Rajneeti is a film that mirrors the gruesome political machinery of urban India, something that protagonist Samar Pratap's American girlfriend is appalled to get a glance of when she comes after him. Here in Pakistan, however, one easily cozies up to the patriarchal and dynastical politics of the region and that rajneeti equates to power, intrigue, conspiracy, violence, corruption and most things undesirable. That the chair of a political party is likened to a gaddi, inherited by the elder son over an experienced party member, is something we are a little too familiar with. Produced and directed by Prakash Jha, Rajneeti is a film that boasts a mature ensemble cast in a riveting theme, one that Jha repetitively compares to the Mahabaratha. But it's as much Godfather as Jha gets lost in an irrepressible urge to construct nothing more than a feature film. Politics is merely used as a ploy to play out every formula in the Bollywood book.
Leftist politician/activist Bhaskar Sanyal (Naseeruddin Shah) has one night of passion (in the rain, mind you) with his rival politician's daughter and his guilt is so extreme that he gives up politics and disappears into self-exile. Nine months later, in an equally stormy night, Bharti gives birth to his son who is whisked away in the dark of the night. All that within the first 10 minutes of the film. Thirty years and seconds later, that son grows up to be a leftist firebrand, but of course. And that fact remains unknown until a, surprise surprise, locket is brought forth as proof.
Meanwhile Bharti is married off to the first most suitable boy, one whose family will bring additional power to the party. They have two sons Prithviraj Pratap (Arjun Rampal) and Samar Pratap (Ranbir Kapoor) who battle out the family's political rivalries in a highly bloody manner. Their biggest political opponent is their uncle, Veerendra Pratap (Manoj Bajpal) who, in the absence of family/party support, forms a breakaway party and an alliance with Sooraj Kumar (Ajay Devgan) who is actually Bharti's estranged son. The other Pratap boys, after their father is gunned down, are guided by their paternal uncle, Brij Gopal (Nana Patekar). That is the crux of the three-hour film.
The first half of the film is engrossing but it certainly doesn't qualify for the magnum opus status that its associated controversies are bringing it. India's censor board, dominated by Congress supporters, have objected to certain allusions to the Congress, though it must be said that other than Katrina Kaif's character there are none. Kaif has been vocal that she modeled her role around Sonia and Priyanka Gandhi, and she is shown in similar avatars but that's all. This film, also being compared to Spanish writer Javier Moro's book The Red Sari (also banned in India), could be as much as any other political party as it is Congress. It's the same old hackneyed story that Jha so loves to explore and lacks finesse as well as discipline. The story is all over the place, riddled with loopholes, bullet wounds, shoot-outs and bomb blasts. It is bloodshed galore.
Rajneeti's biggest flaw is that it skims the surface without providing any insight to reason. It is skin deep and doesn't explain, for instance, why an influential politician's daughter is blindly following her dad's opponent, especially since her passion dies as quickly as it emerges. The female lead Indu Pratap (Katrina Kaif) again is used for romantic moments in the film but one doesn't understand where she's coming from. Her love for Samar and then Prithvi is unexplained. From a woman's point of view, the film is extremely regressive and uses females as characters who are promiscuous and either sleep around to get ahead in the political game, or are married off to bring either power or money as dowry. They have no backbone, which could be one reason why Sharmila Tagore, Chairperson of the Indian Censor Board, has taken offence.
That said, Kaif is effective in her cotton saris and the other big surprise is Arjun Rampal who is angry, violent and yet desirable in his role. Nana Patekar and Manoj Bajpal prove their worth as actors while Ajay Devgan is completely washed out and overshadowed. Naseeruddin Shah, despite being on the film's posters, cannot be seen after the first five minutes and his role is unworthy of him.
Rajneeti makes it big for being controversial rather than being great. That and the fact that with thoughtless films like House Full, Badmaash Company and I hate LUV Stories overruling Bollywood these days, anything with grey matter is a welcome change. While Kites flew over our heads, one looks forward to topping Rajneeti up with Mani Ratnam's Raavan. —Aamna Haider Isani
