Rajneeti (Jha, 2010)

[sandeep]

Star Cast
Nana Patekar
Ajay Devgan
Ranbir Kapoor
Vivek Oberoi
Manoj Bajpai
Arjun Rampal
Katrina Kaif

Slideshow
http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/slideshow/2009/05/30/399/index.html

News
http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/2008/05/08/11352/index.html

[shariqq]

Prakash Jha is a good filmmaker, and possibly the only one who regularly makes poweful political dramas. And he's got a good starcast for this movie. He's gone on record to say this movie is a modern-day political version of the Mahabharata - very interesting.

Kalyug, Shyam Benegal's movie about a family-owned corporation was inspired by the Mahabharata - and that is one splendid movie. By far, it is the only movie where I had to stop the movie inbetween to figure out what was going on - I was 14 or 15 then. Kalyug (I own it, if someone here wants to borrow), would eventually be the reason why I got drawn into parallel cinema and especially Benegal's works.

Now with Jha doing another retelling of the epic tale set in today's political times, this is something to definitely look forward to.

[kaytee]

I'm up to borrow Kalyug, heard a lot about it but never got to see it.

[shariqq]

Oki - yours when we meet next.

Hopefully will setup the Harman/Kardon by this weekend, we can do a bash then!

[shariqq]

Poster.



This movie is getting a lot of pre-release word. Anybody & everybody is calling it the movie to look forward to. Considering it is not a "masala" movie, is directed by a filmmaker known for well-made hard-hitting political movies, and yet has such a wonderful & diverse cast, yes this is a movie I look forward to too. Naseeruddin Shah is in this too, and that ups the expectations.

[sandeep]

Everything you wanted to know about the film... interesting website...

http://www.raajneeti.com/

[shariqq]

Been trying to write a review all day. Just haven't been able to. Here's paraphrasing what I tweeted:

Rajneeti is a characters-driven movie that gets it mostly right. It boasts some worthy performances by Nana Patekar, Arjun Rampal, Manoj Bajpai and Katrina Kaif. Ranbir Kapoor is pretty awesome in a seething performance.

Rajneeti imports the epic Mahabharata's early conflicts into present-day dirty politics, with an amalgam of characters form the epic thrown in. Unfortunately, an over-the-top cliche climax undoes some of the wonderful work of the fantastic first half.

Note: Language may be a bar for those not well-versed with Hindi as the movie is mostly in text-book Hindi. I had to look at the English subtitles for some of the lines.

My rating --> 3.5 of 5

[ayaa1977]

The film is a smash hit in India. It is the third biggest opener there behind 3 Idiots and Ghajini. I really didn't see it coming.

[sandeep]

Yup 56 crores in the first week! My review to come soon!

[sandeep]

The best movie out in 2010, this strong offering by Prakash Jha has broken many box office records (79 crores and counting!), and rightly so. Packed with a strong script, flawless performances (except by Nikhila Tirkha, who plays Ranbir’s mother), the story is inspired by the ancient Hindu epic The Mahabharat.
 
Indian politics rears its ugly head, in this 3 hour roller-coaster ride. A water tight story and crisp screenplay make it a focused watch. No songs (yes!) and twists and turns aplenty, this one is a treat for movie buffs, especially people interested in politics. It may seem like anarchy breaks loose in the second half, but that’s a fault worth ignoring.
 
Everything is at stake for the Pratap family, secrets emerge, mentors guide, blood is wasted and justice is served via the most unsuspecting character.
 
A must watch!
4.5/5