Patronising every single time, they define Raajneeti so often in their own way -- their own invariably verbose bumper-sticker way -- that it seems redundant for us to even try.
Perhaps, like politics itself, this film is meant to be inexplicable. Perhaps Prakash Jha is just punning on his initials, and laughing at us all. Perhaps the attempt is purely, callously political: bring together a motley crew of actors with appeal varying across demographics, to try and capture every single seat. Perhaps I'm being too kind. Yes, I suspect it's that last one.
Raajneeti, essentially Sarkar Raj minus Amitabh Bachchan [ Images ], is a hyperactive drama given to much yelling and little thought. The screenplay is weak, manipulative and every possible kind of lazy, with an omniscient narrator who vanishes after a while, a slew of unbelievably one-note characters, clunky dialogue that often lapses into something from period cinema, and bloody deaths thrown in every few scenes to kickstart the drama in this exhausting 3-hour film.
All that buzz about The Mahabharata [ Images ], you ask? Well, there is a reason it worked so well as a Sunday morning TV show. Raajneeti, unsubtly and conveniently labelling its characters Karan, Duryodhana, Krishna, tries so hard to maintain their epic arcs while relating them to the sweep of this gun-toting film that it's weighed down by far, far too much plot.
Skillfully dealt with, this may not necessarily be a problem, but here Jha is in masala mode, a lethal combination considering he's serving us the single oldest plot we've known as a nation, randomly meshed together with the most iconic American film of all time, The Godfather.
Therefore, absolute predictability, which, combined with an ensemble cast uniformly reduced to amoral caricatures, results in a film that only works if you take friends along and provide your own laughter and commentary track.
It starts off relatively alright, if a trifle too bombastic. The narrator shoves the film at us mercilessly, throwing up characters of all kinds, essentially till we get used to the who's who.
There are some initial moments of quirky allegory and even moments of political stratagem, before things start going boom. And then, prodded along by the ludicrous need to go from Kunti's pregnancy to Duryodhan's death in three hours, all of politics is reduced to gang-war, and all dialogue to pure bluster.
Each member of the cast has been handed an expression and told to wear it for the film, which they dutifully do. Yudhishtir would have been proud. Imagine Arjun Rampal [ Images ] as Sonny Corleone, however. But more on the players in a bit.
The film is about a state-ruling political party which splits up amid great animosity. The top brass decide on taking everything in their own hands, from murder to sabotage, underlings scurrying around in the background without much to do.
Then again, maybe that's because the extras are all uniformly horrible amateurs, there for the sole purpose of making the main cast look like they're doing more than chewing up scenery.
Anyway, the ruling party and the new, rebel offshoot tear into each other with much enthusiasm, and clearly don't need an opposition party to keep them in check.
That's pretty much it, a chess game played by kids intent on killing bishops before thinking ahead, and while that could have been at least guilty-pleasure fun, the film tosses in their grandparents and assorted elders as well, breaking into sermons every so often as they desperately try to keep things mythological.
Ranbir Kapoor [ Images ] plays Samar -- pronounced Summer, despite him being colder than a gravestone -- the Michael Corleone of the piece, and it hurts to see him reduced to this narrow-eyed cardboard protagonist.
The role has potential -- it is doubtless interesting how Jha has turned Arjun into the villain of the piece -- but so intent seem the makers on keeping their labels in place, that the character goes from an affable kid to the merciless brains of the operation in one fell swoop. He wears glasses, wears white, and massacres folk in the name of family: in Manmohan Desai's 1981 multistarrer Naseeb, an infinitely more enjoyable feature, Shakti Kapoor [ Images ] played this role.
Rampal is the mercurial elder brother, speaking in chaste Hindi and curdling his eyebrows to show intensity. He seems more confident than before and that gives him some presence, but he still can't act, a fact highlighted in a scene where he abruptly breaks into a song and does a peculiar audition for Heath Ledger's [ Images ] Joker role.
Nana Patekar [ Images ] sleepwalks through his role, as does Naseer, even as Ajay Devgn [ Images ] finds an appropriate scowl and pastes it on his face from start to scratch.
Jha's been particularly cruel to Katrina Kaif [ Images ], this misogynistic film not just turning her from a sportscar-driving airhead to a woman who'd marry anyone, but also making her look unforgivably frumpy throughout the film. She does an efficient Priyanka Gandhi [ Images ] impression for a couple of scenes, but up until then, she's an aunty. Give her a mango drink, for God's sake, nobody wants to see her like this.
The only decent acting in the entire bunch comes from Shruti Seth, doing quite well as a politically ambitious temptress, and Manoj Bajpai [ Images ], the actor solidly making his lines work -- except when he's acting drunk -- and walking away with a good Vajpayee impression and, for lack of competition, the film's hero tag.
The film starts off aggressive, turns into a game of toppling pawns, and ends up a farce as Kunti meets Karan and the audience dissolves into giggles. Jha's films, while often flawed nearing the end, usually provide some sort of grass root insight; this one pretty much dares you to take it seriously. Don't even try.
Seth's power-starved trollop drops her pallu and keeps begging men for a ticket, any ticket. I'm assuming she won't be satisfied with one for this film.
Rediff Rating:
Cast: Arjun Rampal, Manoj Bajpai, Ranbir Kapoor, Nana Patekar, Katrina Kaif
Director: Prakash Jha
"Raajneeti", directed by Prakash Jha, is a compelling drama about a family in politics. It's about the extent people will go to, driven by a greed for power and a thirst for revenge.Deliciously dramatic, and packed with sinister twists and turns, the film's plot and characters are rooted in "The Mahabharata", although parallels with "The Godfather" are hard to ignore. Jha's film relies on the solid performances of its ensemble cast to distract your attention from its many lapses.
The drama unfolds as the prototypical Pandavs-versus-Kauravs conflict, with cousins Prithvi Pratap Singh (played by Arjun Rampal) and Virendra Pratap Singh (played by Manoj Bajpai) drawing battle-lines in blood when the patriarch of their powerful political family suffers a paralytic stroke. Both seeking the reins of this political legacy, they resort to blackmail, murder, backstabbing, and marriages of alliance to achieve their ends.
Ajay Devgan stars as Suraj, the Karn-figure from the mythological epic, who sides with the rivals of his step-siblings. Ranbir Kapoor, meanwhile, is Samar, younger brother of Rampal's Prithvi Pratap Singh, who's content with his life in the US, disconnected from politics, until the murder of his father prompts him to slip into his family's dirty business.
"Raajneeti" has a sprawling canvas, and it takes some time to figure out the characters and their motivations. Arjun Rampal is the impulsive, hot-headed Bhim. Manoj Bajpai is the scheming Duryodhan. Ranbir Kapoor the focused Arjun. Nana Patekar stars as the wise counsel Brij who represents Krishna; and Katrina Kaif plays Indu who stands for Draupadi, a pawn in this clash for ultimate power.
The film's first half is immensely engaging, the various machinations making for thrilling entertainment. It's in the second half that "Raajneeti" stumbles. The Kunti character's confrontation with her abandoned son, played by Ajay Devgan, lacks the required dramatic punch. Also rather unconvincing is the sudden transformation in Ranbir Kapoor's character Samar, a subplot whose antecedents may be drawn to Michael Corleone's initiation into his family business in "The Godfather".
A bloody shootout in the film's climax between top politicians in broad daylight appears ridiculous to say the least; and equally disturbing is the film's logic, which allows a central character to walk away from the messy political marshland in the end, his blood-soiled hands notwithstanding.
At 2 hours and roughly 50 minutes in running time, "Raajneeti" is way too long and demands much patience on your part. But it's held up by a string of credible performances. Nana Patekar is terrific as Brij Mama, the smiling, politicking, guiding light who allows his expressions to do more talking than his words. Katrina Kaif looks uncomfortable in the film's early portions, but comes into her own when she slips into the politico's garb and unselfconsciously delivers impassioned speeches at election rallies. Ajay Devgan gets a great introduction scene and uses his eyes effectively to convey hurt and anger, but you can't help feeling the actor was shortchanged in a half-baked role. The usually reliable Manoj Bajpai makes Virendra Pratap Singh a bellowing caricature, while Arjun Rampal offers a confident, assured turn as the brash Prithvi Pratap Singh. The most mature, performance, however, comes from the youngest cast-member, Ranbir Kapoor. The actor plots silently and inconspicuously and is the face of calm even in the most tense moments. It's that rare performance that is calculated, and yet so spare.
In the end "Raajneeti" is thrilling and gripping for the most part, even though it does lose steam in its final act. And as far as politics goes, it doesn't tell you very much more than you didn't already know. Still I'm going with three-and-a-half out of five for director Prakash Jha's "Raajneeti". For the superb acting, and for the exciting dramatic highs, it's a film I recommend you do not miss.
Rating: 3.5 / 5
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