Rajneeti is an ambitious, engaging, entertaining, pertinent, and well made film, though at times clichéd and theatrical.
The ensemble cast delivers above expectation, especially the consummate performance by Ranbir Kapoor and aided by the adept ones by Manoj Bajpai, Ajay Devgan, and Nana Patekar ; Arjun Rampal is also surprisingly convincing, with the performances by the female cast ranging from the adequate to the weak.
Further, while the director and screenwriters do a skillful job of weaving the political commentary (mostly accurate albeit broadly generalizing), the moralizing (unwelcome and hackneyed), the scheming and vendettas, and the classical mythos (its main inspiration is the epic Mahabharata), into an entertaining and finely paced film; however, it's somewhat protracted and overly theatrical second half, lowers the intensity, with the generalizations and pauses detracting from its focus and the theatrical violence lowering its credibility, which coupled with an ending that's rather tame and platitudinous, the film falls short of the masterpiece category.
Nonetheless, in an industry where condescending, vapid and "timepass" movies are the rule, and political correctness construed as deference and social aloofness, Rajneeti is a relatively bold, refreshingly frank, and an entertaining exception.
Kudos to Prakash Jha and the production team for their ambitious, riveting, and fine piece of work.
The ensemble cast delivers above expectation, especially the consummate performance by Ranbir Kapoor and aided by the adept ones by Manoj Bajpai, Ajay Devgan, and Nana Patekar ; Arjun Rampal is also surprisingly convincing, with the performances by the female cast ranging from the adequate to the weak.
Further, while the director and screenwriters do a skillful job of weaving the political commentary (mostly accurate albeit broadly generalizing), the moralizing (unwelcome and hackneyed), the scheming and vendettas, and the classical mythos (its main inspiration is the epic Mahabharata), into an entertaining and finely paced film; however, it's somewhat protracted and overly theatrical second half, lowers the intensity, with the generalizations and pauses detracting from its focus and the theatrical violence lowering its credibility, which coupled with an ending that's rather tame and platitudinous, the film falls short of the masterpiece category.
Nonetheless, in an industry where condescending, vapid and "timepass" movies are the rule, and political correctness construed as deference and social aloofness, Rajneeti is a relatively bold, refreshingly frank, and an entertaining exception.
Kudos to Prakash Jha and the production team for their ambitious, riveting, and fine piece of work.