I was inquisitive about ‘Raavan’, when I first heard about it. But as I slowly got to know more about it, I was really not planning to watch this one….but this time, a movie happened to me. Unfortunately, I watched this one, immediately after ‘Rajneeti’ and really did not know how to pass time till the end! It is such a boring movie. Interestingly, Rajneeti was inspired by Mahabharat and Raavan by Ramayan.
My comments:
Mani Ratnam: I have seen Dil Se, Guru, Yuva, etc, and the only movie that has impressed me is Yuva, nothing else. ‘Guru’ also did not work for me. Why is he so besotted with Abhishek and Aishwarya is beyond me! No doubt, the cinematography is breath-taking, but at some point, I got irritated with very close camera angles. And it rained throughout the movie, as if it was being shot at Cherrapunji.
The Movie: The movie lacked story and any high point in the plot. There was no chemistry between Vikram and Aishwarya, and not even between Abhishek and Aishwarya. How all of a sudden he gets besotted with her, was not really established. I kept wondering why Mani Ratnam felt the compelling need to make this movie, wasting so much time and money of the entire crew involved in making it, and of all the people who would attempt to see it.
Abhishek: I don’t know why media is even saying this has got mixed reviews. Nobody liked it – plain and simple! What Abhishek tries to establish with all his mumbling and over-acting, was not too clear. His character was supposed to look menacing, but that never happens. His character portrayal was too similar to ‘Yuva’, which in any case, was much better.
Aishwarya: She looks bloated and not the ethereal beauty she generally does. I wonder why she is supposed to be the highest paid actress in India. She is extremely pretty, agreed, but acting……puh-lease!
Vikram: Can’t comment much on him. He was OK in whatever role he had. May be “Ravanan” would have much better scope for him.
Others: Ravi Kisen was good, while Govinda was OK. His weight does not convince us that he could be the tree-jumping forest native. But over-all, he had some spark.
Priyamani: She looked promising in her small role but what kind of conservative village has such revealing outfits. I don’t understand why in the name of village belle, the actresses are supposed to wear skimpy clothes. I am yet to see such villages.
Songs: Not too great. I don’t even like “Beera” that much. There was a slow number which I liked passingly, but not as much to even be able to recall it now.
I read somewhere today that Amitabh thought Abhishek’s character comes across such half-baked because the film has not been edited well!
I was destined to watch ‘Rajneeti’ and ‘Raavan’ back to back this Saturday. So, well, I went along with my destiny, though I never wanted to watch ‘Raavan’ because I know Aishwarya cannot act, and Abhishek just overdoes it. Also, Mani Ratnam looks like besotted with this couple and just wanted to make a movie with them, no matter what the story. I will do ‘Raavan’ bashing later.
Overall, ‘Rajneeti’ was an engaging movie though it has received mixed reviews. I kind of liked this multi-starrer. Here’s what I thought about the actors and their roles, etc….
Nana Patekar: I read somewhere that he wasn’t too happy with his role or something. I thought, he had a good role. He was the ‘Krishna’, the strategist, always in control of the situation
Katrina Kaif: Why I chose to write about her first? Because, I loved her. She truly stands out in her role. And she has really learnt Hindi well. So, now she looks good, speaks Hindi and acts too, what else do you want guys?! I loved her effervescent self in the first half and the lady-like persona in the second half. She does justice to her role.
Manoj Bajpai: He was truly remarkable in his negative character. I think he should do more films, he is quite good
Ajay Devgan: Ajay can walk through this role with his eyes closed. It is the same old, brooding character that he has mastered long, long time back. But I don’t want to take away from his acting, he was good
Arjun Rampal: I think, his character was not really etched out too well. I never could decide if he was white or grey! He uses Shruti Seth’s character (why she did such a pathetic role is beyond me, and she really did it horribly) and yet has a certain vulnerability to it. He looks terribly good with his long hair and kurta look, but he looks too urbane and sophisticated
Ranbir Kapoor: He was fine but I think we have overrated him a lot. He tends to do a bit of over-acting but frankly he is okay. He can do better. His role was good but it required someone sharp and shrewd, he looked such a bhola-bhala. A laptop does not make you a scheming strategist (have I let out too much! Anyways, I am sure I am one of the last people to see this movie!)
Naseeruddin Shah: I don’t know why he was there in the movie, and the kiss between him and that lady (her name is Nikhila Trikha – just googled) looked highly inappropriate and uncalled for (‘script ki demand’!!!!)
Thankfully, there weren’t any full-fledged song to break the pace of the movie. Actually, there were too many things happening, so we weren’t bored at any point of time. But at the end, it seems Politics is a dirty business!
And how can I forget, the cameo by Praksh Jha! It was hilarious since I knew it was Prakash Jha, of course, many aren’t so updated about movies!!
But certainly, go for it!
(Image source: IMDb)
