Raajneeti
Cast Naseeruddin Shah, Nana Patekar, Ajay Devgn, Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Arjun Rampal, Sarah Thompson, Manoj Bajpai
Director Prakash Jha
Rating TBA
Raajneeti is one of the most awaited films of the year as it marks the return of acclaimed filmmaker Prakash Jha, known for his thought-provoking films like Mrityudand, Gangaajal and Apaharan.
With Raajneeti, Jha manages a casting coup by teaming actors belonging to different generations, merging the demands of commercial and parallel cinema. Prithvi Pratap (Rampal), heir to a powerful political legacy, is unable to control his overpowering emotions, leading his family to the brink of political extinction. Veerendra Pratap (Bajpai) believes that he's born a ruler and will go to any extent to be in power. Veerendra's close friend, Sooraj (Devgn), a leader belonging to a backward class, cannot overcome the dark secrets about his birth and is caught between friendship and family. US-educated Samar Pratap (Kapoor) gets unwillingly sucked into politics and is forced to master the craft of political warfare in order to protect his family. The ill-fated romance between Indu Sakseria (Kaif) and Samar also forces her to jump into the political battlefield. Sarah Jean Colins (Thompson) falls in love with Samar only to find herself in the midst of a bloody political warfare. Among the senior leaders, Brij Gopal (Patekar) acts as a mentor to the younger generation, while Bhaskar Sanyal (Shah), a fire-brand leftist leader, goes into self-exile because of a personal mistake that shakes the political scenario.
The film's storyline and characters are based on the Sanskrit epic Mahabharata. It'sbelieved that Rampal, Kapoor and Devgn's characters are based on the legendary characters Bheema, Arjun and Karna, respectively, while Bajpai plays the evil Duryodhan and Patekar the modern-version of Krishna. "When the script was written we never set out to make a film based on Mahabharata but eventually as the storyline evolved some of the key characters had close references to the epic," says Jha.
Kaif quashes rumours that her character is based on Congress leader Sonia Gandhi. "My character is not based on Sonia Gandhi though I'll not deny that while playing the politicianI drew inspiration from Gandhi," she says.
This will be Kaif's most challenging role to date. It'll also mark Kapoor's first major endeavour as he shares screen space with stalwarts like Shah, Patekar, Devgn and Bajpai. "I'm eagerly looking forward to Raajneeti as it's one of the most challenging roles I'veplayed," says Kapoor.
After Gangaajal and Apaharan, this will be Devgn's third project with Jha. "His films are different as he tackles social issues in his unique hard-hitting style. The characters have immense depth and it is a joy for any actor to work with him," says Devgn. "I'm lucky to play such diverse characters in Prakash's films. I played an honest cop in Gangaajal, an educated youth forced to become a gangster in Apaharan and an aspiring political leader in Raajneeti."
Some are also hoping Jha's film will resurrect a few forgotten careers. After his award-winning performance in Apaharan, Patekar is hoping to make a similar impact with Raajneeti. Bajpai too is counting on it to revive his dull career. His career hit a roadblock after his memorable performance as the gangster Bhiku Maatre in Ram Gopal Varma's cult classic Satya. For Rampal, this could be one of his most difficult films, as he is working with a group of some of the finest actors.
But when it comes to the gifted Shah, he only needs a few minutes on screen to mesmerise the audience.
For those looking for meaningful cinema, Raajneeti may well be the answer.
Fact file
- Raajneeti is the first film to be jointly produced by Prakash Jha and UTV Motion Pictures
- It's the second film together for Kapoor and Kaif after the smash hit Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani
- Bajpai and Jha hail from the same Indian state, but Raajneeti is their first film together
- Thompson, who played one of the leads in Cruel Intention 2, makes her Bollywood debut with Raajneeti
- The film's music is composed by Pritam, Adesh Shrivastava, Shantanu Moitra and Wayne Sharp
