INDIAN CINEMA - RAJNEETI

A movie is as much of a product as a soap or a pair of shoes or a ketchup bottle. Just as Lux is a product by Hindustan Unilever, 3 Idiots was a product by Vidhu Vinod Chopra's production house, where the former was manufactured to give the consumer a good bath resulting in glowing skin, the latter was produced to provide entertainment to the consumer for three hours. Ipso facto, the trailer of an upcoming movie is nothing different than an advertisement of Coca Cola. Hence, I would also be reviewing movie trailers on this blog.

Six times National Award winning director Prakash Jha's next flick is titled 'Rajneeti'. The movie, scheduled for a 28th May 2010 release, is based on Indian politics. Going by his previous two movies 'Gangajal' and 'Apaharan', Prakash Jha seems to have a good command over Indian politics, and he has stuck to his forte in his next film too. The movie, produced under the UTV banner of Ronnie Screwwala, consists of an ensemble cast of some of the most impact-full actors in the Indian cinema today. The movie is said to be a modern recreation of the Indian epic mythology 'Mahabharata' set in the socio-political scenario.

LOOK: The Indian population as a movie-going audience is yet to mature in many ways, which is the reason why movies like Om Shanti Om are blockbuster hits, whereas movies like Rann, which by the way was a sheer directorial genius, come and go unnoticed. As a result, the kind of look that the trailer of this movie has, viz. thought provoking, intelligent, realistic, is a major turn-off for a huge portion of the Indian population, which is the reason why I doubt the promos of this movie will generate the desired curiosity among the masses. It seems that this maybe the reason why Prakash Jha has taken Ranbir and Katrina for such roles, going by what the current audience demands.

CONTENT: The clippings of the movie shown in the promo are those of riots, election speeches, victories and such related stuff. The vast cast of the movie has been shown in the promo, with a brief yet interesting introduction of their characters. The trailer has been crafted well, and will definitely make a section of the audience await the movie.

CASTING: There is not much to say about the casting of the movie, as the promos make it evident. The movie has been stuffed with apt proportions of powerful performers and glamorous stars. Whether the chosen actors do justice to their characters could be said only after watching the movie.

CONNECT: The film will strike a chord with the movie connoisseurs of urban India, and to some extent with the local population of the states in which the story of the movie seems to be based.

OVERALL RATING: 4/5

Rajneeti, just like Prakash Jha's previous movies, seems to be the kind of work that will attract the classes, gain accolades from critics, and garner the National awards and the popular ones to a certain extent. But, I believe, the movie will fare above-average and won't be such a huge success at the box-office as it would deserve to be.