“RAAJNEETI†is story of a family whose roots are embedded with politics of Central India. The family consists of two Brother Bhanu Pratap and Chandra Pratap [Chetan Pandit]. Bhanu Pratap the elder brother leads the Political party and is supported by his younger brother Chandra Pratap. The government in the state collapses and at same time Bhanu Pratap suffers Stroke. When the venerable elder suffers a paralytic stroke, the seat of power automatically shifts to his younger brother, much to the discomfiture of his son, Manoj Bajpayee who considers himself to be the rightful heir to his bed-ridden father's throne. He can't see his rival cousins, Arjun Rampal and Ranbir Kapoor, rising to power while he is left simmering in the shadows. He seeks the assistance of dalit leader, Ajay Devgn to play his political cards and clear the path for his ascent to the top job (party president/chief ministership), even if it means traversing a blood-strewn and violent road that leads through assassination and fratricide.Of course, he underestimates the power and political shrewdness of the supposedly apolitical youngest cousin, Samar Pratap Singh (Ranbir Kapoor) who ostensibly came to India from New York on a short vacation but ended up playing the role of Arjuna in a veritable political Mahabharata, with Krishna-like Brij Gopal (Nana Patekar) guiding him through the intrigue.
Story is majorly adaptation of biggest epic ever written Mahabharata, but blended with some external flavors of The Godfather. It’s difficult to frame the Mahabharata scenes in modern day political drama and the writers have done good hard work, most of it times the hard work pays off, but then there are times it fails miserably too like in Ajay Devgan’s Reality revelation, Anti Climax Action Scenes, The whole Sarah chapter and few more. Screenplay is very fast and crispy, there are some moments where it’s very hard to keep the track of the film, a blink and you will take time to follow the happenings. There are some loopholes but if you keep in mind the Mahabharata then those scenes makes sense too. Editing is the biggest star of this film, the film is edited very well and thus makes you glued in it along with the stat power. Despite of Repetitive campaigning scenes still the movie manages to grab your attention. Camera work is of top notch and displays the Large Canvas and Granger of this big film.
My Personal Opinion : Director Prakash Jha's career of 36 yrs of film making has given us great films . Some noteworthy national award winning films were Apaharaan and Gangajaal . His stories are revolves around socio economic and political situations in rural India .
He presents us with with a sleek , flashy , well directed , well scripted product with some prolonged scenes . Though the film is based on shudh Hindi but revolves around city level
Rating - 4 out of 5
Full paisa vasool film .
Note :
1. The critics may point out that the subject material is 'heavy', 'serious' and 'dry', but you ought to know that when you adapt 'Mahabharata' in the current milieu [present-day politics], you can't expect 'item songs' and 'slapdash humour and mimicry', for God's sake.
2. These critics may also state that the running time [almost 3 hours] is a no-no in today's times, but let's not forget that even 3 hours is too short a duration for a good film and vice-versa, even an hour is too lengthy for a terrible film. RAAJNEETI is a genuinely good product, so you definitely don't mind its length.
3. But one thing is for sure: RAAJNEETI doesn't cater to an audience that keeps its brains at home while watching a film. You need to be alert while watching this one.