Movie Review: Raajneeti

If Robert Altman had been dropped on his head as a toddler, and had been shipped to India, 'Raajneeti' is the sort of movie he might have ended up making. And Mr Prakash Jha, you are the mayor of Chutzpahtown. 'Raajneeti' is a squandered opportunity both to take on the real-life political crimes in India and create genuine tension and suspense. Veering between a tepid bore and wild travesty, the film idles in tentative thrills for most of its 3-hour runtime and often feels as if its production team, Jha included, couldn't fully comprehend what they were putting to screen.

'Raajneeti' isn't Jha's worst movie (that would be 'Rahul'), but it's sluggish and conventional and a long way from his great ones. A thriller unfolding in a politically-charged Indian city might seem a perfect vehicle for Prakash Jha, but this time it's too geopolitical even for a director of his predilections. The setup is the stuff of fantastic political exploration, which makes the generic payoff all the more disappointing. There's little wow factor in the revelations as they appear and overall the film feels uneven, sprawling and strangely incomplete. Jha tries very hard to zing politics and the media like two sides of the same toxic coin. But there's not much subtlety to be found in this 'fictionalised' political drama. Worse, there's not much exciting going on, either.

None of the characters is interesting on his own - what makes them interesting is that, at the end of the day they destroy each other. And Jha hasn't even made that compelling. With so much brandishing of name actors in starring roles, 'Raajneeti' feels like a disaster flick, with the disaster in the final minutes. While waiting, viewers must content themselves with playing spot-the-star. The script is a big problem - while Jha succeeds in catching some individually touching scenes, others are overwritten, phoney and irrelevant. A scene between Katrina Kaif and Barkha Bisht comes off more like a bad-facelift pageant, another between Bisht and Ajay Devgan, a revelation intended to be dramatic evokes raucous laughter. There's a splash of Godfather with Arjun Rampal and Ranbir Kapoor playing Sonny and Michael Corleone. The much-publicised Mahabharata references fall flat as Jha offers caricatures of Karna (an uncomfortable Ajay Devgan) and Bhishma Pitama (Nana Patekar, featuring a disgusting smile, groping women). Katrina Kaif plays an independent 'modern woman' who is curiously forced into marriage, Naseeruddin Shah is reduced to making out in the rain and making off, and Shruti Seth is degraded to having on-screen orgasms; the only standout character is Manoj Bajpayi's.

The numerous sex scenes, smooches and 'A' rating are absolutely unnecessary - they add nothing to the story or characters. As many as five people are credited for the background score of 'Raajneeti', but for some reason the musical cues are directly lifted from Peter Jackson's 'King Kong' and 'American Beauty'. Sachin Krishn's cinematography is gorgeous - every sunkissed frame glows with energy. Although Jha expertly handles the crowd scenes, Santosh Mandal's editing is all over the place - each scene tumbles over the next, with so many stories to tell, Jha never gets beneath the skin of any of his characters.

It pains me to have to slam a film that so obviously has its heart in the right place, but 'Raajneeti' is such an inept and misguided effort that there's no other option. I recommend Sarkar and its sequel as alternatives.