Review on 'Raajneeti'

Most people know I don't have a lot of love for Bollywood of late. There are a rare few gems that the industry churns out (usually the ones with Aamir Khan starring) but otherwise it's mired in insane storytelling, over the top aesthetics and 'acting' and more focus on vulgar portrayals of 'beauty' than paying service to the beauty of story and/or character - or lack there-of.

It was with low expectations therefore that I went to watch 'Raajneeti', a film starring the hot and popular stars, Katrina Kaif and Ranbir Kapoor. I had been told that it was loosely based on the Indian epic, the 'Mahabharata'. I think I would fared better had I not been told that because I was constantly trying to align this story with that of the Mahabharata. 

There are several shortcomings in this film. Firstly, there are no politics (raajneeti) in this story - it is basically a family feud film, which began resembling the Godfather half way through (i.e. the relunctant son who stays outside the dodgy spheres of his forefathers is roped in, in the name of family honour and ho hum, vengeance). I found it rather unsettling that each speech the wanna-be leaders dictated to their people was about their rival party and how they were going to get back at them or prove them wrong, etc etc. No one gave a damn about their electorate. Of course, this is an exaggeration somewhat but the fact that these parties encourage their followers to engage in their personal disputes induces a state of despair.

Secondly, the film is too long; it dragged and dragged with the outcome being both flat and powerless. I think this is in part due to Ranbir Kapoor's character of Samar - he was so void, he had one expression. I didn't know whether I was supposed to warm up to this man or feel pity for him or what...and you all know how I feel about stuff that doesn't make me feel anything :)

The acting was strong from veterans like Nana Patekar (saving grace of the entire film), Manoj Bajpai and Ajay Devgan. All the others floundered or were just plain useless.

And what about that random 30 sec 'club' scene that was injected in there - is that a mandatory requirement now, to have some slutty scene with flashing lights, just because you can? Clearly doesn't matter whether it serves the narrative. 

The continual violence and blatant disregard for life and the lack of subtlety in political manoeuvrings left the film with no suspense - one was just waiting around for the next person to be shot or blown up. If the ending was supposed to inspire hope, I didn't buy it, I simply felt sorry for the next person who would be forced to get mired in dodgy decisions, corruptions and assassinations.

Verdict: 4.5/10

Slumdog Millionaire

Listening to - Alicia Keyes 'Empire State of Mind'
Reading - Scriptwriting in the UK

Ok, so on our new flatscreen TV on Channel 4 HD I watched 'Slumdog Millionaire' again last night. I remember I wasn't as keen to watch it when it came out on the big screen as my sis. But I relented and found I enjoyed it, though was surprised to see it being tagged as an 'uplifting film', when so much awfulness happens in the story - which is the point in a sense, for it's only from the lowest levels a story of rising right to the top actually holds weight.

I enjoy the film for the first third me thinks, when the children are very small. The opening where the boys run down from the police through the slums is probably one the most powerfully cinematic sequences there is and all credit goes to director and cinematographer for that. I'm not sure whether it's because it feels really authentic and superbly acted when the child actors speak Hindi but something is definitely lost when the film progresses and it's in English; not to mention I am not a fan of Dev Patel and thought his accent just disappeared by the time his character finds Latika. The film painted some powerful points on India and the madness that is the development there, though I am not best placed to comment on it from a first hand perspective as the last time I visited was ten years ago. Perhaps I am in a total minority here, but it didn't convey to me, (not entirely convincingly) that the little Jamal we see is the same Jamal Dev Patel portrays. I think my story nitpicking alarm is blaring now but by the time Jamal flatly tells Latika 'It's our destiny' and she replies with 'I thought we'd meet only in death' (a line that only works in Hindi because love and death are always dramatically paired together), I'm not buying it much. What happened to the side of Jamal that quipped 'Tu mere naal dance karengi, na?' (You'll dance with me, right?)  Oh, anyway, I leave it at that. People love it and fair does. I just think the kid actors MAKE the film and it's because of them it actually stands up in the first place - so my thanks go to the brilliant casting director who cast them.

Essentially I think the Indian co-director, Loveleen Tandon gets no real credit and she's the one who probably cast those kids while Gail Stevens possibly cast Dev Patel - never mind! Plus, I've watched Danny Boyle's 'The Beach' and [some of] '28 Days Later' (partly due to Cillian Murphy) and with the former, I felt there was something missing and perhaps dragged a little too long for my tastes. But I will leave it on a typical film student note, 'But it was shot really beautifully'.