Oct 22, 2010 03:34 PM
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Our political system is filled with people who for some are demonic killers but for many, messiahs. They may be doing their work by breaking all laws but there might be doing it for the people and not necessarily for power and money. Demon in the guise of God or God in the guise of Demon, whatever you may call them, but such people do exist and no one could do any harm to them. Rakht Charitra tells the story of one such person who’s forced to spread bloodshed everywhere due to circumstances. A two-part film (with part 2 releasing next month), Rakht Charitra-1 is filled with violence, violence and more violence. But at the same time, it has a story and most importantly, the trademark Ram Gopal Varma direction that makes this film a gripping watch!
The story of the movie: Pratap Ravi (Vivek Oberoi) gets tragic news one day that his father (Rajendra Gupta) has been brutally killed by the people of his own party. Soon Pratap’s brother (Sushant Singh) too gets killed. Soft-spoken Pratap who always wanted to be away from violence now takes the matter in his own hands to avenge the death of his father and brother. Slowly, he eliminates all his rivals and becomes the undisputed lord of the region. He even joins politics and becomes minister in the cabinet of actor-turned-CM Shivaji (Shatrughan Sinha). However, as Amitabh Bachchan says in Sarkar Raj, “Apne sharto pe chalne wale ko keemat chukani padti hai”. The first part traces the rise of Pratap Ravi and presumably, the second part shall throw light on his fall.
Rakht Charitra-1 doesn’t have much story to tell and it’s the agitating background score and terrific direction that keeps you hooked from start to finish even though the film falls at some places in the 2nd half. A lot of important characters get mercilessly killed in the film but every murder is very well and impressively executed. However, as mentioned before, the film has too much of violence (especially the first half). In fact, Rakht Charitra-1 can be hailed as one of the most violent films to be churned from Bollywood.
There are several scenes that will give you an adrenaline rush. Vivek’s sudden violent outburst in the police station was too good to say the least. Then Vivek in the guise of a cop killing one his rivals was much unexpected and turns out to be another applaud-worthy sequence. Post-interval, the conversations between Vivek and Shatrughan were engrossing. And finally, the scene where Vivek orders all goons and bhai logs to stop all illegal activities and the scary looking goondas accept his order willingly gives an impression that RGV was and is still a fantastic filmmaker. At the same time, the film gives a glimpse of Part 2 of Rakht Charitra which also seems as exciting as the Part 1. Hopefully, viewers who’ll watch Rakht Charitra-1 will definitely go for Rakht Charitra-2!
I have always believed that Vivek Oberoi is a powerhouse of talent. But unfortunately, inspite of giving fine performances in films like Company, Saathiya, Yuva, Omkara, Kurbaan and Prince, he never got the appreciation and acclaim (and also fan base) that he truly deserved. With Rakht Charitra-1, he gives yet another outstanding performance and proves that he has loads and loads of talent in him. This wasn’t an easy role at all but Vivek does it quite effortlessly. And he looks quite cool with his moustache too. Hats off to you, VO!
Shatrughan Sinha was perfect for the role of Shivaji. The script demanded a larger than life personality and Shatrughan’s performance hits the perfect bullseye. Abhimanyu Singh (Bhuka Reddy) looked every inch the ruthless villain and leaves a deep impact. Nowadays, very few villains are able to make people hate them so much. But Abhimanyu succeeds in achieving the same. First Gulaal and now Rakht Charitra, Abhimanyu Singh will be surely getting more offers from now on. He deserves it! Srinivasa Rao Kota (Nagmani Reddy) also shines in the negative role. Sushant Singh was hardly there but as usual does a good job. Rajendra Gupta dominates the beginning scenes. Aashish Vidyarthi was terrific especially in the scene where he gets killed. Ashwini Kalsekar impresses as the cop. Same for Zarina Wahab (Vivek’s mother) and the actress playing Vivek’s love interest. Vishwajeet Pradhan, Darshan Jariwala and Sudeep were good in their respective roles.
There was no scope for music in the film. Yet, Sukhwinder Singh’s item song was incorporated which was pathetic! Action plays a crucial role in the film and Javed-Aejaz gets it quite right. Background score bears the trademark RGV stamp and was very effective and like most of RGV films, in Rakht Charitra-1 as well, the background score lifts several scenes. Amol Rathod’s cinematography was topnotch.
Prashant Pandey’s story was almost inspired from real-life incidents. It’s Ram Gopal Varma, the director, who wins hands down. It’s no secret that in such gangster flicks, Ramu is in full form. He proved it with Shiva followed by Satya, Company, Sarkar and Contract and he once again impresses with Rakht Charitra-1. Making a film where both sides are killing one person at a time is no easy task as the interest can wane anytime. However, thanks to RGV’s mindblowing execution, the interest stays right till the end. Barring some scenes in the 2nd half where the film fell, the entire film is fast-paced and gripping. Let’s hope Rakht Charitra-2 impresses the same way!
Some of the best scenes:
1. Pratap’s father gets killed
2. Bhuka’s intro
3. Pratap’s outburst in the police station
4. Pratap eliminating his 4 main rivals
5. Pratap takes away his love interest
6. The intermission point
7. Pratap joins hands with Shivaji
8. Bhuka gets arrested
9. The final scene
On the whole, Rakht Charitra-1 is terrific to say the least. With not much of a story, it’s the execution, performances and background score that make it a paisa-vasool fare. However, also be ready to see one of the most brutal violent scenes ever in this flick.
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