In another world & time.... Review on Rudraksh

Having read the reviews on this movie, most of which do not recommend it, I was not too keen on watching it. But my kid sister pestered me to get the VCD & watch it with her. Having nothing better to do on a holiday, with my parents out, I agreed to her wishes. Now, I'm glad I did cos I liked it. Contrary to the earlier reviews of other members, I beg to differ in my opinion. True, there are certain details which could have been left out; but being Bollywood, I guess the unnecessary masala was a must.

This movie has been dealt with in great detail by wonderful reviewers so I wouldn't really like to repeat the story. However, I would like to share a few thoughts which many of U may term as supernatural, unscientific or even a bit crazy. Well, when we fail to understand certain things, we tend to term them as crazy rather than accept that we indeed have no idea about it.

Likewise, this movie will not be liked by those who cannot comprehend it fully. Again, I'd like to stress that these views are just my thinking & may not be correct. I am not a very well-read person nor do I deal too much with the supernatural & stuffs like that. But certain things prompt me to dwell much deeper into unknown quarters.

In brief, Rudraksh is a movie of the war between the followers of good & evil which has been going on since time immemorial. Where there are believers of God, on the other hand there are also worshipers of the Devil. In the movie, Bhuriya (Sunil Shetty) is the one chosen by the Devil to spread sin & evil in this world. He works hard to please the Devil so that he may get the immense power to rule the world. However, Bhuriya knows that he alone cannot fulfill this order & he begins searching for that one man who can help him become the indisputable, planning to destroy him once his goal is accomplished. His queen in his quest is Lali (Isha Kopikar).

The good counterpart of that evil power is Varun (Sanjay Dutt) who is a Reiki healer, martial arts trainer & bouncer by night. His third eye is alert & his heart is pure which makes him the right candidate to play the part of Bhuriya's accomplice. But the good in him refuses to become evil inspite of all the incentives promised. His father & guru, portrayed by Kabir Bedi, is a learned & spiritual sage who lives in the far-off mountains where they have access to internet(?)

Dr. Gayatri(Bipasha Basu) is a scientist with a small team who unveils the fraudulent spiritual healers & is in search of the true man who can act as her specimen in all her experiments. She falls in love with Varun. Bhuriya tries to force Varun to join him but fails everytime.

In the end, he kills the holy sage & then Varun sets out in search of Bhuriya to avenge his father's death & along tags Gayatri. On finding him, Varun still refuses to join him & is on the verge of death when his father's spirit counsels him to become a demon in order to destroy the demon which he can't defeat as a good human. The end doesn't depict whether Varun converts back into a good man or is lured by the attractions of being evil.

There are lots of loopholes in the movie & the picturization. I won't dwell on the silly details of how Gayatri has every hair intact & face still powdered & lips still red inspite of being trapped under a huge pillar in a cave. Let me rather discuss the more important subject which comprises of the theme of the movie. Yes, it is true that goodness & evil have always fought one another. To be a chosen disciple of God or the devil is not an easy task. It requires a lot of sacrifices & meditation.

While it has been mentioned that it took Bhuriya 14 years to acquire his powers, Varun seems to have been born with his healing qualities. Granted! But as I can see it, he was not a chosen one. In fact, he was just a normal human being with a good knowledge of Reiki & a higher level of consciousness. I believe that the atmosphere carries vibrations of all sorts & if the receptive power is strong enough, it leads to intution or telepathy.

If the bondage between two people is strong enough, vibrations can get carried through a very long distance. That explains the instinct that many of us may have experienced when a loved one is in need. But this intution does not remain strong with regard to everyone.

Human, by nature, is selfish. God & evil exists within each one. It depends on which side U choose to develop. Truly spiritual people & sages of all times kill the evil in them. They keep their mind, heart & soul so pure so as to rise above the common man. They give up all expectations, selfishness & desires & keep their mind open so that they can hear the voice of God & follow His Will. As a reward, they are gifted with Divine Wisdom, Healing Power & an ability to reach out to people & the future.

To retain these gifts, the chosen one has to remain pure & above all desires. If he gives in to temptations, his powers will slowly diminish. That is one reason that since old times, sages have sought solitude in the unapproachable mountains & forests. They never flaunt their powers & never turn anyone in need away. They want no repayment except happiness of others, peace of their own mind & a closeness with God.

Coming back to the movie, Varun is said to be the only human who has all the qualities of being a chosen one. He succumbs to love, lust & agrees to help Gayatri in her experiment. That is a complete no-no & against the rules of spiritualism. His powers would have been snatched away. Moreover, he hardly meditates or keeps in touch with his inner self except when he needs it. A person who has renounced the world never feels hatred for anyone nor does he try to avenge anyone. Death is an inevitable process for the soul to move on to a higher level to achieve Nirvana. Fate is something that cannot be fought against. But Varun acts more like a kid & seeks his father's murderer. If his sole motive was to save the world from evil, it would have been much more acceptable. But he gives in to worldly emotions.

In the end, he accepts evil & becomes a demon himself in order to save the world from evil. That's another stupid concept. To become evil, one has to give up goodness. Giving up goodness is giving up all that represents God. ''To save the world'' is no excuse to becoming evil. Saints & sages have always tried to save the world by spreading Love. So, all in all, though the movie has got a very good theme, it's presentation is very poor & the moral it gives is something we do not require in today's world which is already full of violence & crime. It is good to watch only to understand the basics of saints & demons but can be very misleading, as the story moves on. So I'll recommend it for a one-time viewing, if it still interests U.

I am sure many of U will not agree or have questions to ask. Please do not hesitate to comment & even though I'm not an expert, I'll try my best to give justifiable replies. Those who do not believe, it's alright, Ur opinion & Ur knowledge but let's not argue but try instead, to make the world a better place in whichever way we individually or collectively are best at. :0)