I understand that I am probably one of the last few people to review Raajneeti. Too bad I took a lot of time to decide whether I wanna watch it or not.
Forty long minutes after I started watching it, I had started planning dinner and to-do list of work the next day. And then came the scene which made me sit straight and pay more attention. Followed by another one and another one Yes, Raajneeti took forty minutes to become interesting and for the next fifty minutes or so, continued to be so.
Let me put something straight first. Even the first forty minutes were not bad. It wasn't like I was watching Tushaar Kapoor playing Terminator or something as horrendous. There was nothing wrong with what was going on but still something was missing. The individual performances were quite decent but the narration and screenplay were not tight enough to keep me engrossed. The first scene that hit me was the party meeting invasion by Ajay Devgan, followed by Nana Patekar's visit to Ajay's area and so on.
The other snag in the story was the little stint of Naseeruddin Shah that started the whole affair. shoddily and implausibly written, although well executed. Of course, parallels to Godfather started becoming more and more obvious. Where middle of the story was gripping, fast paced and cleverly written and executed, it's the climax that left a bad taste in mouth. You are showing politicians who are aiming to become 'Mukhya Mantri' of the country and they are killing people with their own hands and running on the streets with guns in their hands? Sounds believable, doesn't it. I don't deny the existence of bloodshed in politics, but the likes of president-elects do not act like contract killers, do they? Nor do we see three generations of one political family being killed during one election campaign.
My favorite adaptation of Godfather still remains Virasat. If there could be a second, it would be Sarkar. Raajneeti is not a bad movie, but it's not a great movie. With a better screenplay of first half an hour and a more realistic climax, it could have been a great one because the individual performances were quite brilliant.
Talking about performances, to me, Nana Patekar was the show stealer. He had a beautiful character to portray and how well he portrays it, is anybody's guess. He used his body language and smile to perfection. Thoroughly enjoyable performance from the veteran. Raajneeti's very own Luca Brasi with a local touch the gentle respectable mentor.
Then there was Arjun Rampal. I was one of those who thought that this guy would never be able to act. I liked him in Rock On, he was one of the good things in it, but in Raajneeti, he was excellent. He does remind you of Sonny from the Godfather with his demeanor and aggression. I think Prakash must have told him to read the book before offering him the role. To me, he was more Sonny than Kay Kay Menon of Sarkar because Sonny was not suppressible or manipulated. Here is an actor who took his work seriously and was there to prove a point.
This is the first performance of Ranbir Kapoor that I have seen. Yes. First. It was a complex character and not as positive as the real Michael of Godfather, or Abhishek of Sarkar or Anil Kapoor of Virasat. This one had negative shades in it. He was not a loyal lover like both of them. He was selfish and manipulative. He did not mind killing to get his way even though he appeared very soft and sweet natured. A character with so many shades needs a good actor to deliver and Ranbir does. A fine performance overall. He is definitely a better actor than Imran Khan. Solo hit material.
Manoj Bajpai gets a meaty role after a long time and it was good to see him. Ajay Devgan was typecast. The actor badly needs variety of roles and that does not mean foolish 'Golmaal' and 'All the Best' comedies. Try something like 'Pushpak' may be? Nikhila Trikhas as Ajay's mother was a bad choice for the role. Her confrontation scene with Ajay toward the end was probably the worst of the entire movie and added to the climax woes. Limited description of Naseer's role was also a downside of the movie considering that it was a high-flying political family we were talking about.
Katrina Kaif was also a bad choice for that role. As usual, she fulfilled the glamour quotient alright but failed to deliver on performance promise. Her expressions in the confrontation scenes with Ranbir and then Arjun could put plastic dolls to shame. Sarah Thompson, who played Sarah, was much more natural than Kat. Shruti Seth is a pleasant surprise.
Prakash Jha needs improvement. That's the only thing I can say about him. Director's role starts where the writer's finishes. Yes, the revenue of the film will contradict what I am saying but my opinion holds. My biggest criticism would be his effort to create sympathy for people who are blood thirsty and enjoy killing, not regret it. Anil Kapoor of Virasat and even Abhishek of Sarkar had different motives for killing than Ranbir of Raajneeti; hence, the sympathy was justified. In Ranbir's case, deliberately or not, it was not justified.
Raajneeti, irrespective of its commercial success, has some serious flaws. Had it been for below par acting, it could have been a big disaster. However, the credit goes to Jha for casting Nana, Ranbir, Arjun and Manoj Bajpai who saved the ship which would have otherwise badly sunk.
Forty long minutes after I started watching it, I had started planning dinner and to-do list of work the next day. And then came the scene which made me sit straight and pay more attention. Followed by another one and another one Yes, Raajneeti took forty minutes to become interesting and for the next fifty minutes or so, continued to be so.
Let me put something straight first. Even the first forty minutes were not bad. It wasn't like I was watching Tushaar Kapoor playing Terminator or something as horrendous. There was nothing wrong with what was going on but still something was missing. The individual performances were quite decent but the narration and screenplay were not tight enough to keep me engrossed. The first scene that hit me was the party meeting invasion by Ajay Devgan, followed by Nana Patekar's visit to Ajay's area and so on.
The other snag in the story was the little stint of Naseeruddin Shah that started the whole affair. shoddily and implausibly written, although well executed. Of course, parallels to Godfather started becoming more and more obvious. Where middle of the story was gripping, fast paced and cleverly written and executed, it's the climax that left a bad taste in mouth. You are showing politicians who are aiming to become 'Mukhya Mantri' of the country and they are killing people with their own hands and running on the streets with guns in their hands? Sounds believable, doesn't it. I don't deny the existence of bloodshed in politics, but the likes of president-elects do not act like contract killers, do they? Nor do we see three generations of one political family being killed during one election campaign.
My favorite adaptation of Godfather still remains Virasat. If there could be a second, it would be Sarkar. Raajneeti is not a bad movie, but it's not a great movie. With a better screenplay of first half an hour and a more realistic climax, it could have been a great one because the individual performances were quite brilliant.
Talking about performances, to me, Nana Patekar was the show stealer. He had a beautiful character to portray and how well he portrays it, is anybody's guess. He used his body language and smile to perfection. Thoroughly enjoyable performance from the veteran. Raajneeti's very own Luca Brasi with a local touch the gentle respectable mentor.
Then there was Arjun Rampal. I was one of those who thought that this guy would never be able to act. I liked him in Rock On, he was one of the good things in it, but in Raajneeti, he was excellent. He does remind you of Sonny from the Godfather with his demeanor and aggression. I think Prakash must have told him to read the book before offering him the role. To me, he was more Sonny than Kay Kay Menon of Sarkar because Sonny was not suppressible or manipulated. Here is an actor who took his work seriously and was there to prove a point.
This is the first performance of Ranbir Kapoor that I have seen. Yes. First. It was a complex character and not as positive as the real Michael of Godfather, or Abhishek of Sarkar or Anil Kapoor of Virasat. This one had negative shades in it. He was not a loyal lover like both of them. He was selfish and manipulative. He did not mind killing to get his way even though he appeared very soft and sweet natured. A character with so many shades needs a good actor to deliver and Ranbir does. A fine performance overall. He is definitely a better actor than Imran Khan. Solo hit material.
Manoj Bajpai gets a meaty role after a long time and it was good to see him. Ajay Devgan was typecast. The actor badly needs variety of roles and that does not mean foolish 'Golmaal' and 'All the Best' comedies. Try something like 'Pushpak' may be? Nikhila Trikhas as Ajay's mother was a bad choice for the role. Her confrontation scene with Ajay toward the end was probably the worst of the entire movie and added to the climax woes. Limited description of Naseer's role was also a downside of the movie considering that it was a high-flying political family we were talking about.
Katrina Kaif was also a bad choice for that role. As usual, she fulfilled the glamour quotient alright but failed to deliver on performance promise. Her expressions in the confrontation scenes with Ranbir and then Arjun could put plastic dolls to shame. Sarah Thompson, who played Sarah, was much more natural than Kat. Shruti Seth is a pleasant surprise.
Prakash Jha needs improvement. That's the only thing I can say about him. Director's role starts where the writer's finishes. Yes, the revenue of the film will contradict what I am saying but my opinion holds. My biggest criticism would be his effort to create sympathy for people who are blood thirsty and enjoy killing, not regret it. Anil Kapoor of Virasat and even Abhishek of Sarkar had different motives for killing than Ranbir of Raajneeti; hence, the sympathy was justified. In Ranbir's case, deliberately or not, it was not justified.
Raajneeti, irrespective of its commercial success, has some serious flaws. Had it been for below par acting, it could have been a big disaster. However, the credit goes to Jha for casting Nana, Ranbir, Arjun and Manoj Bajpai who saved the ship which would have otherwise badly sunk.