It is a cocktail of The Mahabharata and The Godfather I & II, but a heady one at that and it sizzles and sets the screen on fire. ‘Raajneeti’ is a must watch for fans of hard hitting true to earth films that make no bones about breaking bones, mouthing gaalis or showing the dark side of their lead actors
The plot revolves around a family that has traditionally been at the helm of a political party. With the head of the party suffering a stroke and passing the baton to one of the factions, a power struggle starts which pits two factions against each other and gives rise to plotting, scheming and conniving that leads to people losing their honor and their lives, all for the sake of power.
Prakash Jha’s story and screenplay superbly combine the aforementioned epic and movie against the backdrop of the Indian political party system. You have Krishna, Kunti, Arjuna, Karna, Duryodhana, Don Corleone, Michael Corleone and a bit of Santino thrown in for good measure along with inspirations from current political parties. It’s like a game of chess with almost every scene a confrontation and every character, in it for gain. Riveting, to say the least.
His camerawork ranging from shots of the scale of political rallies to close-ups that expose the deepest darkest feelings and motives of characters is outstanding as is the background score that accompanies it. While the story follows a ruthless trail all through, it abandons it in the end to create grounds for a sequel and I believe this is where commerce kills art.
It is a casting coup of sorts with the likes of Naseeruddin Shah, Nana Patekar, Ajay Devgan and Manoj Bajpai sharing screen space with promising actors like Arjun Rampal, Ranbir Kapoor and a surprisingly fluent Katrina Kaif. She supposedly dubbed twice for this movie and it shows, for she has managed to make her accent almost Indian. While, all the actors have delivered, the standout performances are of Nana Patekar in a Krishnaesque role, Ajay Devgan as Karna and Ranbir Kapoor as Arjuna. Ranbir Kapoor in particular could see this as a huge stepping stone to bigger and better things as an actor.
Watch ‘Raajneeti’ for it is a wonderfully crafted and executed political drama which people who follow Indian politics would identify with, and one that film aficionados would salute for its masterful blending of the classics, set to a new context.