader.
Inspiration: Raajneeti is a tangy masala mix of the Mahabharata rustled up witha garnishing of The Godfather.
Read More : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/movie-reviews/hindi/Raajneeti/moviereview/6007822.cms
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