Saswat Panigrahi
Master storyteller and path-breaking director Prakash Jha knows his subject well. He has mastered the art of putting the subject into the skin of the characters. Jha feels the pulse of contemporary issues and raises them through the medium of cinema.
In Damul Prakash Jha raised caste oppression, in Apaharan he captured Bihar’s kidnapping industry, in Mrityudand he dealt with social and gender inequities and in Gangaajal he captured the pathos of an upright cop trying to deal with a corrupt system. His movie always has a social message. His films rely on solid performances that complement a normally gripping story line.
Jha’s big-budget political thriller Raajneeti which was shot in the Hindi heartbelt hit the silver screen in June. The movie’s plot and central characters are loosely based on great Indian epic Mahabharata in parallels with the American cult classic The Godfather. The film which vividly portrays a modern Indian political dynasty also deals with the interplay between personal aspirations, greed, loyalty and betrayal. It has laid threadbare the ugly underbelly of dynastic politics.
Jha contested the 2002 and 2009 Lok Sabha election from Champaran (Bihar) on a LJP ticket and lost. But he has figured out the political jigsaw and knows its finer nuances. In Raajneeti, on the baground of a modern Indian dynastic politics, Jha has skillfully captured the dynamics of political powerplay -- organisational politics, heat and dust of elections, theatrics on the campaign trail, poll management, how the media is managed in a bid to swing votes in see-saw elections, manipulation in politics, abuse of power and violence in politics. From popular political gestures to pity casting couch, from caste factor to class factor, Jha has played a number of issues to the audience gallery. He has shown a keen understanding over the local lingo (read Hindi belt). The dialogue is replete with expressions and terms that the aam aadmi in general could relate to. Dialogues like -- Raajneeti mein murde kabhi marte nahin, unhe zinda rakhna hota hai taaki jab samay aaye to woh bhi bolein had a pan-Indian appeal.
It was an intelligent script written by Prakash Jha and his co-writer Anjum Rajabali told the viewer with flair. Raajneeti is a story of a cabal of power-mongers indulged in a seamy power struggle. It centers around a powerful political family called ‘Pratap family’ which runs a regional party. When the patriarch of the family suffers a paralytic stroke, the seat of power automatically shifts to his younger brother, much to the discomfort of his son Virendra Pratap (played by Manoj Bajpai) who considers himself as the true inheritor of his father’s legacy. Simmering in the shadow he can’t see his rival cousin Prithvi Pratap (played by Arjun Rampal) rising to power. To play his political card, he sides with a dalit leader called Suraj Kumar (played by Ajay Devgan). Suraj, an ace Kabbadi player, who later emerges as a dalit leader, brought up in a dalit household, happens to be an abandoned child of Prithvi’s mother and an idealist-leftist figure Bhasker Sanyal (played by Naseerudin Shah). The bloody battle for power begins. Prithvi’s younger brother, Samar Pratap, who intrinsically takes interest in politics, working on a PhD in Victorian poetry, setting aside his academic ambitions to teach in New York University steps into the battle following his father’s murder. The simmering volcano called ‘Samar’ erupts, plays a political ace and changes the game of power. His was mama (uncle) Brij Gopal (played by Nana Patekar) to council him in his mission. In the clash for power, Samar’s sweetheart Indu (played by Katrina Kaif) became barter and forced to marry his elder brother Prithvi. The murder of her husband compelled Indu to plunge into the political battlefield and won a mandate on the basis of a sympathy wave.
If one sees Raajneeti as a modern-day Mahabharata, Arjun Rampal has played a Bhim, Manoj Bajpai a Duryodhan, Ranbir Kapoor a Arjun, Ajay Devgan a Karn and Katrina Kaif a Draupadi. Nana Patekar stars as a Krishna. Also Ranbir Kapoor's character is a reminiscent of desi Michael Corleone, the protagonist of The Godfather.
Raajneeti, with a running time of 2 hours and 50 minutes has skillfully handled a powerful storyline and a huge star cast. The turn of events in the movie are rightly linked. Like his previous movies, in Raajniti also Jha successfully put the subject into the skin of the characters with a great accuracy. All actors have delivered their role with great perfection. The performances are strong and credible. For veterans like Nana Patekar and Naseerudin Shah playing serious characters is no difficult task. Nana Patekar was impeccable as he appears in his contemporary style. Naseerudin Shah in a brief role leaves a noteworthy performance. Senior actors Ajay Devgan and Manoj Bajpai have brought back the memories of their incredible performance. But the real surprise came from Arjun Rampal, Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif, thanks to Prakash Jha. Jha has transformed the three actors and fit into their most challenging roles till date. A handsome Arjun Rampal wears an overwhelming confidence as seen never before. In his first ever such performance, a dashing Ranbir Kapoor fills out his serious character with calm and hence managed to stand out. A sparkling Katrina Kaif draping in saree was carefree as she perfectly plays a serious role.
Raajneeti is certainly the best movie of its genre by far.
In Damul Prakash Jha raised caste oppression, in Apaharan he captured Bihar’s kidnapping industry, in Mrityudand he dealt with social and gender inequities and in Gangaajal he captured the pathos of an upright cop trying to deal with a corrupt system. His movie always has a social message. His films rely on solid performances that complement a normally gripping story line.
Jha’s big-budget political thriller Raajneeti which was shot in the Hindi heartbelt hit the silver screen in June. The movie’s plot and central characters are loosely based on great Indian epic Mahabharata in parallels with the American cult classic The Godfather. The film which vividly portrays a modern Indian political dynasty also deals with the interplay between personal aspirations, greed, loyalty and betrayal. It has laid threadbare the ugly underbelly of dynastic politics.
Jha contested the 2002 and 2009 Lok Sabha election from Champaran (Bihar) on a LJP ticket and lost. But he has figured out the political jigsaw and knows its finer nuances. In Raajneeti, on the baground of a modern Indian dynastic politics, Jha has skillfully captured the dynamics of political powerplay -- organisational politics, heat and dust of elections, theatrics on the campaign trail, poll management, how the media is managed in a bid to swing votes in see-saw elections, manipulation in politics, abuse of power and violence in politics. From popular political gestures to pity casting couch, from caste factor to class factor, Jha has played a number of issues to the audience gallery. He has shown a keen understanding over the local lingo (read Hindi belt). The dialogue is replete with expressions and terms that the aam aadmi in general could relate to. Dialogues like -- Raajneeti mein murde kabhi marte nahin, unhe zinda rakhna hota hai taaki jab samay aaye to woh bhi bolein had a pan-Indian appeal.
It was an intelligent script written by Prakash Jha and his co-writer Anjum Rajabali told the viewer with flair. Raajneeti is a story of a cabal of power-mongers indulged in a seamy power struggle. It centers around a powerful political family called ‘Pratap family’ which runs a regional party. When the patriarch of the family suffers a paralytic stroke, the seat of power automatically shifts to his younger brother, much to the discomfort of his son Virendra Pratap (played by Manoj Bajpai) who considers himself as the true inheritor of his father’s legacy. Simmering in the shadow he can’t see his rival cousin Prithvi Pratap (played by Arjun Rampal) rising to power. To play his political card, he sides with a dalit leader called Suraj Kumar (played by Ajay Devgan). Suraj, an ace Kabbadi player, who later emerges as a dalit leader, brought up in a dalit household, happens to be an abandoned child of Prithvi’s mother and an idealist-leftist figure Bhasker Sanyal (played by Naseerudin Shah). The bloody battle for power begins. Prithvi’s younger brother, Samar Pratap, who intrinsically takes interest in politics, working on a PhD in Victorian poetry, setting aside his academic ambitions to teach in New York University steps into the battle following his father’s murder. The simmering volcano called ‘Samar’ erupts, plays a political ace and changes the game of power. His was mama (uncle) Brij Gopal (played by Nana Patekar) to council him in his mission. In the clash for power, Samar’s sweetheart Indu (played by Katrina Kaif) became barter and forced to marry his elder brother Prithvi. The murder of her husband compelled Indu to plunge into the political battlefield and won a mandate on the basis of a sympathy wave.
If one sees Raajneeti as a modern-day Mahabharata, Arjun Rampal has played a Bhim, Manoj Bajpai a Duryodhan, Ranbir Kapoor a Arjun, Ajay Devgan a Karn and Katrina Kaif a Draupadi. Nana Patekar stars as a Krishna. Also Ranbir Kapoor's character is a reminiscent of desi Michael Corleone, the protagonist of The Godfather.
Raajneeti, with a running time of 2 hours and 50 minutes has skillfully handled a powerful storyline and a huge star cast. The turn of events in the movie are rightly linked. Like his previous movies, in Raajniti also Jha successfully put the subject into the skin of the characters with a great accuracy. All actors have delivered their role with great perfection. The performances are strong and credible. For veterans like Nana Patekar and Naseerudin Shah playing serious characters is no difficult task. Nana Patekar was impeccable as he appears in his contemporary style. Naseerudin Shah in a brief role leaves a noteworthy performance. Senior actors Ajay Devgan and Manoj Bajpai have brought back the memories of their incredible performance. But the real surprise came from Arjun Rampal, Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif, thanks to Prakash Jha. Jha has transformed the three actors and fit into their most challenging roles till date. A handsome Arjun Rampal wears an overwhelming confidence as seen never before. In his first ever such performance, a dashing Ranbir Kapoor fills out his serious character with calm and hence managed to stand out. A sparkling Katrina Kaif draping in saree was carefree as she perfectly plays a serious role.
Raajneeti is certainly the best movie of its genre by far.
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