Raajneeti Movie Review: Politics at Its Best

Raajneeti is a brutal, ruthless, unbridled take-on Indian politics. It is a hard hitting look at the dynasty regime that politicizes North India. Prakash Jha, the best manner for grassroot politics has given his most brilliant work till now. The film is realistic in most parts and most of them do not make for the typical bubblegum viewing. So if you are thinking of coming with your loved one to watch a love story, banish the thought. Raajneeti is stark and stimulating as black coffee. Rest assured by the time you get over the movie, you will be politically enlightened.

Story of Raajneeti: There is too much happening here, and it will take some time for you to figure our who’s who but slowly the puzzle unfolds and grips you. In simple words, the story is about two political families who are connected by matrimony, whose next generation have a fallout leading to a lot of bad blood being spilled while the media laps it all out. As Prakash Jha pointed out, there are strong shades of Mahabharata involved.
Technique-wise: With so many talents around, it is difficult to do poetic justice to all of them but Prakash Jha manages in doing it, barring Naseeruddin Shah. The screenplay moves fast, the dialogue is sharp and acidic as you saw in some of his earlier movies like Apharan and Gangajal.

Plus points of Raajneeti: The movie is gripping and everything in the movie smells politics, election rallies, security info, political parties: everything unfolded before you in the big screen. There is nothing designer and pretty here, everything is real, sweaty and earthy. Oh yes, there is sex but that is used as a tool to get even with the other party, love is a compromise, families are destroyed-ambitions rule supreme in the film.

Minus points of Rajneeti: The second half tends to grate a bit and some of the scenes stick out like a sore thumb because they seem to be filmy. The climax too looks a bit contrived for today’s times.

Performances in the film: Raajneeti is a performance powerhouse. Praising one in isolation is doing justice to the other. Ranbir Kapoor puts In a steely performance and is brilliant, Nana Patekar takes to the movie as a fish to water, Manoj Bajpal plays the scoundrel very well, Ajay Devgn is super impressive as a Dalit leader, Arjun Rampal rocks again, Shruti Seth gives a sharp edgy performance while Katrina Kaif’s character gets lots of shades which she performs with aplomb.

Final words: By the time the movie ends, you are thinking about the party….the political party

Rating:****(Good)