Dec 07, 2010 09:53 PM
2643 Views
Rakht Charitra is easily a unique product of Bollywood as it’s the first time that a two-part film is made. And not to forget, the Part 2 has arrived within 50 days of the release of Part 1! Now that Part 2 has also released, the question that arises is-Is Rakht Charitra-2 better than Rakht Charitra-1? Sadly, the answer is No. Part 1 was terrific in all respects and Part 2 fails to reach that level. However, it’s still an engaging fare and if you have seen (and of course liked) Rakht Charitra-1, then missing Rakht Charitra-2 won’t be a good idea!
The story of the movie: Pratap Ravi (Vivek Oberoi) is a minister in the cabinet of Shivaji’s (Shatrughan Sinha) government and there’s no one who can stop him. However, soon he has to face a strong rival in the form of Surya (Suriya) who hates Pratap and wants to kill him at any cost. To find out why he wants to end Pratap’s life and the reason for intense hatred, watch the film!
The initial reels give a highlight of Rakht Charitra-1. However, it turns out to be an extended recap which frankly doesn’t work. That’s because the first part was in a league of its own, moving at a definite speed. Trying to tell the whole tale of 2 hrs in 25 minutes is foolhardy. It would be handy for those who haven’t seen Part 1 but even they might resent it. Fortunately, Part 2 commences soon and that too with a bang! But unlike the first part where the excitement almost never fell, the Part 2 has too many scenes which were dragging (too much of slow motion used). But the flashback sequence of Surya was brilliant and this is where the film picks up. This part of the film shakes you (esp the television explosion scene) and that’s when you realize that Surya’s wish to kill Pratap is justified. 2 observations are also done here. Firstly, Surya with his aim of killing Ravi for revenge is actually following the footsteps of Ravi who also became a murderer for the same reason. Hence, Surya was going the Pratap way incidentally to kill none but Pratap!
Secondly, an important question arises that how come Pratap, who was not a bad man at heart, do something so terrible to Surya? But we soon get the answer in the second half and it really makes things interesting. However again, the film drops at certain places. And again it picks up in a power-packed climax. The film ends on a totally justified note with an appeal from Ram Gopal Varma which sums up to Gandhiji’s famous quote-An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind!
If the Part 1 belonged to Vivek Oberoi, Part 2 is totally dominated by Suriya. He’s a total powerhouse of talent who picks up the film the moment he enters the narrative. After Nagarjuna, Madhavan and Siddharth, it’s Surya who’s the big discovery from the South and definitely deserves to stay here. Vivek Oberoi, on the other hand, pitches in a brilliant performance but Surya impresses far more than the former. But Vivek too outshines Surya in many scenes, notably when he gets injured in the accident and when Nandini (Radhika Apte) confronts him. As mentioned in the review of Part 1, this wasn’t an easy role at all and three cheers to VO for coming out with flying colours!
Shatrughan Sinha was as good as he was in Part 1 although in this part he doesn’t have much to do. Sudeep was there only for a scene in Part 1 but gets adequate screen presence in this part. As usual he delivers a fine performance. Priyamani (last seen in Raavan as Abhishek’s sister) was terrific. Radhika Apte gets scope only in 2nd half and makes good use of it. The actor who played Suriya’s prison buddy was brilliant. Others do a nice job.
Songs were played only in the background which suited the theme of the film. Background score enhanced impact. Amol Rathod’s cinematography bore the traditional RGV stamp-sudden zooms, zany camera angles and this time a 360 degree angle flip-something new and unique indeed! Javed-Aejaz’ action was not as gory as the initial part. But the film is replete with extremely violent scenes.
Prashant Pandey’s script could have been a bit tighter. Same for Ram Gopal Varma’s direction. However, at the same time, I feel that only RGV could have done justice to a script and plot like this. He has his own style of filmmaking which turns simple goings-on interesting and gripping. This year has been really great for him with all his 3 films-Rann, Rakht Charitra-1 and Rakht Charitra-2 getting thumbs up. And next year, he’ll be back with Department (Abhishek Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt and most probably Big B)!
Some of the best scenes:
The bomb explosion done by Surya
The arrest of Surya
Attack on Surya in the court
Surya’s flashback
The fight in the prison
Pratap meets Surya
Bhawani (Priyamani) decides to stand for elections
Assassination attempt on
The climax
On the whole, Rakht Charitra-2 is a neat vendetta fare with a right message. Unfortunately, it gets dragging at places which dilute the impact. Despite the flaws, it is definitely worth watching, especially for fans of Vivek and most importantly Surya, the new cool guy in B-town!
