Forget the running around the trees sequences, or the brainless comedies, or the candyfloss romance on the silver screen and prepare yourself to face the reality of the cruel, brutal & demonish politics a.k.a. RAAJNEETI.
Producer-Director Prakash Jha’s ’Raajneeti’ is a blend of Mahabharata & Godfather but the battle field chosen to narrate the story is of politics. Indian politics to be precise, which is fought like a violent battle to attain power by hook or crook.
Assembling a star cast like Ajay Devgan, Arjun Rampal, Nana Patekar, Ranvir Kapoor, Manoj Vajpayee is not an easy task and it becomes more difficult when it comes to give them all a rock solid character that is very important part of the story. But Prakash Jha along with Anjum Rajabali wrote a script that not only provided each actor a solid character, it also removes the makeup from the face of the democracy & brings to the surface the ugly look of it.
Arjun Rampal: A man who is hungry to seize the top position & is ready to fight election fiercely. Come what may.
Manoj Vajpayee: Cousin of Arjun Rampal, who also believes that he is born to rule, will stop at nothing to reach the top slot.
Ranvir Kapoor: Younger brother of Arjun Rampal who visits India to attend his uncle’s birthday has to extend his stay as his father is killed. He has to settle his accounts. His character reminds of Michael Corleone’s in Godfather.
Ajay Devgan: A dalit, who has support of Manoj Vajpayee will go to any length to win the election.
Nana Patekar: As cool as cucumber, supports Ranvir & Arjun. Speaks less but very powerful words that can actually create havoc. Knows when to speak & moreover what to speak.
Katrina Kaif: Loves Ranvir. He doesn’t love her. Due to circumstances, she has to marry Arjun.
Prakash Jha did not waste time & came to the point from the very first scene & did not loose his focus or his intentions till the very last scene. The premises of the film is such that had it been handled by any less talented director it would have ended up in becoming a documentary kind of film but the supremacy of Prakash Jha keeps the viewer’s interest glued on the screen throughout the film.
Another beauty of the film is that it is very unpredictable and it does surprise at times but then that is the beauty of politics, it’s full of surprises.
Prakash Jha needs to be applauded for filming the crowded scenes with panache. Look at the number of people assembled in huge ground, with cars running in & helicopters landing, screaming of the crowd to cheer their leaders gives the authentic feel of the happenings.
How often have we seen the dramas that takes place in meetings of political parties? Why do political parties give support to other parties? Why do they pull the support from them? There is a lot to be written about the film but that will spoil the show for the people who haven’t seen it hence watch the film to know the answers to these questions and to many more.
Music was not required as it would have interrupted flow of the film & with crisp editing the songs are cut to minimum length. All the songs hardly takes 5 minutes in total.
Full marks to Anjum Rajabali & Prakash Jha for writing the watertight script. The dialogues are so good that they stun the viewers at times.
Photography matches the quality of the film and deserves 10 on 10. The cameraman has captured the scenes beautifully.
Performance wise this film is a world of tough competition. Of late Katrina Kaif has shown some improvement in acting & she continues to grow. Ajay Devgan has the less powerful role but does justice to it as expected. Nana Patekar gives a very balance performance with unique dialogue delivery. Manjoj Vajpayee is in form yet again. I would personally like to see more of him. Arjun Rampal is in control and delivers one of his best performances till date. Ranvir Kapoor is a born actor & has the ability to live the character that he is playing. Once again he has done a very good job. And yes, he can look tough, if required.
Gangajal, Apaharan & now Raajneeti, Prakash Jha continues to give the quality product one after the other. It is not easy to direct a subject like Raajneeti but the way Prakash Jha narrated the tale of backstabbing, conspiracy, murders, corruption, etc. confirms the hallmark of a great director. Someone who knows his job.
The only flip side that I can see that this film is not for everyone. The reaction of 2 hens & 4 roosters (all college students attending their classes inside INOX multiplex) confirms this.
But this film is strongly recommended. Do yourself a favour please do not forget your brains at home & listen to everything that is spoken to enjoy the film to the hilt that might bring you across the reality of democracy. Don’t forget - Reality bites.
Rating: 4.75 / 5 stars