Rakta Charitra

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 Sinha has been replaced by 'Topic Khatam' in this one.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.

The movie was an interesting watch. The first time ever, I came to know about we having this movie on earth was at 1.30 pm last Thursday, the day on which it was getting released here at Dubai. Without doubt & without wasting any further time I bought two tickets for the 8.00 pm show, with an expectation of starting our weekend on a good note. Was I disappointed? Far from it. I was thrilled to see an original, strong, inspiring, thought provoking movie, which connected with me immensely.

There are many positives about this movie which far outweighs negatives if any. The movie has got strong characters. The hero is a hero in true sense: He has character (going to the girl's college and bringing her home as his life partner without wasting any time), fearlessness (choosing revenge as his personal duty), belief (declaring and deciding to kill enemies one by one instead of all at once) to name a few.

For those who opine that the movie is too violent: After watching the movie, I done my research on the central characters in real life. The reality it seems was no less violent than what is shown in the movie. The movie is a masterpiece. But I won't be too pleased if other movie makes imitate to make such movies lest it can have a negative influence on the immature. A must watch if you are a strong man at heart.

Last movie of rgv i viewed in a theater was Aag. I have never expected this to b like the way it is. It has no unnecessary scenes no stupid dialogs and every one in the movie has been their best in their roles.... although the best 1 being of Bhukha. There are nice & unexpected scenes in the movie which made the movie more interesting. The first half killed almost 75% of the villains so i thought there would not be much in the second half but vivek transforming into a politician and using white ways to kill the Gundas made the movie 1 of the best 1 for rgv. It contains a lot of Blooody scenes, so i ask them who never liked movies like Saw or Wrong Turn don't go u may not like this one. "Topic is over"

rakta charitra has only one feeling throughout, that of revenge. yet it makes you feel it non-stop for more than two hours. at the end of it you cant wait for rakta charitra 2. varma is at his violent best. without unnecessary flashbacks and narratives he starts with a voice over and right away gets to the heart of faction violence, the revenge. basic human emotions like love and revenge can push ordinary men into extreme situations. the story is unique and most of it is true. the cast in this movie did excellent job, vivek, shatrughan, singh, just eased into their roles. background score reflected the mood and dabbunnoda song in varma style reflects the lone moment of celebration. cinematography is good and never too colorful which suits the mood and content of the film. this movie certainly lives up to the expectations. whats more? surya is joining the cast for RC 2. surely its gonna get better.

1. what can u say when u make a movie on Rayalaseema... the real life is gorier than reel life.. at this place..

2. voice over... disaster.

3. BUKKA REDDY... name fantastic...character amazing... acting... deadly..

4. death of BUKKA in the movie... too funny and feeble...actually.. considering the man was so deadly in real and reel life....some electrician killing BUKKA AKA OBUL is a joke... should have had VIVEK trying his best to kill him.... huge mistake...

5. SHIVAJI... too sensitive a topic to even touch.. this is NTR we are talking about...

6. NAGAMANI's REDDY's right hand... DURGA... future RAMU product in the making... is superb... should have had a deadlier death than was portrayed...

7. even in the Hindi version...they should had some TELUGU phrases.. to make it sound more real... missed the ANDHRA accent all together...

8. verdict: 1000 times better than the **SHIT** BOLLYWOOD makes about BALTIS and tears and BAILAS...

cheers,

DOWN_TO_PLANET