"Whatever does not kill me makes me stronger." - Friedrich Nietzsche
Looks like Rajneeti was fabricated in the true spirit of the Nietzschism above, because every 10 mins or so, someone in the movie is killed, by virtue of which the other gets a little mightier. So I watched Rajneeti, enticed by the melodramatic promos and of course Katrina. I liked the overall movie, however it didn't make a whole lot of sense. Intrigued by the name and an ensemble star cast, I was expecting a firework bonanza but felt a little shortchanged. A lot has been already written about how the script mirrors the legendary Godfather and is inspired by the Mahabharata; a modern day Mahabharata meets Godfather if you will. Clearly, the references to Mahabharata are powerful and tackled superbly; though they are not perfect. Every character has a gray scale which is hard to put in perspective. This occurs as the world of the Pandavas collides with the Corleones.
The movie describes power struggles among members of Pratap family, a godhead political entity. There are five major characters who go about explaining the meaning of Rajneeti throughout the movie, vividly and differently in their own words. This becomes tacky, as rehashing the same junk again and again leaves only so much to desire. The suave, intelligent king maker of Samar Pratap (Ranbeer Kapoor) is the Arjun who must further Yudhishtir (albeit, a stretch), his bro, to help him reach his political ambitions thereby avenging their family. Prithvi (Arjum Rampal) is the Yudhishtir fused with Sonny Corleone, a looser-slacker who gets in deep with the sharks and pays dearly. Samar displays tenacity, determination and courage with utmost poise to face the challenges that await him. Caught in an imbroglio surrounding his father's murder, Samar is deprived of reuniting with his girl friend in the United States and should take care of the affairs back home. Veer Pratap (Manoj Vajpai) is the nemesis who must befalled. Veer is the passive-aggressive antagonist, whose agony manifests as he is denied power, a seat that should rightfully belong to the party's heir.
Enemy of my enemy is a friend. Deserted by his father and cousins Veer finds a sturdy accomplice in Sooraj (Ajay Devgan) who detests Prithvi as much as Veer does. Turns out that Sooraj is the Karna of this complicated jungle tale who had been abandoned by Samar's mother when she bored him out of a wedlock. This is done to avoid the family shame and orchestrated by the Krishna or the Mama (Nana Patekar) who is flawless with his mannerisms and trademark style. Mama has a say in every matter; a kingpin that holds the party and the egos in place. Indu (Katrina) is the final cog in the machine, a Panchali of sorts, who gets tossed among the Prataps in a manner similar to Draupadi among the Pandavas. Indu's father promises to finance the Prataps for the general elections only if she gets to marry the chief minister elect. This sends out rip-roaring emotional repercussions, where Indu has to sacrifice her love and move along her Dharma. What happens in the end is quite predictable, cinematic theatrics notwithstanding.
Rajneeti tries to underscore the murky political landscape of middle India through some un-idealized and lawless fictional diatribe. It attempts to transcend an epic tale by fashioning a pseudo political milieu. There is drama, intensity, and suspenseful tensions surrounding the mind games that the two clans play. The camera work is quite amazing as every alternate frame has hordes of people with actors performing in the foreground. Nonetheless, there are too many character plots and only some of them have time to develop. Ranbir Kapoor's Micheal Corleone does a good job with a restrained performance, has some impressive close ups and looks sinister donning the glasses. Nana Patekar is vintage and Naseer doesn't get too much screen time, however he is impressive as a leftist trailblazer. Ajay Devgan has been sidelined a bit with Karna's slow pace, as he doesn't have much to offer as the political strategist. Rampal still looks like an Adonis, whose transformation to a country ruffian is difficult, and this wears clearly on his accent. His empty howls are a joke but he tries hard. Katrina as usual is an eye candy, she does speak loud, tries to do a Sonia, but ends up being the girl next door.
The movie tries to be rusty by punching outlandish vernacular like "Jayestha Putra" and we are left wondering, who the hell talks like that. Also the plot turns wild when everyone goes on a killing spree whenever life throws them one of its little curves. Decimation of a political family over generations is little more believable than a complete "Maqbool-level" annihilation over a 3 month period building up to some funky state election. The music is not a talking point; one folksy "Mora Piya" stands out while the disco mix looks like an orphan, playing for a little over a minute in the middle of nowhere in the movie. The level-headed direction makes up for rigid character driven performances, where the actors like Manoj and Ranbir shine. The script is tight, very few low key scenes which deal with bizarre romantic situations, but the exaggerated story makes things go a little out of proportion. It is an enjoyable movie despite a running length of 160 mins, has some good moments, but gets predictable after a while.
Looks like Rajneeti was fabricated in the true spirit of the Nietzschism above, because every 10 mins or so, someone in the movie is killed, by virtue of which the other gets a little mightier. So I watched Rajneeti, enticed by the melodramatic promos and of course Katrina. I liked the overall movie, however it didn't make a whole lot of sense. Intrigued by the name and an ensemble star cast, I was expecting a firework bonanza but felt a little shortchanged. A lot has been already written about how the script mirrors the legendary Godfather and is inspired by the Mahabharata; a modern day Mahabharata meets Godfather if you will. Clearly, the references to Mahabharata are powerful and tackled superbly; though they are not perfect. Every character has a gray scale which is hard to put in perspective. This occurs as the world of the Pandavas collides with the Corleones.
The movie describes power struggles among members of Pratap family, a godhead political entity. There are five major characters who go about explaining the meaning of Rajneeti throughout the movie, vividly and differently in their own words. This becomes tacky, as rehashing the same junk again and again leaves only so much to desire. The suave, intelligent king maker of Samar Pratap (Ranbeer Kapoor) is the Arjun who must further Yudhishtir (albeit, a stretch), his bro, to help him reach his political ambitions thereby avenging their family. Prithvi (Arjum Rampal) is the Yudhishtir fused with Sonny Corleone, a looser-slacker who gets in deep with the sharks and pays dearly. Samar displays tenacity, determination and courage with utmost poise to face the challenges that await him. Caught in an imbroglio surrounding his father's murder, Samar is deprived of reuniting with his girl friend in the United States and should take care of the affairs back home. Veer Pratap (Manoj Vajpai) is the nemesis who must befalled. Veer is the passive-aggressive antagonist, whose agony manifests as he is denied power, a seat that should rightfully belong to the party's heir.
Enemy of my enemy is a friend. Deserted by his father and cousins Veer finds a sturdy accomplice in Sooraj (Ajay Devgan) who detests Prithvi as much as Veer does. Turns out that Sooraj is the Karna of this complicated jungle tale who had been abandoned by Samar's mother when she bored him out of a wedlock. This is done to avoid the family shame and orchestrated by the Krishna or the Mama (Nana Patekar) who is flawless with his mannerisms and trademark style. Mama has a say in every matter; a kingpin that holds the party and the egos in place. Indu (Katrina) is the final cog in the machine, a Panchali of sorts, who gets tossed among the Prataps in a manner similar to Draupadi among the Pandavas. Indu's father promises to finance the Prataps for the general elections only if she gets to marry the chief minister elect. This sends out rip-roaring emotional repercussions, where Indu has to sacrifice her love and move along her Dharma. What happens in the end is quite predictable, cinematic theatrics notwithstanding.
Rajneeti tries to underscore the murky political landscape of middle India through some un-idealized and lawless fictional diatribe. It attempts to transcend an epic tale by fashioning a pseudo political milieu. There is drama, intensity, and suspenseful tensions surrounding the mind games that the two clans play. The camera work is quite amazing as every alternate frame has hordes of people with actors performing in the foreground. Nonetheless, there are too many character plots and only some of them have time to develop. Ranbir Kapoor's Micheal Corleone does a good job with a restrained performance, has some impressive close ups and looks sinister donning the glasses. Nana Patekar is vintage and Naseer doesn't get too much screen time, however he is impressive as a leftist trailblazer. Ajay Devgan has been sidelined a bit with Karna's slow pace, as he doesn't have much to offer as the political strategist. Rampal still looks like an Adonis, whose transformation to a country ruffian is difficult, and this wears clearly on his accent. His empty howls are a joke but he tries hard. Katrina as usual is an eye candy, she does speak loud, tries to do a Sonia, but ends up being the girl next door.
The movie tries to be rusty by punching outlandish vernacular like "Jayestha Putra" and we are left wondering, who the hell talks like that. Also the plot turns wild when everyone goes on a killing spree whenever life throws them one of its little curves. Decimation of a political family over generations is little more believable than a complete "Maqbool-level" annihilation over a 3 month period building up to some funky state election. The music is not a talking point; one folksy "Mora Piya" stands out while the disco mix looks like an orphan, playing for a little over a minute in the middle of nowhere in the movie. The level-headed direction makes up for rigid character driven performances, where the actors like Manoj and Ranbir shine. The script is tight, very few low key scenes which deal with bizarre romantic situations, but the exaggerated story makes things go a little out of proportion. It is an enjoyable movie despite a running length of 160 mins, has some good moments, but gets predictable after a while.
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