RAKHT CHARITRA
There is a certain level of violence one can take in a film. And there is a certain level of violence one can take in a day of watching multiple films. Rakht Charita (RC) crosses both the levels in its first hour. I read what Ram Gopal Verma (RGV) tweeted about RC not being for one of those who liked K3G but now I feel that was an understatement. I happen to love RGV's hardcore cinema. Company and Satya are my all time favorite movies and I remember each and every dialogue of those films but even for me, RC was a bit too much to handle.
Let me clarify one thing. I am not saying it's a bad movie. It's a good movie which actually wins on most of the technical and acting grounds. The problem is the level of bloodshed it shows. Very authentic, very red but not the entertaining violence of Dabangg that makes you whistle in sheer pleasure but a bona fide brutality that makes you take your eyes off the screen.
The film shows numerous methods of torture and killings for retribution and in politics with different weapons, drawing different levels of pain and blood. In a 50% occupied theater on the eight day of its overseas release (which I think is a big achievement for this kind of film), I heard someone saying 'Damagh Ka Vaat Laga Diya' (it has screwed my brain). That's what RC is.
The story, based on a real life character of South India, is pretty much Mahabharata and God Father in the first hour. It becomes a lot more original in the second half and becomes really interesting after the introduction of Shatrugan Sinha in a very attention-grabbing role. The 'Khaaamosh' of Mr. Sinha has been replaced by 'Topic Khatam' in this one. The story moves between being realistic and being a bit mind-boggling throughout and has also been dragged on multiple occasions. The over-exposure of Bukka Reddy could have been slashed by 30% very easily. That amount of time could have been given to the love story of Pratab and Nandini to make things lighter and show a softer side of Pratab. To top it all, the movie does not finish when it finishes. It's only half of the film that has been released as of now and the remaining half will be released on 19th November. That might still be a smart move because those who sat through the entire movie will actually end up watching the second part as well. I will also watch it because I saw Priyamani in the trailer it showed. PRIYAMANI in Hindi movie!
Vivek Oberoi does very well as Pratab. His concentration and the effort he has put in that role are noteworthy. Watch out for his scenes in Nandini's college, altercation with Manda and attacking the Reddy house. He very well looks like a man with vengeance on his head. However, the stage where his career is now, he has chosen a wrong film for his comeback. This is a make or break film for Vivek with more chances of breaking it because it will be very difficult to find the audience for this film. He would have been much better-off with something like Saathiya for his return.
Abhimanyu Singh as Bukka Singh is one of the most terrifying villains I have ever seen in the Hindi films since Ashutosh Rana's Lajja Shankar. Even though he gets a bit comical at times with his choice of wardrobe (which means nothing but shorts) but he does emanate cruelty. He surprises you when he cries but the way he treats the lady police officer sends shivers through your body.
Zarina Wahab is excellent as Pratab's mothers. Radhika Apte as Nandini is very cute. Her role could have been meatier. It will be interesting to see how she performs in glamorous roles in the future. Another show stealer is Ashish Vidyarthi as Manda. Good to see the guy back in a very strong performance. The actors playing Pratab's right hands are excellent. Ashwini Khalsekar as the lady police officer is strong. Sushant Singh as Pratab's elder brother does justice to his small role. The men in Pratab's gang are efficient. Shatrugan Sinah looks different and goes overboard at times but has an important role to play.
Cinematorgrpahy by Amol Tahor is very good. It suits the need of the film and he has an RGV stamp on it. The light and smoke treatment throughout the film is excellent. Background sound is too heavy and adds to the violence. The title song in the background keeps haunting you in slightly lighter scenes.
RGV has done a good job. The film is quite real and raw and he has achieved what he wanted to achieve. He could have achieved the same in slightly shorter duration too but it looks like he deliberately kept it longer so that the violence looked prolonged. RC is sadistic and that's what he wanted to show. The questionable thing is his purpose to show that much bloodshed. He looked to be on a spree to satisfy some fetish of his. I would believe that he has been a bit unfair to Vivek for this role because his career doesn't seem to be going anywhere with it.
The tagline of RC says 'REVENGE IN THE PUREST EMOTION'. The film justifies this tagline to the core. If you have a 10% reservation against violent films and your definition of violence is the last fighting scene of DDLJ, stay away from RC. If you like RGV brand of cinema like Company, Sarkar and Satya, even then it's going to be challenging. I will, as I said, watch the second half too but I have my own reasons. PRIYAMANI. You can decide on your own.
There is a certain level of violence one can take in a film. And there is a certain level of violence one can take in a day of watching multiple films. Rakht Charita (RC) crosses both the levels in its first hour. I read what Ram Gopal Verma (RGV) tweeted about RC not being for one of those who liked K3G but now I feel that was an understatement. I happen to love RGV's hardcore cinema. Company and Satya are my all time favorite movies and I remember each and every dialogue of those films but even for me, RC was a bit too much to handle.
Let me clarify one thing. I am not saying it's a bad movie. It's a good movie which actually wins on most of the technical and acting grounds. The problem is the level of bloodshed it shows. Very authentic, very red but not the entertaining violence of Dabangg that makes you whistle in sheer pleasure but a bona fide brutality that makes you take your eyes off the screen.
The film shows numerous methods of torture and killings for retribution and in politics with different weapons, drawing different levels of pain and blood. In a 50% occupied theater on the eight day of its overseas release (which I think is a big achievement for this kind of film), I heard someone saying 'Damagh Ka Vaat Laga Diya' (it has screwed my brain). That's what RC is.
The story, based on a real life character of South India, is pretty much Mahabharata and God Father in the first hour. It becomes a lot more original in the second half and becomes really interesting after the introduction of Shatrugan Sinha in a very attention-grabbing role. The 'Khaaamosh' of Mr. Sinha has been replaced by 'Topic Khatam' in this one. The story moves between being realistic and being a bit mind-boggling throughout and has also been dragged on multiple occasions. The over-exposure of Bukka Reddy could have been slashed by 30% very easily. That amount of time could have been given to the love story of Pratab and Nandini to make things lighter and show a softer side of Pratab. To top it all, the movie does not finish when it finishes. It's only half of the film that has been released as of now and the remaining half will be released on 19th November. That might still be a smart move because those who sat through the entire movie will actually end up watching the second part as well. I will also watch it because I saw Priyamani in the trailer it showed. PRIYAMANI in Hindi movie!
Vivek Oberoi does very well as Pratab. His concentration and the effort he has put in that role are noteworthy. Watch out for his scenes in Nandini's college, altercation with Manda and attacking the Reddy house. He very well looks like a man with vengeance on his head. However, the stage where his career is now, he has chosen a wrong film for his comeback. This is a make or break film for Vivek with more chances of breaking it because it will be very difficult to find the audience for this film. He would have been much better-off with something like Saathiya for his return.
Abhimanyu Singh as Bukka Singh is one of the most terrifying villains I have ever seen in the Hindi films since Ashutosh Rana's Lajja Shankar. Even though he gets a bit comical at times with his choice of wardrobe (which means nothing but shorts) but he does emanate cruelty. He surprises you when he cries but the way he treats the lady police officer sends shivers through your body.
Zarina Wahab is excellent as Pratab's mothers. Radhika Apte as Nandini is very cute. Her role could have been meatier. It will be interesting to see how she performs in glamorous roles in the future. Another show stealer is Ashish Vidyarthi as Manda. Good to see the guy back in a very strong performance. The actors playing Pratab's right hands are excellent. Ashwini Khalsekar as the lady police officer is strong. Sushant Singh as Pratab's elder brother does justice to his small role. The men in Pratab's gang are efficient. Shatrugan Sinah looks different and goes overboard at times but has an important role to play.
Cinematorgrpahy by Amol Tahor is very good. It suits the need of the film and he has an RGV stamp on it. The light and smoke treatment throughout the film is excellent. Background sound is too heavy and adds to the violence. The title song in the background keeps haunting you in slightly lighter scenes.
RGV has done a good job. The film is quite real and raw and he has achieved what he wanted to achieve. He could have achieved the same in slightly shorter duration too but it looks like he deliberately kept it longer so that the violence looked prolonged. RC is sadistic and that's what he wanted to show. The questionable thing is his purpose to show that much bloodshed. He looked to be on a spree to satisfy some fetish of his. I would believe that he has been a bit unfair to Vivek for this role because his career doesn't seem to be going anywhere with it.
The tagline of RC says 'REVENGE IN THE PUREST EMOTION'. The film justifies this tagline to the core. If you have a 10% reservation against violent films and your definition of violence is the last fighting scene of DDLJ, stay away from RC. If you like RGV brand of cinema like Company, Sarkar and Satya, even then it's going to be challenging. I will, as I said, watch the second half too but I have my own reasons. PRIYAMANI. You can decide on your own.