Rakht Charitra Movie Reviews

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	Movie Reviews

By Taran Adarsh, October 22, 2010 - 08:28 IST

Welcome to the law of the jungle. Where there're no rules. Where the life of a human being is not worth a penny. Where goonda raj reins supreme. Where men are butchered and women abducted and raped. Where the police obey the orders of the goons. Where guns, swords, bombs, knives and sharp weapons are a man's best friends. Welcome to RAKHT CHARITRA, based on the true story of Paritala Ravi.

Ramgopal Varma is known for dark and gritty cinema and RAKHT CHARITRA is not just the film-maker's, but also Hindi cinema's most violent film so far. Be forewarned, RAKHT CHARITRA is not for the lily-livered. Nor is it for those who love to visit cineplexes with their families, weekend after weekend, to watch that perfect family film. This one has just one song [not needed, actually], no romance, no comedy/humour, no phoren locations, no good looking faces, no family gatherings and no striking sets that are mandatory for escapist cinema. RGV is a rebel, he likes to make movies he believes in and RAKHT CHARITRA proves it yet again.

Write your own movie review of Rakht Charitra - I

Let me add, RAKHT CHARITRA is not one of RGV's most accomplished works. Perhaps, one of the reasons could be because he's now churning out gangster and crime-based films with amazing regularity and obviously, there's not much he can explore due to the limitations of this genre. But, yes, RAKHT CHARITRA has a fascinating story to tell and even if you aren't acquainted with Paritala Ravi, you might identify with RAKHT CHARITRA because the essence of the film is revenge.

Final word? With a title like RAKHT CHARITRA and all the blood and gore in the film, it's certain that the film holds appeal for those who like to watch brutality in cinema, which, in turn, cuts off a sizeable section of the audience [ladies and kids]. However, from the content point of view, I'd say that RAKHT CHARITRA is the best bet of this week.

RAKHT CHARITRA deals with emotionally volatile people and is set in a rural environment. It tells the story of Paritala Ravi [Vivek Oberoi], a soft-spoken person, who took law in his hands to avenge the murders of his father [Rajendra Gupta] and brother [Sushant Singh]. Paritala Ravi's name sent shivers up the spines of not only his rivals, but even the law enforcement agencies. He rose to become a minister eventually. The first part ends with his undertaking a mission to end goonda raj in the state.

By now we've come to expect zany camera angles, tight close ups, a raging background score, power-packed performances and abstract stories from RGV's films and RAKHT CHARITRA is no different. Expect all this and more [read bloodshed] in RAKHT CHARITRA. Since RAKHT CHARITRA is based on a true story, there's not much one can comment on it, but the manner in which the incidents unfold keep you hooked. Of course, it's a vendetta fare, yet one is keen to fathom what essentially provoked a soft-spoken individual to transform into a killing machine.

Barring the incidents in the initial reels, there's not much movement in the story in the first hour. In fact, there are killings and more killings. But the story gathers momentum when an iconic actor turned politician enters the scene and takes Paritala Ravi under his wings. The sequences between Shatrughan Sinha and Vivek are, frankly, the preeminent and most excellent parts of the enterprise. The post-interval is different because the killings reduce and Paritala now fights his opponent from the corridors of power.

RAKHT CHARITRA gets lengthy in its second half and one genuinely feels that RGV should've curtailed the length of the film by a few minutes, although the introduction of Suriya's character at the end only raises the curiosity for the second installment.

RGV has handled a number of sequences brilliantly, but the film leaves you with a sense of deja vu off and on. Glimpses of films like SARKAR and SARKAR RAJ, besides SATYA and COMPANY, though not remotely similar to RAKHT CHARITRA, flash across your mind. It's a little intricate to encompass all incidents in the screenplay, but writer Prashant Pandey makes a sincere effort. Cinematography [Amol Rathod] catches your eye. Action scenes are true to life. Background score compliments the mood of the film.

All RGV films are embellished with powerful performances and RAKHT CHARITRA is no exception. Vivek Oberoi breathes fire and venom and comes across as the most appropriate actor to infuse life into the character he portrays. He's super efficient and his act in COMPANY and SHOOTOUT AT LOKHANDWALA pale in comparison. Shatrughan Sinha is remarkable. A powerful personality could've only been portrayed by a powerful actor and the veteran enacts it with amazing ease. Abhimanyu Singh is superb as the opponent. You hate him for being so evil and that only goes to prove how effective he is. Radhika Apte is good. Zarina Wahab is first-rate. Ashwini Kalsekar is excellent. Ashish Vidyarthi, Rajendra Gupta, Anupam Shyam, Sushmita Mukherjee, Vishwajeet Pradhan and Kota Srinivasa Rao shine in their respective parts. Sudeep and Darshan Jariwala get no scope.

On the whole, RAKHT CHARITRA is not for the faint-hearted or the lily-livered. The violence, the blood and gore depicted in the film will shock and disconcert you, which only goes to establish as to how proficiently the subject material has been treated. The film is targeted mainly at those who love to watch aggression, violence, bloodshed, brutality and massacre on the silver screen, but a chunk of the movie-going audience [ladies and kids] will choose to stay away from this scene of carnage. The business in Telugu and Tamil versions is expected to be excellent, due to the strong identification with the subject material.

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31609

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Posted: 14 years ago

the muvies getting gr8 reviews everywhere....ive been hearing lots of good things abt this one....I really wanna watch it but im a bit scared that it might be too disturbing for me...the story is actually very interesting and shows the most violent and intense side of politics.

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Manjit

@babloo_mka

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+ 2

Posted: 14 years ago

From this review if it says that Vivek has acted way better in this movie from his eariers in Company and Shootout at Lokanwala then I have to say I'm really looking forward to watching this film. Vivek can act really well in intense films and it brings out the best of his performances. After the Prince fiasco this movie will show that Vivek can infact act.

I hadn't heard of Paritala Ravi before so I'm keen to see his life on screen showing his transformation from a killer to a politician.

I don't like watching senseless killings in movies but if it's part of the movie and are needed to make the movie flow then I don't mind watching them since it goes with the terrritory.

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31609

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Posted: 14 years ago

yeh apparently, acc to RGV, every film uses an emotion to grip the viewer...it can be love, or friendship or fear...but in this movie, he uses violence as a medium for storytelling.

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Deepak Tamang

@SolidSnake

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Posted: 14 years ago

Seems to be an interesting movie.....

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Iris

@Irisduplex

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Posted: 14 years ago

Hope it does well just for vivek! Its high time he gets recognized for his work!!

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Chandni

@xChandnix

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Posted: 14 years ago

I just thought we needed other reviews than having Taran Adarsh's :P

Review: Rakta Charitra

by Anupama Chopra (NDTV)

21/2 out of 5

In a recent interview, Ram Gopal Varma emphatically declared that Rakta Charitra is not for women. He said: 'They can sit at home.' As I endured the incessant violence of the movie — sickles slitting throats, a drill boring into a skull, limbs being hacked and countless women being abducted and raped — I wondered if I should have taken Varma's advice and just stayed at home.

Rakta Charitra is a bio-pic of Paritala Ravi, a politician from Andhra Pradesh, played here by Vivek Oberoi, whose career began with murder and ended when he was assassinated in broad daylight by his rivals.

This film is part one of this horrifically fascinating story, which illustrates the heart of darkness that constitutes politics in India. The murderous saga of revenge and counter-revenge begins with momentum but then gets bogged down by its repetitive mayhem, an annoying voice-over and exhausting decibel levels. Varma isn't one for subtlety.

The sound-track is blaring and despite the rivers of blood that flow freely, every character feels the need to say rakta as often as he can.

The director has little interest in the psychology and evolution of his characters so Pratap goes from college to killing without batting an eye-lid and then, with the same ease, moves from outlaw to minister. Instead what seems to fascinate Varma is extreme behaviour.

As Karan Johar revels in beauty, Varma revels in ugliness. So he spends an inordinate amount of time on exploring the ways in which people can hurt each other and his depiction of depravity feels uncomfortably voyeuristic.

And of course like earlier Varma films, this one too features a gallery of singularly unattractive faces shot at peculiar angles and the requisite sweaty celebration song.

There are some powerful moments and strong performances here — Abhimanyu Singh as an unhinged goon is especially good. Oberoi also shows flashes of prowess and the real discovery is the surprisingly sober and effective Shatrughan Sinha. But how much you relish Rakta Charitra is directly connected to your threshold for gore.

If like me, it's low, I suggest you take Varma's advice and sit at home.

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Review: Rakta Charitra

by Nikhat Azmi (TOI)
3 out of 5

In Hollywood, nobody understands the art of violence better than Quentin Tarantino. In Bollywood, nobody revels in it better than Ram Gopal Varma. And Rakta Charitra does seem to be inspired by Tarantino's killing fest in Kill Bill. Not only is the violence unapologetic and relentless, it literally explodes in your face with the plethora of bloody images. Heads are battered, limbs are chopped off, necks are scythed, people are burnt, rivals are turned into rat food or simply thrown into wells and women, well women are summarily done away with after being done in. Again, like Kill Bill, Rakta Charitra too promises to tell the revenge story in two parts and refuses to reveal the face of one character in part one. Remember Bill? He remained a mere voice and a hand in part one. So does a political leader in Rakta Charitra.

But that's where the similarities end. For while Tarantino layered his blood fest almost like filigree and bolstered it with a thrilling narrative, Rakta Charitra plays it over the top from start to finish. It's very very loud in every way. The background music is deafening. The high-decibel voice-over is irksome and unnecessary. And the gore is unlimited. But that's not the real bugbear here. We do have a stomach for violence and can watch it without shutting our eyes. What bothers us in Rakta Charitra is the character graph of almost all the main actors. Other than Abhimanyu Singh, who essays the role of the almost-insane, truly bad, Ravana-like villain, none of the other characters manage to connect. And that's because they flit across the screen in cameos that are nipped as soon as they begin to have an impact. Case in point: Sushant Singh, the gritty naxal leader, Ashwini Kalsekar, the diehard cop, Sudeep, the intelligence officer, Shatrughan Sinha, the actor-turned-politico who mentors the protagonist. Even Vivek Oberoi's Pratap Ravi remains a shadowy figure who is allowed a few explosive minutes, here and there, which he manages to use well. Vivek's in form and portrays the character with restraint and drama. But like Batman in The Dark Knight, who paled before Heath Ledger's raving -- and ravishing -- madness as the Joker, our hero too seems a tad tame before the maniacal allure of Abhimanyu Singh's all-bad avatar.

What makes the film watchable are a few set pieces which bear the masterly imprint of the film maker who redefined the action genre in Indian cinema with films like Shiva, Satya and Company. Also, there is something alluring about Ram Gopal Varma's penchant to doggedly stay away from saccharine and sentiment and tell the story of India's ugly reality. Rakta Charitra holds up a brutal mirror on the muck that masquerades as democracy in India.

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Review: Rakta Charitra

by Radhika Rajamani (Rediff)
21/2 out of 5

The very name Rakta Charitra gives an idea of what to expect. This Telugu film, the latest offering from Ram Gopal Varma [ Images ], is a story of vendetta, blood and gore.

Supposed to be based on the life of Paritala Ravi, this film is not for the faint-hearted. It can be a blood-curdling experience to watch it, so be warned.

The film sketches the early life of Pratap (Viveik Oberoi) albeit in a sketchy manner. It shows the metamorphosis of a man from a student, and a 'naxal' to a politician due to the murders of his father Virabadraiah (Rajendra Gupta) and brother Shankar (Sushant Singh). His father, who was close to Narasimha Reddy, one of the political leaders, is finished off due to astute machination by Nagamani Reddy (Kota Srinivasa Rao) who poisons Narasimha Reddy's mind. Shankar turns into an outlaw and avenges his father's death by killing off many from Nagamani's camp. Pratap gets drawn into the revenge drama and he locks horns with Bokka Reddy (son of Nagamani Reddy played by Abhimanyu Singh). The film brings the viewer into the world of the goondas and their immoral ethics and practices -- a different terrifying world

The film picks up steam upon the entry of the actor-politician Sivaji Rao (Shatrughan Sinha [ Images ]) who asks Pratap to enter politics. The scenes between Sivaji and Pratap are interesting and engrossing to watch. These are the highlights of the film.

In this vendetta tale, there are women too -- Virabadraiah's wife (Zarina Wahab), Nandini (Radhika Apte [ Images ]), Pratap's wife, Pratap's sister-in-law, Narasimha Reddy's wife (Sushmita Mukherjee) -- who all play minor roles.

The film is high on violence with gruesome scenes which make one cringe or even shut one's eyes. The violence is heightened by the background score and Sanskrit chants like (mrityunjaya japam, verses on Siva and Vishnu [ Images ]). The background score complements the story. The violence, however, debars the family crowds more or less.

The action shown is rather realistic. Amol Rathod's camera captures the raw grittiness of the film. However, Varma's voiceover is of no value and is an unnecessary distraction.

He has also quite a few symbolic scenes reminiscent of real life too particularly with Sivaji Rao's role and depiction.

Ram Gopal Varma certainly initiates curiosity with this film but it's not a biopic in the true sense of the word. The first part stops at a juncture when Pratap is a politician and man to reckon with. Glimpses of Madalachheruvu Suri (Suriya) are shown to incite curiosity in viewers' minds.

Since the film is a trilingual, we have a cast from the South Indian and Hindi film industries. Coming to the performances, Viveik fits into the role of Pratap very easily. He gets into the skin of the character and his portrayal is effortless and powerful. He leaves quite an imprint at the end of the film. One waits to see his encounter with Suriya in Part II.

Shatrughan Sinha is equally good as the politician actor and pulls off the role with ease. Abhimanyu Singh puts in a power-packed performance in a negative role. Zarina Wahab leaves a mark with her performance. The performances by Kota Srinivasa Rao, Rajendra Gupta, Ashish Vidyarthi, Ashwini Kalsekar and Radhika Apte are up to the mark. Kannada actor Sudeep and Darshan Zariwalla have miniscule roles.

The action, violence, bloodshed and gore are central to the film which is spine chilling and therefore it requires strong people who love watching this kind of stuff to see Rakta Charitra. The audience from Andhra may relate to Paritala Ravi's story on celluloid. For others wanting to see more of macabre violence, wait a few more weeks for Rakta Charitra II.

As a director, it is known that Varma is stylish, and the film is typically Varma.

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31609

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Posted: 14 years ago

u kno its wierd but im soo sick of bolly rom coms these days that i think the violence and gore in Raktha chartira might actually keep me interested in it!!

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xDestinyx

@xDestinyx

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Posted: 14 years ago

giving it a pass maybe catch the dvd & thats a maybe

Edited by Kkryptonite - 14 years ago

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548942

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#10

Originally posted by: smarie pants
u kno its wierd but im soo sick of bolly rom coms these days that i think the violence and gore in Raktha chartira might actually keep me interested in it!!

lol yeh i kinda agree!