PLOT
Rajneeti talks about the politics of dynasty, that of sleaze and also of the corruption and malpractices which are rampant in the dirty game that’s politics. Manoj Vajpayee and Arjun Rampal belong to the same party and so does Nana Patekar and a few others. But there is internal bickering which leads first to the induction of Ajay Devgnm (step brother of Ranbeer and Rampal) into the party followed by Manoj Bajpayee’s demand to make him the laeder of the party. Consequently 2 factions are formed one of Manoj and other of Rampal. What follows is the political drama.
POSITIVES
Ah there are many.
1.Manoj Bajpayee is the lynchpin of the movie.He truly steals the show and is the real highlight of the film. Its amazing how actors like Boman Irani and Manoj bajpayee,are seldom part of B-town conversations but in actuality they are the drivers of many movies. Manoj has an awesome screen presence and the confidence and panache with which he delivers his dialogues makes you feel that he should star more often in Bolly movies. His dialogue “Kararaa jawab milegaa” is marvelously executed. He is too real.
2.The screenplay,cinematography camera angles and sound effects are brilliant and worth appreciation.
3. For a change Arjun Rampal has acted well. Katrina Kaif has “tried” but influences the viewer by her acting only so much. She still has a long long way to go before she truly is crowned the queen of bollywood. Dialogues need urgent attention. NRI accent in every movie is a given now. Not admirable. Ranbeer Kapoors performance is par for the course and so is Nana Patekars’.
4.Ajay Devgn is mind blowing. You develop so much positivity and respect for his character that you want to hug him for his performance which is being equated with that of Karan of Mahabharat due the similarity of the character he portrays.
5.The film has no dragging songs. Infact there are no songs as such in the movie. Not track is played more than a minute. That speaks volumes of the content and editing of the movie. Directors must take a cue as to how to successfully narrate a movie sans music and dance.
6.You take the brilliant eloquence of every character of the movie home. There is at least one dialogue you remember for each character. So credit to the lyricist and dialogue writer. A job well done.
7.There are scenes which tend to falsh in your memory even after the movie. Like Ajay Devgn driving a Benz in narrow streets of Patna and his pals running after him.
8.Scenes of shock and tragedy are believable and shot really well.
So what went wrong?
NEGATIVES
1. Some inexplicable sequences like:
a. The media ignoring Manoj Bajpayee’s death and as has been shown throughout the movie that they try and find out the core reason of every development are not interested in his death. He is shown to be a big political player so how can his death fade into oblivion.
b. Ranbeer kapoor is shown to be studying and pursuing his PhD all this while when suddenly at the demise of his father he decides to take to politics and shockingly his moves are politically correct also. So Not believable.
2. Gunning down of persons was never so easy.
3.Chaste hindi dialgues will forbid English speaking urbanites to watch this movie. The hindi that’s used is too much for an average multiplex viewer to comprehend. Sample this “Tum mere jeshtha putra ho”. People started to shout “KUNTI KUNTI”
4.Katrina Kaif doesnt deliver political speeches with the flair of a politician. Agreed that shes a woman but political speeches aren’t love lectures. They need authority and command which Manoj Bajpayee can perhaps teach her.
5.Nasrudeen Shah coouldve been used more than just a prop.
6.As in Mahabharat, when one feels bad for Karan, the death of Ajay Devgn makes one feel that the director could’ve done away with that.
7. The last few minutes of the movie seem a formality. The audience predicts the content.
All in all its not a family film with a few expletives and a few intimate scenes but is worth a watch only if you have spare time. To cast commercial actors in a political drama was always going to be risky but Prakash Jha has nearly managed the impossible. Barring the last few minutes. The movie is justified and unlike other bollywood ventures compels you to think.
A 2.5 on 5 for this one.
