My verdict on 'Rajneeti'

These are my personal views. You may or may not endorse them. If you don't see eye to eye with me, let's just agree to disagree. As an avid cinegoer, I have never blindly lapped up everything Bollywood has dished out. Besides, I am not swayed easily by the hype and hoopla generated by a well-oiled PR machine filmmakers have at their disposal these days, which often predisposes impressionable minds towards accepting and applauding their efforts on celluloid. Prakash Jha's 'Rajneeti' failed to impress me. I would not put it in the same league as 'Rang De Basanti' or 'Black' or '3 Idiots' or even 'Taare Zameen Par'. I thought it was a pretty average film.

I would like to qualify my criticism, however, by highlighting some obvious plusses. Prakash Jha is a reasonably good filmmaker. Along with Madhur Bhandarkar, Jha is perhaps the only other filmmaker in Bollywood in this day and age who has successfully bridged the gap between "art" and "commercial" cinema. Nobody in Bollywood is better at making films on current realities as these two men are. And, I am a fan of both of them. Furthermore, nobody is better qualified, in my opinion, to make a film like 'Rajneeti' than Jha is. Having been in active politics and even contested an election in his native Bihar, Jha has the benefit of an insider's view of electoral politics in the hinterland of India.

Coming back to 'Rajneeti', there was nothing original about the story. Jha tried to create a heady mix of elements drawn from the Mahabharata and The Godfather with incidents thrown in from the lives of individuals belonging to India's first political family. Thanks to a taut script, the first half, I thought, was much more engaging. The second half, though, didn't work for me. It became quite a drag. Parts of it were exaggerated and unrealistic. For instance, prominent politicians firing gunshots at each other, openly and in broad daylight, during the climax was stretching things a bit too far. 'Rajneeti' reinforces stereotypes pertaining to Indian politics and politicians in the public psyche. Any young man or woman who harbours political ambitions is bound to encounter stiff resistance from his family if they are to base their judgement of the Indian political scenario on films like 'Rajneeti'. 

As far as perfomances were concerned, the only individual who shone for me was Manoj Bajpai. Nana Patekar was too subdued for my liking. Perhaps the script did not offer him much scope to display any of his usual histrionics. Ajay Devgan—a Jha favourite—had bagged a crucial role, but couldn't make the most of it as he came up with an altogether uninspiring performance. Perhaps a younger actor may have been a better choice to play the part Naseeruddin Shah was made to play, who looked half-embarrassed getting wet in the rain and getting cosy with a girl half his age, not to mention impregnating her in a single sexual encounter, when he clearly seems to be past his prime!

The suave Arjun Rampal looked a thorough misfit playing a second-rung, regional politician mouthing dialogues that sounded too laboured for comfort. As for Ranbir Kapoor, his was a complex, multi-layered role that should have gone to a more mature and intense actor—someone cast in the Aamir mould. To play a self-styled, mafia don-like politician who also happens to be a doctoral research student abroad was not an easy task. In my opinion, Ranbir did not suit the part. He is better off playing light-hearted roles like the ones he played in 'Bachna Ae Haseeno' or 'Rocket Singh—Salesman of the Year' at this stage in his career.

Ranbir's dialogue delivery in English was flat and devoid of expression. Perhaps, Jha should have roped in someone like Sabira Merchant or Shernaz Patel to help him hone his dialogue delivery skills in English. Shahid Kapoor spent quite some time with an ENT specialist before shooting for 'Kameeney' to understand how and why a man stutters. Ranbir also looked distinctly uncomfortable in intimate scenes and even his liplocks seemed like coy pecks of an adolescent on his first date. Perhaps, he should watch his dad smooch aunty Dimple in 'Sagar'. Some have predicted that Ranbir will be the next superstar, the next "number one" after Shah Rukh. But, that is what they all said about Vivek Oberoi, Hritik Roshan and even Shahid Kapoor. In any case, even if he gets there some day—and I wish him luck—he may become the biggest star like SRK is today, but perhaps Shahid will still be the better actor, much like Aamir is today. Let's see. Time will tell...