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Rajneeti: dirty, bloody politics!

June 9th, 2010 | by Ridhima Suri |

Spoiler alert: This  post contains spoilers.

Power & Dirty politics!

Power is an aphrodisiac. It makes many happy and it makes others want more. The more power you get the more ruthless you become to protect it. This is the moral of the movie ‘Rajneeti’. It portrays dirty, dirty Indian politics and leaves one stupefied at how bad things can get in politics.

Rajneeti

This multi-starrer Prakash Jha movie is an extremely well done portrayal of Indian politics. There is a subtle resemblance to Mahabharata (though not much) and the life of Gandhis, especially Sonia Gandhi. For the initial 15-20 minutes I was really confused trying to figure out the relations. It was indeed complexing and a new character was introduced by the minute!! With little knowledge about the actual cast, I was like ” ‘whoa!’ this guy is also in the movie!”

When I finally understood what the heck was going on in the family it was time to think about plots and many subplots. Yes, the narrative was very complex but it was well done. I have seen many movies get too complicated to untangle. Rajneeti is in a class of its own. It gets complicated but there is a closure to everything. That is the good part. You witness a drama being unfolded and then neatly put together in the end. There is room for Rajneeti 2 as well!

Complexity galore

The movie is complex but that is the way politics works-people are manipulative to get political tickets, people are conniving to meet their ends, there are vote banks, voting malpractices, there is bloodshed and there is war!! It is a pity but that is how it is.It just gets murkier and darker along the way:

• There are scenes where a new born baby is put on a boat to survive on his own by his Uncle.
• There are scenes showing conspiracy to kill and actually kill close members of the family.
• There are scenes where a mother tells her long lost son that if he comes back to the family he would get power!
• There are scenes where a father wants to sell (oops ! wrong word) his daughter in marriage to the would-be CM of the state.

You must be thinking-who does that?? But that’s the truth. That is how politics works. Perhaps that is the pressure on high profile political families-who knows! Prakash Jha weaves this story from reality and not myth. Political plotting is not a new phenomenon. It has existed since the dawn of human civilization. However, the use of technology, research, and sophisticated weaponry has changed the way conflicting parties inflict pain, sorrow, and death onto others.

Excellent Acting

Overall everyone acted very well. I applaud the acting prowess of Ajay Devgan, Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif. Even though Katrina Kaif has a strong resemblance (her demure, her speech, the wave of hands, the sarees, hairdo, everything!) to Sonia Gandhi, the President of the Indian National Congress, I think it is Ranbir Kapoor who actually plays Gandhi. He is the kingmaker not the king and that is what leaves the audience baffled. He could easily have become the CM but he chose not to do that. It was a complicated mind game but he did it well.

Rajneeti is a great watch. Just be patient in the first quarter and don’t try too hard to understand the relationships. It all falls in place and you will not be left with any questions. There is a closure to everything. Lean back and think how power can be a complete aphrodisiac and there is always a cost to pay to be in power! Politics can be dirty and bloody. It is like a chess game- there are only two modes-attack and defense.

Good show Mr. Prakash Jha and  members of the cast!!

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Tags: Movie Reviews, Movies, Rajneeti