Raajneeti (2010)

Not much to say considering the movie released 18 months ago and received critical acclaim. But here goes anyway. Spoiler alert.

Prakash Jha has takes copious amounts of inspiration from Hindu mythology, Indian politicians, and Francis Ford Coppola . The latter being a source of inspiration for countless others, too.

I have to admit just figuring out who is who in the movie was exhausting. I’m pretty sure many of you will have the same problem while watching it so I’ll provide a list here.

Ramnath Rai: Erstwhile CM of Madhya Pradesh and father of Bharti Rai.

Bharti Rai: Mother of Sooraj who is Bhaskar Sanyal (Naseruddin Shah)’s son, Prithviraj Pratap (Rampal) and Samar Pratap (Ranbir) who are fathered by her husband Bhanu Pratap, sister of Brij Gopal Rai (Nana Patekar).

Chandra Pratap: Bharti’s husband’s older brother, who was the president of the Rashtrawadi Party until a stroke forced him to hand over the reins to his younger brother.

Virendra Pratap: Chandra Pratap’s son who considers himself the party’s heir apparent.

If you’re from a family which was even slightly rooted in the Hindu ethos, it’s very hard for you to miss the Mahabharat connections in the movie. Nana Patekar is Krishna, who is the mediator and mentor to the Bhanu Pratap family (direct correlation to the Pandavas), Arjun Rampal is the hot-headed Bhima, and Ranbir Kapoor is the cold and calculative Arjuna. Ajay Devgan is Karna, born from an illicit relationship (as opposed to receiving her son as a wish from the sun god), and is aptly named after this mythological character’s father, Sooraj. Virendra Pratap is Duryodhana, the Kaurava who is forever plotting the downfall of his cousins. Bharti is Kunti of course.

As advertised, this movie gives you a modern day Mahabharat which is completely believable. Being on the other end of the time spectrum from the Satyo yuga, Jha presents to us an epic story set in the Kali yuga. There is absolutely no honour among men, and there is no one you can like by the end of the movie. The movie doesn’t take sides or tell you that good triumphs over evil. It tells you that in politics, winning is the only thing that counts. Ethics are a thing of a past, trust is non-existent and promises are meant to be broken.

And to show you the murkiness of the Kali yuga, Jha has fictionalized details of real people too. One can also draw parallels with the Indian National Congress family when one looks at the Pratap family. Prithvi is Sanjay Gandhi’s character, an impulsive and head-strong man who gets dirt on the family name from time to time due to his bad decisions. By stretching things a little bit, one can say that Samar is like Rajiv Gandhi, and Katrina Kaif is atleast partly inspired by Sonia Gandhi.

Like many movies I’ve watched off late, a minor character seems to outshine the star cast in a few minutes of screen time. Vinay Apte was that guy (I won’t talk about Nana, because he’s in a level of his own), with his portrayal as the obnoxious Babulal.

Ranbir was a close second best. Just the look in his eyes when he was making his next big plan was proof enough that this guy has arrived. An upbringing in a family deeply rooted in cinema has given this guy a huge head start over his peers.

Certain scenes stand out for being straight from The Godfather, such as the Policeman slapping Ranbir Kapoor, and the car bomb. But that is is no way a bad thing, because there is The Godfather, and then there are movies.

My favourite scene by far is the climax, when the Mahabharat battlefield plays itself out in the 21st century.

Sooraj’s SUV (Karna’s chariot) falls into a ravine (gets stuck in the mud) and he struggles to get out. Samar (Arjuna) ponders aloud the moral dilemma of killing someone who is unarmed and weak, and Brij Gopal (Krishna) extricates Samar from this situation by reminding him of the lack of ethics on his adversary’s part (recites the Bhagawad Gita, thus giving a subcontinent the morality they followed for millenia). Samar shoots (fires an arrow) Sooraj, and they leave the scene where his half-brother and cousin lie dying and dead, respectively.

That scene is something I’m showing my grand kids.

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