If this were a typical Hollywood political thriller, it would be clear which folks were the nasty ones and which were the heroes. If this were a typical Bollywood film, there would be plenty of dancing and the usual generational conflicts. But Raajneeti is neither; surely it is a political thriller, but because it upends expectations, some viewers are disappointed it doesn't deliver what they expect. Granted, it might be a richer film from Westerners if they were more familiar with the complexities of politics in another country, but if you approach this film for what it is--a political thriller with a heavy dollop of family melodrama and a good deal of violence, adding numerous rich characterizations and brilliant color, you might find it hugely entertaining
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The Hindi cinema over the years has produced a plethora of timeless gems, which not only entertained the masses, but also awed the critics with their originality, poignance, austerity and occasional grandeur. Today, the Hindi cinema has become a mere impression of what it used to be in its decorated days.
Rajneeti is a mere continuation of the long chain of over hyped run-of-the- mill movies, which lack both originality and substance. The ever meticulous and uncanny Prakash Jha fails to leave any mark on the movie, which is a mere mishmash of weak dialogues, trite sub-slots, incongruities, and incompetency in editing and to some extent in direction. Jha fallibly blends the epic tale of the Mahabharata with that of the Godfather in Rajneeti. Jha missed yet another trick by failing to acknowledge and avow to the fact that Rajneeti was meant to be an adaptation of the Mahabharata.
The stellar cast of the movie somehow manages to give it a much needed impetus. The acting is commendable with a special mention of Manoj Vajpayee, Nana Patekar and Arjun Rampal. The cinematography, sound editing & mixing are also up to the mark. The movie, though marred by the aforementioned inconsistencies is definitely worth a watch if the viewer overlooks the banalities of the plot and its conspicuous similarities to the Mahabharata and the Godfather trilogy.
PS: Rajneeti can definitely serve to be a guilty pleasure to the less eclectic viewers and for those whose sole purpose is entertainment. 6.5/10
http://www.apotpourriofvestiges.com/ -
avinashphobia5 June 2010I watched this movie last night. it was not planned but somehow i just went as some of my friends are big Prakash Jha fan. the movie started with some promise and it looked OK to me and my friends were more than happy the way it turned out. BUT i had my fears as it was turning out to be pretty much like godfather and the moment ranbir kapoor is slapped by the policemen that was the moment i was completely put off - HOW many times we see the same things. it was with sarkar too. abhisek bachchan in sarkar and ranbir kappor in rajneeti is all the same to me - trying to do a Al pacino. If that was not enough they brought in complete Mahabharata which was still good.
over all the movie is good, better than other releases but what was the point of bringing in Mahabharata and godfather in it. it could have been lot better in its own way but it didn't. -
codenamepaulie7 June 2010Even if you do not know before going into the movie, it is evident in the first few minutes that the film draws heavily from the epic of Mahabharata. From the basic plot to the characters. Your palms will get sweaty a few times if you can relate to it.
Ranbir Kapoor is our modern day Arjun & Krishna woven into one. All characters in the movie have shades of gray and Ranbir is no exception. He is a strategist who is not afraid to go the bloody mile. Being a young actor in a multi starer can be tricky, but Ranbir does emerge on top, thereby setting the pace for more serious & deeper roles in the future. Nana Patekar is so subtle & understated that he takes the film forward effortlessly. No yelling, just shrewd smiles. Ajay Devgn proves yet again that he is past the stage where he needs screen time to justify his role. He easily enters into the skin of the modern day Karna, letting Manoj Bajpai as Duryodhan take center stage. And Bajpai, justifies every minute of his presence on screen. Arjun Rampal has his moments in the sun. Katrina impresses mainly through her improved Hindi. This is definitely not the role that she was hoping would get her a national award.
Subtlety is not a mark of Prakash Jha's cinema. From Gangajal to Apaharan to Raajneeti, all are in your face dramas. Raajneeti, if I may say, would be his most commercial outing in some time. We have very mainstream actors, a grand scale in the sheer number of crowds, bloody violence, cars going up in flames & people killing each other left, right & center.
Even for its 3 hour run time, some scenes & sequences do seem rushed in a bit. Nasserudin Shah has as much a presence in the film as he has on the posters. He is not in the film if you are five minutes late to the movie. All our political men are ultra virile & the females- ultra fertile. There is also a needless club song. Then, there are car bombs & a climactic gun battle that is a bit over the top just like all Prakash Jha films. It could have been kept tighter & more believable.
But that said, the film is a gripping tale with very intensely executed pieces and careful attention to detail. The basic premise remains that of the Mahabharata, but the film is not limited to that. It is fast paced and there is seldom a loose moment. It is not Jha's best work, not even close. But I am tempted to rate it highly for the power packed performances & the gripping screenplay.
I say 3.5 on 5 -
rach_dll4 June 2010Welcome back to the world of Hindi cinema, where movies have a huge star cast, are 3 hour longs and actually have a good story line. Raajneeti is a good mix of modern-day Mahabharata and The Godfather, which turns out to be a pretty deadly combination. Its about a political family which has just lost its leader in the midst of the upcoming election. This in turn sets his family at war as the leader chooses his brother and his son Prithviraj Pratap(Arjun Rampal) as his heirs, rather than his own son Veerendra Pratap(Manoj Bajpai). This angers Veerendra Pratap and he decides to take matter into his own hand. To help him out in this scenario is the Dalit leader form the village Sooraj Kumar(Ajay Devgn). So begins the saga of murder, vengeance and the want to gain political power by any means. In this process gets stuck Samar Pratap(Ranbir Kapoor) who had just come for a leisurely visit to India from New York to attend his uncles birthday. Turning down a teaching job in New York he instead stays back in India to help out is family. In him we see shades of Michael Corleone as a young leader who at first was hesitant to join the dirty family business but reluctantly has become a major part of it, and has started taking all the major decisions. There's also the lovely and innocent India Pratap(Katrina Kaif), his childhood friend who gradually begins to see what kind of a person Samar has become. And to help Samar there's Brij Gopal(Nana Patekar), his mother's brother. He is the all wise, all knowing Mama who can be sweet and mean all at the same time.
This film in the beginning can get a little confusing to its viewers as there are way too many characters who are introduced, and who actually play an important part throughout the film. But as the movie progress the confusion diminishes and you start seeing the clear picture and you probably start taking sides. There is no pure good or evil here, everything's in a shade of Grey, like they all believe that the means justify the end. You take Ajay Devgn who is a local village fellow, a Dalit leader, in the beginning he seems all nice and right, but politics as we know it is not a nice guys game, at least in India. Ranbir turns from the innocent American student to a smart schemer who'll do anything to protect his brother. He even fakes it with his American girlfriend Sara(Sarah Jean Collins) when she decides to give him a surprise visit to India. Be it true or not but this movie shows you a pretty interesting insight of politics in India. Its a brother kill brother world out there.
Acting wise everyone has done a good job I must say but special credit goes to Ranbir Kapoor who has shown that he can actually act in films other than romantic comedies in which he plays a chocolate boy lover trying to woo a girl standing in the balcony. Nana Patekar is not his usual self hurling abuses and shouting dialogues at the top of his voice, he is a smiling, silent planner who is very subtle throughout the film and acts only when necessary. Ajay Devgn is also in the background throughout the film, which is very unlike Prakash Jha as we have seen in his previous films like Apharan and Gangajal. But it is nicely done on his part. Katrina Kaif has probably taken acting lessons and is very sober in this film, and looks amazing as always. Arjun Rampal in my opinion has 'acted' for the very first time and by the end of the movie you feel satisfied that he didn't ruin it by his dead, expressionless face. Manoj Bajpai has a typical role, so no surprises there.
Go watch this movie if you want to see a wholesome Hindi film with substance. Its got your abuses, gruesome action scenes, a couple of lovemaking scenes put in here and there, a few songs in the background, nasty cops, hot Indian summer, everything that you need to enjoy your 3 hours in an air conditioned theatre! 7/10 -
vivee0034 June 2010Came after watching Prakash Jha's latest offering "Raajneeti" starring Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Arjun Rampal and Ajay Devgan in the lead... While watching this movie you will get a feeling that the whole plot and characters are heavily inspired from the epic story Mahabharatham and the classic "The Godfather"...
"Raajneeti" is basically a complex game of politics where human relationships are challenged to achieve the ultimate power...
Story rolls on with a flashback where, Bhaskar played by Naseruddin Shah, an old leftist, challenging the most powerful leaders together with the support of a young lady who considers him as God.. But destiny changes their fortunes when she gets impregnated due to Bhaskar and gives birth to the child, but even before see her child's face, Brij Gopal played by Nana Patekar abandons the child...
Rolling to present era. Sooraj Kumar (played by Ajay Devgan) is the guy whom the people of Azad Nagar considers as the leader of Dalits... In parallel, story of a family with huge political background develops with the clashes between Prithviraj (played by Arjun Rampal) and Veerendra (played by Manoj Bajpayee) for the political throne, after Prithviraj's father is shot dead... Samar (played by Ranbir Kapoor) comes in as a help for his brother and Sooraj joins with Veerendra... Rest of the story deals with who gets to the throne finally, where Indu (played by Katrina Kaif) also gets trapped in this war...
One can clearly say that, the characterization of Sooraj was definitely etched out from one of the greatest epic character "Karna" from Mahabharatha and that of Katrina Kaif was from the life of Sonia Gandhi.. The makers have deliberately tried to create a replica of personality of Sonia Gandhi in Katrina Kaif !! Manoj Bajpayee can be seen as Duryaodhana... And many incident/situations resembles both Mahabharatha and Godfather....
Even though the whole proceedings were looking predictable, Prakash Jha has done a commendable job in keeping us engaged most of the time... And hats off to him for the effort he has put in to make this film... Coming to performances, everybody justice to their parts...
Ranbir Kapoor is maturing with each film.. He was utmost convincing as Samar... No incertitudes on him becoming the next superstar of Bollywood !! Arjun Rampal pitches in yet another power-packed performance... Ajay Devgan was good... Katrina Kaif takes a break from her glam-doll image here and it pays off.. Her transformations were very well enacted.... Another actor who steals the show is Nana Patekar with his impeccable timing and dialogue delivery... Manoj Bajpayee as the antagonist was superb.... And the support cast also does a fine job...
Cinematography was pretty good... BG score was just OK...
On the downside, the pacing of the second half gets slowed down, at times.... BG score could have been better... Duration of the film should have been taken care of by some trimming...
On the whole, watch Raajneeti for the sincerity with which Prakash Jha has made this film and also for the excellent performances put up from Ranbir, Arjun, Ajay, Katrina and Nana Patekar...
Verdict : Contemporary Mahabharatha.. Good..
Rating : 7.5/10 -
First of all let me clear it out, I personally hate politics and am a novice in it but after watching this movie I concluded few things:
1) All politicians are murderers.
2) People switch their present or future life partners with others in order to gain votes or money to gain votes.
3) Police is just like dice for politicians. They throw and spin them against each other for their own benefits.
4) There is no term like family or sibling in politics. Anyone can turn against anyone or may be kill each other just for greed of votes.
5) Public is a complete moron; people vote for that person who gives them a cunning speech and not to that person who genuinely wants good for them.
6) There are no human beings in politics, just a bunch of 'escaped-from-hell' devils fighting against each other to attain powers not for using for benefit of public but for personal greediness.
I am not sure whether the things I concluded are correct but you will sense trueness in them once you watch this movie. Prakash Jha( Mrityudand, GangaJal and Apaharan), famous for making movies on serious topics and getting success for every film, fails this time. All his previous movies worked because he stuck to the main story till the end and the lead actor did justice with his role. But, in Raajneeti he did a different thing, he assembled a huge star cast with every actor having a potential of pulling of any movie well and a strong topic: politics, which was great but he didn't give preference to MAIN story this time which went wrong.
Raajneeti is supposedly based on the epic Mahabharata in which brothers went for a long brutal war against each other because of their personal differences. Thus, with so many characters in the movie it was impossible for any director to present two stories simultaneously: Politics and a family war. Prakash Jha had so much scope of showing the inside story of the dirty politics going on in the country, people would have been satisfied with that but we all know there very few politicians who come from the same family or may be there is no one. So, instead of showing the movie on politics Prakash Jha ended up making a movie in which a group of brothers play conspiracies against each other to become the group leader.
I am not indicating that Raajneeti was a complete failure. It made huge impacts many times. The positives were fine performances by the actors. Ranbir Kapoor, Manoj Bajpai, Katrina Kaif and Arjun Rampal deserve special accolades for their performances. Naseeruddin Shah had nothing to do in the movie. Ajay Devgn too had little scope in comparison to others but he did his job well. Nana Patekar was OK. Sarah Thomson was good.
As I told storyline would have been much better if Prakash Jha and Anjum Rajabali stuck only to the politics. Music by Wayne Sharpe went unnoticed except for the song Mora Piya which was played a few times in the background. Editing was poor, the movie could easily have been cut short by thirty minutes which didn't happen the movie so gave the audiences many chances of yawning and checking their watches.
To conclude I would say the difference lies in Prakash Jha's earlier successful movies and Raajneeti is that the previous movies were made with an intention of presenting the audiences with reality and Raajneeti was only made with intention of scoring big at the box office. The film had so many brilliant actors that Prakash Jha didn't do full justice with everyone, he wanted to include everything in his movie: romance, suspense, and some scenes which were completely unexpected and unwanted.
I know you will watch this film, so there is no point of saying anything on this but yeah this film has its moments which will remind you of old Prakash Jha. That's why I say he didn't go for politics, he went for polymorphism!
My Rating: 6/10
Thanks & Regards -
praveenkkr11 May 2020This movie was long pending in my watch list, could only watch it this weekend. I was not having any expectation and I was pretty impressed. People blame that the movie is long, but no scene extends for more than couple of minutes. Acting is top notch, care is taken even with a small character. Katrina might be weak link, but it is intentional to consider her for the role as the director wants to establish a link with task world politician. No non sense comedy or romance. I liked songs right from the beginning, even I hadn't watched the movie. It had its loopholes, because it is not clear why Bhanu Pratap appoints his brother and brother's son as party leads, ignoring his own son. It might not be a 10 * movie, but people are giving it 4 or 5 stars, comparing it with housefull! It's definitely a top effort in its own genre.
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padiyark2 November 2011Wife recommended this film, so I watched. Overall, a better than average flick, but no cigar. The first part of the film is definitely the meatiest part of this film, where it starts as a modern day allegory of the Mahabharata embroiled in Indian politics--very fascinating. However, where it descends to trash is the second part, when scenes are ripped off scenes from "Godfather" and "Hard Boiled", and the story climaxes into an abysmal heap of dung. Worse yet, there is some pretty nice acting from all the actors involved, including non-actress Katrina Kaif. To aspiring Indian film makers, the first half of this film is how to improve Bollywood.
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dhruvinthakkar6 September 2019Best p.jha's movie .. outstanding . Real image of politics in India.
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vjnambu28 February 2019Characters: Ajay devgn- Karna Nana patekar- Krishna Ranbir kapoor- Arjun+Michael Corleone Arjun rampal- Sonny Corleone Manoj bajpayee- duryodhan
Among all these talented actors, its Katrina who is the rotten apple in the basket. Film starts like ajay film but he gets lost in the proceedings. Ranbir is the main hero who is calm outside but deadly inside. Nana gives a subtle performance as the cunning and shrewd advisor. Arjun is okay and Manoj bajpayee was standard. All the female characters have nothing to do other than becoming pregnant. -
rikuroy13 October 2019Consider Ranbir Kapoor as Michel Corleone then you will see the magic. But needless to say Prakash Jha did make this movie so well that audience had goosebumps each and every time they saw the iconic scenes of this movie. Here in india it's strictly politics rather than business. This movie shows how politics can change people, and turn them into animals fighting to sit on the throne of existence.
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Saayer8 October 2010I 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. -
This movie was horrendous. It was long and bad. The directing was bad: BEcause he never gave you time to care about any of the characters. IT was so long and boring. Because you didn't care about anyone it didn't matter that almost all of them die! It was so incredibly hard to follow too. Too much happens and the director doesn't try to focus or direct.
Everyone is evil in this movie except for the one guy sooraj and what does he get? Bullet from his brother.
I swear if the movie was about sooraj instead of the rest of these idiots it would have been a better movie. In fact from the way the movie starts it looks like its gonna be a sooraj (the director took so much time developing this character and his back story) movie but then something happens and we don't see him for almost an hour. The big reveal where he meets his mom is killed by the fact that u no longer care what happens cause he wasn't in the movie til it was basically over.
I never write reviews of a movie but people need to know. -
kunalkhandwala6 June 2010Power. The quest for its supremacy has seen many a battle through centuries bringing chaos, destruction, bloodshed, grief and loss. India's greatest epic, The Mahabharat witnessed cruel forces stand for what they seemed as right, against their brothers who, aided by a master Strategist, outsmarted the great warriors. In the end, it never was about good or evil. It was about achieving victory at any cost. Prakash Jha's audacious venture of Raajneeti treads this very path to re-incarnate the intricate battle for supremacy. An ensemble cast comprising of Nana Patekar, Ajay Devgan, Manoj Bajpai, Arjun Rampal, Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Naseeruddin Shah and an impressive lot of others play today's warriors in the great battlefield of Indian politics.
The back story of Kunti's 'first born', Karna leads us to the high stakes political game in the Pratap family after their supremo is hospitalized. The state is witnessing a transition in government and there is more than one challenger within the family itself. The battle lines have been drawn and clearly, the thirst for power has corrupted everyone involved. There is no good in this quest for victory. Aided by Karna, Duryodhan leads his charge against the Paandavs who are aided by the experienced strategist, Krishna. After the fall of Paandu, the united brothers of Yudhishtir and Arjun salvage their position with every move, lie and trick outside the book as Krishna guides them through the battlefield. This essence of The Mahabharat has been adroitly adapted to Raajneeti's political backdrop and all credit for its intricate development goes to writers Anjum Rajabali and Mr. Jha himself. The scale is elaborate, the cast ensemble and the plot engaging but the execution of it all with the thorough script, well paced screenplay, masterful direction and flawless performances make this a remarkable film.
Raajneeti is not for the faint hearted who solely indulge in slap-stick comedies, heart warming tragedies, mushy love stories or any vampire chronicles. This is real, wicked, unforgiving and ruthless politics. But Jha doesn't make a documentary with this cast. There is a bit of filmy drama with women being impregnated after just one encounter, love being compromised for the ultimate goal in battle and people being used as pawns on a big chess board. At the same time, Jha is unforgiving while he portrays the brutally of battle. There are car bombs, assassins, gruesome beatings, bloodshed and profanity suited to the film's environment. It rarely fails to surprise you with every new conniving plot and strategy and the convincing performances by the actors who certainly are portraying dual characters. One being those of the film Raajneeti and the other being the celluloid reincarnations of characters from The Mahabharat.
This is also a performance powerhouse. Naseeruddin Shah of course, excellent in his brief role, deserved more screen presence. Nana Patekar's simplicity in portraying the most important of characters is awe inspiring. He is indeed a mentor for the rest of them. It's been a long time since we watched Manoj Bajpai in a worthy role and what a laudable performance it was! His defining moment was his speech after Shakuni Mama's incident. Ajay Devgan being Jha's favorite man maintains his typical intensity in a solid act while Arjun Rampal delivers the most shocking performance which is also his finest yet. Watch him as he speaks to his brother on his cell phone with bloody hands and you will witness the intense actor in him. Sarah Kane in a brief role seemed quite seasoned already along with Nikhila Trikha (Kunti). Katrina Kaif has proved her worth with Raajneeti. Jha instilled confidence in Katrina's mediocre dialog delivery and nurtured her to reach her epitome in the public speech she makes in front of thousands. She now sheds the tag of the cute, beautiful new comer and surpasses many of her peers showing her versatility in just the past year. Speaking of which, the new force to be reckoned with is certainly Ranbir Kapoor. From being the lover boy, funny man, awakened man and salesman, he proves his mettle as the underdog who earns respect through actions. Whether he is playing chess on his BB or watching his game plan unfold on the screen or calming an infuriated, impulsive brother, Ranbir shows his composure and caliber while making his presence felt in the midst of accomplished senior artists.
The musical score also has an ensemble cast here. With Pritam, Aadesh Shrivastava, Shantanu Moitra and Wayne Sharpe, the music is brilliant. The pop-classical Ishq Barse, the melodious Bheegi Si Bhaagi Si, the uplifting theme song - Dhan dhan Dharti by Shankar and Wayne Sharpe and Aadesh Shrivastava & Shashi's outstanding Mora Piya are all excellent, even with their well remixed versions (Mora Piya 'trance' mix!). But Jha mercilessly edits the songs from the movie, only to keep a bare minimum when the screenplay could exhale.
Prakash Jha seemed to draw inspirations from The Mahabharat, 'The Godfather', 'Kalyug' as well as the 'Sarkars' and in his distinctive way, gave us an engaging, witty, hard hitting, intense drama that is a depiction of a democracy that works, but at a price. With real people, about 10,000 of them, Jha shot in locales that serve as the battlefield with superb cinematography by Sachin Krishn. His well researched and gripping script is the soul of this multi-starrer and his vision to bring the greatest epic to life just adds to the viewer's intrigue and awe element. One might even need repeated viewings in order to grasp some deeper dialogs. Minor dramatizations apart, Jha's work is commendable simply because very few have succeeded with the scale and grandeur of Raajneeti and while critics can dissect all they want, this IS the most definitive and convincing version of The Mahabharat and the ugly face of democracy.- 8.889 on a scale of 1-10.
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Rajneeti is an ambitious, engaging, entertaining, pertinent, and well made film, though at times clichéd and theatrical.
The ensemble cast delivers above expectation, especially the consummate performance by Ranbir Kapoor and aided by the adept ones by Manoj Bajpai, Ajay Devgan, and Nana Patekar ; Arjun Rampal is also surprisingly convincing, with the performances by the female cast ranging from the adequate to the weak.
Further, while the director and screenwriters do a skillful job of weaving the political commentary (mostly accurate albeit broadly generalizing), the moralizing (unwelcome and hackneyed), the scheming and vendettas, and the classical mythos (its main inspiration is the epic Mahabharata), into an entertaining and finely paced film; however, it's somewhat protracted and overly theatrical second half, lowers the intensity, with the generalizations and pauses detracting from its focus and the theatrical violence lowering its credibility, which coupled with an ending that's rather tame and platitudinous, the film falls short of the masterpiece category.
Nonetheless, in an industry where condescending, vapid and "timepass" movies are the rule, and political correctness construed as deference and social aloofness, Rajneeti is a relatively bold, refreshingly frank, and an entertaining exception.
Kudos to Prakash Jha and the production team for their ambitious, riveting, and fine piece of work. -
Great music, Awesome star cast, and equally Good performances. Might have been stretched a bit by the end, but overall a great movie. Must Watch!
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abhi-alive-198916 June 2010Prakash Jha, who gave us gems like 'Gangaajal' and 'Apaharan', comes out with a mammoth size, star studded, Political drama entitled 'RAJNEETHI'. Now as soon as the titles roll in, the drama builds up like ocean waves on a sea shore and keeps you thrilled and awe stricken with its sheer energy!
Supported by great performances, the movie is delicious in parts. It had great potential to become one of those memorial Political dramas in the history of Indian cinema; but sadly, the screenplay goes on like a free bird, post intermission!
Ajay Devgan was back in great form in the first half, but was completely wasted in the second half. I found it ridiculous that an actor like Naseerudhin Shah was given such an awfully written character. The merciless editing, which concentrates more on the Ranbir - Katreena plot, adds to the trauma. Its a pity, for if the makers had worked more on the screenplay, which seems to be still on the first draft, the film would have been much more! This is not the Prakash Jha we had seen before. Please go back to your old self.
Though I felt a lump on my throat witnessing the makers wasting a brilliant opportunity, Rajneethi is still worth a watch for the rich, yet inconsistent drama it showcases.
Rating: Nearly 'Good' -
princeyuvrajfb15 November 2018Best movie about politics Loved #Ranbir performance ❤
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A typical political story, revolving around the 'mahabharata' within and outside the Samaajwaadi party in Madhya Pradesh, with party members striving to reach the top against opposition from other members, to the extent of even resorting to crime and involving innocent members of the family.
The film gives a clear description of how Indian politics are. All actors have played their parts well, music score is good, there are few thrills that are noteworthy, and the story is shot such that it's hard to say who's right or wrong really. The film is a long one but worth a watch. There's only a club dance song, no other dance numbers. Some dialogues are very different from what you'd expect to find in conventional cinema, like 'jo aasmaan par thukta hai, thuk usi ke muh par aake girta hai' .
Worth a watch -
nityanandsingh3 December 2010We all knew what Prakash Jha is capable of, and by all i mean those who have seen Gangaajal,Apaharan,Dil dosti etc and Damul.
But in Rajneeti he perhaps for the first time assembles such a glittering cast and crew and each one gets a meaty role and does justification to their acts.
After a long time we get to see a movie which really is what a movie should be Great story,excellent narration,plots that fix like a jigsaw puzzle,n superb acting. So what if the movie can easily be related to THE MAHABHARATA with pandavas,krishna,duryodhan ,karna n kunti and to the book GODFATHER where its finally the youngest son(Michael Corleone) whom everyone thinks to be an outsider and is underestimated changes the game in the interpretation of modern day Arjun with Nana Patekar as Krishna to guide him. But everything is not so smooth as the games of dirty politics in a democracy is played just like the game on a chessboard where no second thoughts are given to remove a pawn or even if it might be the king himself.
Performance wise...everyone lives upto and even goes beyond expectations. Naseer is just superb in his role as a revolutionary even if it was small,Nana Patekar shows us why he's still regarded as one of the finest actors even when he doesn't has to speak much,Arjun Rampal ,Ajay Devgan and Manoj Vajpayee too hold their acts together.Katrina's lovely to watch sans much glamour and Ranbir Kapoor too portrays his journey from a rank outsider to a shrewd calculator of the game of politics brilliantly...
The music of the movie esp the background scores are at par the other aspects and having 4 composers for 4 diff songs in a single movie also works well
In all if you love good cinema and not those mindless ones, u r in for a really good treat my ratings 4.2/5 . . . NJOY!! -
rajsharma12623 July 2010Well, here are a few questions that I wanted to ask the Makers of this Film after having seen the film : 1. Is Mr. Prakash Jha planning to write a Book on "How to become pregnant by having Sex just Once!", I'm sure the people that have seen the film would know what I'm talking about! And yes, It happens with three different Couples in this film! And it's really weird! 2. What was Mr. Prakash Jha thinking while casting the Actress, pardon me, the Woman, as the Mother in this film? The woman just doesn't know how to act! Couldn't he see that! She completely ruined that Mother-Son Confrontation Scene with Ajay Devgan that could have been so emotionally moving had the Acting been good! But, throughout that scene all I was doing was scratching my head with disgust and asking myself - What the hell is this woman doing and how could the Director finalize a woman like this for such an important role! I'm sorry but in a film filled with mostly National Award Winning Actors, a Stupid and Irritating Addition like this makes you want to puke, quite literally ! 3. How could he cast Katrina Kaif in that role? She was extremely Unnatural in Most Scenes and I had expected her to deliver a much finer performance, but she was a total let down. And, How Ironical, the Scene where her performance had to be the Best and Strongest, turned out to be her weakest Scene in the Film! I'm talking about the scene where she gives the Speech, It seemed to me like the woman standing in front of the Mike was neither a Politician nor a Widower, but some really Nervous Newcomer in Bollywood who is "auditioning" for a role in a film and has to give a speech in front of thousands of people, in order to get that role in the film. Yes, that's what I felt like while watching that scene, I didn't feel it was a real scene, I felt it was some Nervous Newcomer's Audition Clip! Her gestures, her Voice, her pitch, in that scene conveyed just no real feelings! Her performance was devoid of Naturalness. To sum it up, Katrina Kaif COULD NOT breathe life into the Character she played in Raajneeti. I'm hundred percent sure that any other, yes, "any" other Bollywood Actress could have performed this role thousand times better! But yes, there have been Flawless, Outstanding Performances by Arjun Rampal, Nana Patekar, Manoj Bajpai but above all, Ranbir Kapoor surprises and impresses you by delivering the Best Performance in the Film. He's Intense, He's One Hundred Percent Natural and he totally immerses himself into his Character. He's clearly worked really hard at looking and being the Character. He's undoubtedly, the true Kapoor Scion ! And he does remind you of Michael Corleone(Al Pacino) from the Godfather but I'd have to say, out of the two, Ranbir's Performance is Better! In the end, Raajneeti is a well-made Film but the thing that ruins the film in parts are the two main Ladies- The woman who played the role of the Mother and Katrina Kaif. To be honest, I liked the Supporting Actresses a lot more, including Shruti Seth, the Seductive Bitch who's eager to get a Ticket and run for Elections, who was Mind Blowing even in her 5 minute Appearance on Screen and Sarah Thompson, Ranbir Kapoor's Sweetheart from America. The Film had a couple of other Drawbacks as well, specially in writing, and if they would have been corrected, this Film could have been so much better.... It's one of those rare films that makes you think that with just a few modifications, this film could have been Outstanding which it sadly and definitely, is not.......
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After 'Gangaajal' and 'Apaharan', this is Prakash Jha's most recent venture. Let me talk about the performances first of all.
Ranbir Kapoor puts in a very fine performance here. His character is more or less a push over with more or less no conscience, succumbing to the pressure applied on him by certain circumstances. He does it well, so much so that you dislike his character quite a bit, but also sympathise with him at the same time. Manoj Bajpal is very good indeed. Nana Patekar is amazing - his character comes naturally to him. Ajay Devgan is solid.
The weakness of this film is Katrina Kaif. I don't know what Prakash Jha was thinking, considering that she's just known for glamour, and doesn't know much Hindi at all. She also has a strong English accent, which comes through in every part, with the exception of the dubbed parts. I'm sorry, but in a film like this, the cast need to know the language very well, since the dubbing can be very obvious, and is in this case. The one time sleeping together pregnancy thing is strange when you think of it, since it happens more than once, but I wouldn't say that it is a flaw because it is possible.
The music of this film is average, with a few good tracks, notably 'mora piya' and 'ishq barse'.
Verdict: A great film minus Katrina Kaif. Definitely worth watching. I give it 8.9/10 -
nirjharvarshney9 June 2010Rajneeti script was a balanced mix of Mahabharata and Godfather, but it was supported by average dialogs and poor performance by Ranbir Kapoor. There are some strong performances given by Nana Patekar, Ajay Devegan and a very small but powerful one by Naseeruddin Shah.
The first half of movie successfully portrayed a powerful political family's internal rivalry also India's current political condition where local satraps are the real power players in a region.
In second half movie falls apart, and gets unrealistic. Be it politicians themselves doing the work of their goons or classical Hindi dialogs or revelation of "neeti"(rule of war) by "Krishna" (Nana Patekar) to "Arjun" ("Ranbeer Kapoor").Latter 2 over relate the theme to Mahabharata. I will give this movie 7/10. It would have got better but near the end of the movies one doesn't care who dies and who wins. Secondly there are sex scenes and apart from one b/w shruti seth and Arjun none is relevant to story -
When someone buys a ticket to watch a movie starring Nana Patekar, Ajay Devgan and Naseruddin Shah, they expect a high voltage movie. This stars have the charisma to spread fire on the screen. But what a wastage ??? Naser was just in the movie to give a speech and birth to a un-wanted child ( what this character eats ... though he is old, he succeeded in just one time).
What they did with Nana Patekar? He just sit around, doing nothing. Sometimes he give advice to Ranbir. And yes, once he inspires Ranbir to shoot Ajay in a Krishna fashion. Ranbir can kill a unarmed man driving car using mobile-bomb(don't know what actually it called), but not Ajay. why? Truly need a explanation? Ajay Devgan ... though in first half he has something to do and say, in second half he just wonder around, like a PA of Manoj Bajpai. Ajay can easily kill Ranbir's father and refuse any relationship with Ranbir's Mother, then what happened to him? Why he didn't take the clear shot at Ranbir? And, When he knows that Manoj is in danger, then why does not he call others for help? As the movie showed, Ranbir's father accidentally went to airport with Ranbir and he is there just for some minutes. Lets assume it takes him two hours. In just two hours how Ajay and Manoj plan such a good trap and kill him? Why Ajay and Manoj always try to kill people going to the airport? It feels like a typical Hindi movie with no character development, no good story, there was neither any twist nor any surprises to audience. It has a love triangle and an unwanted child who fight against his mother(by-birth).
What new to this movie? It shows fight between political leaders. But I wish they come up with a griping and interesting story.