Raktha charitra 2 movie reviews....

By: Taran Adarsh, Bollywood Hungama

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Brutality has a new name and it's called Rakta Charitra. The first part was gruesome. The second part, well, is not as violent, but is a bloodbath nonetheless. I don't think Hindi cinema has ever witnessed such gruesome murders, such manslaughter and such scenes of carnage ever. But beneath the blood and gore, slaughter and assassination lies the shocking story of enmity between two families.

Rakta Charitra undertakes to enlighten the story of vengeance in two parts. Rakta Charitra 1 depicted the rise of Pratap and how he became a demigod for the poor and the exploited. The Part 2 unfolds a new story, although it's linked with Part 1. The challenge lies in making it more attention-grabbing than its precursor.

Brutality, gore and violent behaviour are indispensable attributes of Rakta Charitra 2. The story in itself is nothing more than a customary vendetta drama, but what makes you connect compellingly with the narrative is the fact that Ramgopal Varma [RGV] has treated it like he was recounting a first-hand version of what really transpired between the adversaries.

RGV is a veteran when it comes to making films on gangland or aggression and he proved his credentials in Rakta Charitra 1. Frankly, Rakta Charitra 1 wasn't a masterpiece, although it held your attention like RGV's accomplished works, mainly Satya, Company and Sarkar. However, you cannot refute the fact that RGV is a proficient storyteller. The characters in his films are passionately built and emotions are meticulously captured and there is the trademark agitation in an RGV film. Rakta Charitra 2 has it as well.

The storyline of Rakta Charitra 2 can be elucidated in a few words, but RGV takes a strong grip of each sequence and absorbs the spectator into the goings-on. The screenplay techniques and shot compositions make him poles apart from the rest of his ilk and the flashes of brilliance can be observed at several points in Rakta Charitra 2. Also, the film has a speedy pace and doesn't give you time to contemplate over the proceedings.

Final word? Much more engrossing and gripping than Rakta Charitra 1.

Surya enacts the role of Surya, who is determined to settle scores with Pratap [Vivek Oberoi]. Surya's decision to eliminate Pratap raises several questions. What was his [Surya] background, what forced him to take this extreme step, what was the driving force behind his act, was it really justified? The Part 2 is based around the conspiracy theories enveloping the elimination of Pratap.

The first part of Rakta Charitra ended up creating enthusiasm for Rakta Charitra 2. One discovered, in the final moments of Rakta Charitra 1, that vengeance had a new face and his name was Surya. The story of Rakta Charitra 2, therefore, is crucial since those unaware of what actually transpired between the two warring factions would get their answers in this part. In fact, Rakta Charitra 2 begins with a recap of the crucial moments of the first part and only after the lengthy summary concludes does the story of Rakta Charitra 2 unfold.

I genuinely feel that Rakta Charitra 2 is amongst RGV's most significant works, not only because of how well he has implemented it, but also because of the subject material. The enmity and hatred between Pratap and Surya is justified. The turning points in the tale - Surya's wife Bhawani contesting the elections and the subsequent assassination of Pratap - take the drama to a new high. The screenplay writing [Prashant Pandey] is spellbinding; it completely sucks you into the proceedings. Conversely, there are times when you feel that certain scenes are too extensive and prolonged and should've been trimmed for a stronger impact.

RGV's visual language is stimulating. His frames speak the unspoken. RGV's penchant for unusual camera angles have also come in for sharp criticism, but it makes his films stand out from the others. In fact, the cinematography in Rakta Charitra 2 [Amol Rathod] also comprises of extreme close-up shots, unusual angles, erratic movements and complete 360 degree turn. But it works wonderfully well. I've repeatedly heard people condemning RGV for going over the top or getting loud in various departments, especially when it comes to the background score. In fact, I strongly believe that the riotous background score [Dharam-Sandeep] works very well in a film of this variety.

Javed-Aejaz's action sequences are realistically gruesome with blood essentially written all over them. Splitting the throat open, stabbing the stomach and what not, everything seems so natural and so well choreographed. Being a vengeance saga, the dialogue need to stab both your mind and heart and the lines in Rakta Charitra 2 are completely in sync with the theme and temperament of the film.

Performances are unvaryingly of a high quality. Vivek Oberoi does complete justice to his character. He delivers an equally powerful performance in the second installment. But the focus is on South superstar Surya in Rakta Charitra 2. He delivers, without doubt, one of the most aggressive and forceful performances Hindi cinema has witnessed this year. I am sure, Surya will woo not just his Tamil fans with his tremendous performance, but also find a new audience base with Rakta Charitra 2: The Hindi movie-going audience. Southern superstar Surya is a welcome addition to the ranks of A-list heroes in the Hindi film industry.

Shatrughan Sinha doesn't really get much screen time in Rakta Charitra 2. Sudeep, who didn't have much to do in Rakta Charitra 1, is in top form now. Priyamani [as Bhawani, Surya's wife] is first-rate, while Radhika Apte is superb in the sequence when she confronts Vivek. Zarina Wahab gets limited scope in this part. Anupam Shyam is satisfactory.

On the whole, Rakta Charitra 2 highlights the emotion called vengeance most convincingly. It is chilling, raw, revolting, crass and ghastly, the kind that is meant to repulse you. But let's face it: It's a true depiction of human emotions. It's a film which is easy to devour if you can absorb brutality. It is for those who don't wince easy. But I'd say, watch it for its audacity and valour. Watch it to experience the work of a rebellious film-maker who never takes a break from telling an innovative story in film after film.


Director: Ram Gopal Varma
Cast: Vivek Oberoi, Shatrughan Sinha, Surya, Priyamani, Zarina Wahab, Anupam Shyam

Friday, December 3, 2010, 17:34 [IST]

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Ram Gopal Varma is known for controversies. He made a thorough research on the life of Paritala Ravi and met the people, including his wife and other followers to know the real facts behind the killing of gangster-turned-politician. The director claims that his intention is not to bring out a film on Paritala Ravi, but wanted to use the real life incidents in his life for his film, which has a fictitious subject and fictional characters. Whether it is the portrayal of the real life story or not, RGV succeeded in creating some controversial issue over it and the protests of the Telugu Desam cadres helped him in making the first part a success and hit. Read on for Rakta Charitra 2 Review.

However, the second part of the film, had little scope for controversies and he made use of Surya's hero image to work wonders. The actor has done justice to his character and his performance remains a highlight of the movie.

Story:
In the second part, Pratap Ravi concentrates on his political career and turns a minister with the blessings of his mentor Sivaji. On the other hand, another person Suryanarayana Reddy (Surya) awaits an opportunity to avenge the deaths of his relatives, who got killed in the hands of Pratap. He hatches a plan and triggers a bomb attack through a TV on Ravi, where the latter survives. DCP Ananda Prasad (Sudeep) identifies the culprit as Surya. In order to catch Surya, Ananda Prasad takes his wife Bhavani (Priyamani) into custody and brainwashes her to pressurise her husband to surrender to police.

Soon, Surya surrenders to police and goes to jail. While staying in prison he continues to plan for the elimination of Pratap Ravi. Even the minister also makes several attempts to kill Surya in the prison but fails in all his attempts. Meanwhile, some politicians, to settle their political scores with Ravi, helps Surya, who was in the prison. They also try to demoralise Pratap politically and give a party ticket to Bhavani to contest MLA election against Pratap Ravi. Unable to digest that a woman is trying to gain an upper hand, Ravi decides to kill Bhavani, but withdraws the bid following Nandini's (Radhika Apte) intervention. To make Bhavani withdraw from the elections, Pratap meets Surya in the jail and the latter did not want to listen to him. Instead he makes it clear that his life ambition is to kill him. Disgusted at his answer, Pratap Ravi decide to contest the elections with a perfect planning. While discussing the election issues with his party men, Pratap Ravi gets killed by Muddu Krishna, an associate of Surya in the prison and the film ends with Surya being taken to the court for trial.

Performance:
Surya has given an impressive performance all through the movie and his performance is the highlight of the movie. He has taken the entire responsibility of making the film worth watching. He perfect emotions is a treat to watch. Instead of showing bloodstained and cold blooded murders, this time, the director chose to portray the friction between two arch rivals on the screen. Both Vivek Oberoi and Surya has performed well and on screen they look like a real life rivals. But it was Surya who gained the upper hand in the second part. The director has etched Priyamani's role too with perfect precision, while Radhika Apte's character is normal. This time Priyamani and Radhika has got good opportunity to showcase their acting capabilities. To avoid the controversy on the lines of first part, the director has trimmed the role of Shatrughan Sinha. Kannada actor Sudeep has proved again that he is an excellent actor. Subhalekha Sudhakar has done justice to his role.

Technical:
Dialogues by Nageswara Rao are average and good in parts. Especially, he has penned one-liner and punch dialogues for Surya that are quite effective. Lyrics are just okay. Dharam-Sandeep has given an excellent background score, which elevated the emotions in the scene. Cinematography by Amol Radhod is another highlight of the film. He has captured the emotions with perfect precision. The usage of lighting in the film is great and he should be commended for portraying the film on the celluloid exactly as visualised by RGV. Ashok Gupta could have sharpened his scissors further to cut some unnecessary scenes. Varma should be complimented for narrating the story effectively and he almost succeeded in explaining the entire story.

Remarks:
Those who have seen Rakta Charitra part one, would opt for watching the second part. So, there will be some definite audiences. Moreover, the director's choice to cast Surya would again prompt the other audiences to watch the film. The film has bagged an above average talk.

Cast: Vivek Oberoi, Surya, Shatrughan Sinha, Priyamani, Radhika Apte, Sudip, Subhalekha Sudhakar and others.
Credits: Dialogues – Nageshwar Rao, Background score – Dharam-Sandeep, Cinematography – Amol Rathod, Editing – Ashok Gupta, Producers - Madhu Mantena, Sheetal Vinod Talwar, Chinna Vasudeva Reddy and Rajkumar, Story, screenplay and direction – Ram Gopal Varma.
Banner: Cinergy Productions
Released on: December 3, 2010