Rakhtcharitra movie review | Critique | Fresh

Alright, picture this. Abhimanyu Singh, who plays the bad guy Bukka, is busy bashing up a poor guy's kneecaps with the butt of a rifle. A woman walks by, presumably some relative of his. She stops and asks Abhimanyu solemnly, "Satyanarayan ki puja hai. Chalega kya?" To which, our bad guy replies, even more solemnly, "Nahin." You see, at this point, even the bit players such as that woman were bored to death, wondering what is going on in this movie. Rakhtcharitra, that is.

The man behind this movie is Ram Gopal Varma who gave us our gangster-genre redefinition in Satya and Company. Well, in Sarkar too, to an extent. Of late though, his signature style - realism has been substituted by bizarre camera angles, loud, jarring background scores and characters that are so completely over-the-top that you have to crane your neck in order to see who's outdoing whom in the bad acting department. The very same RGV who took us through a splendid cinematic journey with terrific films such as Shiva, Rangeela, Kaun, Jungle. And it is indeed heart-breaking to see the man churn out one bad movie after another. 

If you want to get to the story in this movie, I am sorry to say that I didn't find one. It is nothing but an endless montage of gruesome killings that are done so tastelessly that they make the Ramsay horror films look subtle by comparison. Ok, might be I'm exaggerating. But really, there IS NO story, so to speak. The clash between two political aides and their attempts to wipe off each other is what this film is about. When the netas end up in hell, their kids take it over and continue the fight. THAT IS IT. One murder after another and then another and your patience takes a flight.

Movies in this genre are particularly driven by a conscience. Be it The Godfather or Goodfellas, Satya or Company, there always is a conscience....some sort of motivation for the characters. In short, there is a soul in these films. But, in Rakhtcharitra, there is none. All you get are stereotypes -  jealous politicians,. backstabs, blood thirsty relatives, angry-looking mob men and what have you. There is nothing in this movie that you haven't seen already, nothing that you can't predict with your eyes closed...absolutely nothing.

I know, I am being unfair in judging this movie with the others in the crime/gangster genre. But RGV's new outing begs to be compared. There was a time when realism was considered to be the forte of few directors such as Ratnam and Varma. Particularly, in Satya, the camera became a character when it captured the muddy lives of the gangsters in such a captivating manner. No slo-mo shots, no overused background score. In Rakhtcharitra, however, we aren't spared the agony of watching EVERY character mumble, turn around very slowly, walk about very slowly...even if it isn't a slo-mo shot. Too restrained, shall we say. And to compliment those, RGV uses his actors in a completely over-the-top manner. They look at you with large eyes and you begin to worry that they might pop out. Vivek Oberoi has a set of 2 expressions and he uses them adequately. He scowls, looks angry and you start your tsk-tsk wondering where this lad's acting talents ran away. Abhimanyu Singh is wasted in the role of a lecherous, masochistic gangster and it is a pity to see him get a caricaturish role to play after his excellent portrayal as Rananjay Singh 'Ransa' in Gulaal. And then, there is Shatrughan Sinha, who plays a Marathi actor-turned-politician. But, will anyone please explain to me why on earth does he have a Southern accent? He  has precisely two dialogues in this movie. Either say "brother" or "topic is over". Sigh. So much for being a senior and respected actor.

Varma commits another unforgivable sin. Whilst in Satya and Company, he held on to the subtle, underlined message that crime doesn't pay, he does the opposite here. He glorifies three things - crime, atrocities committed against women and bad cinema. Women are raped, hit like anything and you cringe in your seat when people clap at those scenes. People are slashed, diced and chopped and you turn your face in disgust only to see the audience cheering. If this is not glorification of violence, I honestly don't know what is.

The only hint of the Varma, whom we have come to love and adore, is seen in the film's climactic fight when a character runs after Abhimanyu Singh's character in order to put an end to his life. The only scene that gives you a vague sense of excitement. 

There is a sequel which will be released on 19th November 2010. I have nothing much to expect. It is only in one man's hand to make up for the mistakes that he has committed. And that is Varma himself. Like all hopeful souls, we must wait and we must pray. But, something tells me that this wait is going to be pretty long. Maybe, the cynic in me has taken over. For I have seen Rakhtcharitra and all I have to say is -- "Oh, the horror, the horror !" 

Ratings: * (1 out of 5)

Written By: Gyandeep Pattnayak