Rajneeti (2010)

Manoj Bajpai, where were you all this while? Bajpai returns to Bollywood with a vengeance and boy, he is convincing to say the least. The film is all about power, the unending hunger for power and how power must be gained at all cost. There is a bit of Mahabharata weaved in as well. Nana plays the calculative and super effective role of Krishna, guiding young Ranbir who plays Arjuna. Ajay Devgn is our Karna while Manoj Bajpai plays Duryodhana. Among all other Prakash Jha films, I’d put this on par (if not better) with Gangaajal. The only sad part of this film is Why Katrina? I mean, it is a great break for her but she is a misfit.

My favourite scenes in the film were those with Ajay Devgn, Nana Patekar and Manoj Bajpai. There is a scene where Devgn barges into a party meet and demands a ticket to contest the election from his constituency. Nana doesn’t utter a word, yet managing to say so much. Bajpai uses his position to instantly grant Karna (Devgn) a position in the party. All three actors wow you with their expressions. Similarly,  Nana’s encounter with Devgn at the slums is a brilliantly cooked up scene. Sadly, Devgn is severely under-utilized in my opinion. Arun Rampal perhaps will increase his fee after this film coz he has got a role that’ll put him in a completely different light. Given a choice, I would want keep Rampal for those stud-like roles with all the glamour, accompanied by Katrina of course.

Rajneeti is contemporary Indian politics for you. Make a lot of money, do good to your circle of friends, who in turn contribute to your party funds. And in all this, put up a good public face. The film, in certain phases, makes you angry with yourself for even voting these individuals into power. But hey, no complains. We are only trying to vote in the least corrupt individual. Getting a clean guy is never going to happen. Will it?

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