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Story: Prashanth Pandey
Dialogues: Nageswara Rao
Director of Photography: Amol Rathod
Action Directors: Javed-Aejaz
Background Score: Dharam-Sandeep
Music: Bapi-Tutul, Imran, Sukhwinder Singh , Vijay Kurakula
Lyrics: Kaluva Krishna Sai
Choreography: Remo D'Souza
Art: Tarun Ahuja, Satya Srinivas
Visual Effects: Future Works
Makeup Designer: Vikram
Editing: Bhanodaya, Nipun Ashok Gupta
Producer: Madhu Manthena, Sheetal Vinod Talwar, Chinna Vasudeva Reddy, Rajkumar
Executive Producer: Jaspidnder Singh Kang
Line Producer: Alok Singh
Screenplay, Direction: Ram Gopal Verma
Censor Certificate: A
Date of Theatrical Release: October 22, 2010
Summary:
Arguably the most controversial film of the year is here! A well-made film based on the incidents in the life of an individual, Rakta Charitra-I appeals to those who can take violence and gory details of a real life trauma blended with political drama. Needless to say, this film is not just another run-of-the-mill song-and-dance film; films like these need gripping story, editing, and direction as well as great performances. Rakta Charitra-I has all of them, and more!
Arguably the most controversial film of the year is here! A well-made film based on the incidents in the life of an individual, Rakta Charitra-I appeals to those who can take violence and gory details of a real life trauma blended with political drama. Needless to say, this film is not just another run-of-the-mill song-and-dance film; films like these need gripping story, editing, and direction as well as great performances. Rakta Charitra-I has all of them, and more!
What's it all about?
Narasimha Reddy (Raja Krishnamurthy), a politician, influenced by his aide Nagamani Reddy (Kota Srinivasa Rao), doubts and insults the integrity of Veerabhadrayya (Rajendra Gupta) who has the support of his local community. Nagamani Reddy prepares ground to kill Veerabhadrayya through one of his own men, and thus uses Manda (Ashish Vidyarthi) for the job of killing Veerabhadrayya in front of his wife Naramma (Zarina Wahab) and his supporters. The elder son of Veerabhadrayya, Shankar Ravi (Sushant Singh), vows to take a gory revenge but is soon killed by sub-inspector Gajapathi Rao upon instructions from Nagamani Reddy. His younger brother, Prathap Ravi (Vivek Oberoi), sees no choice than to seek vengeance "to preserve the self-respect and integrity" that his father and brother died for. His love interest Nandini (Radhika Apte) stands by his side and so does his mother and several of his deceased dad's supporters. How Prathap Ravi steers his path and pursues his personal goals while reminding himself of his father's noble ideologies and responsibilities to people, how he becomes a part of the politicial system by joining the Praja Desham Party headed by popular film star Shivaji Rao (Shatrughan Sinha) form the rest of the story. More characters such as the sons of Nagamani Reddy, Puli Reddy and Bukka Reddy (Abhimanyu Sekhar Singh), are introduced as the story moves along the path of revenge.
Narasimha Reddy (Raja Krishnamurthy), a politician, influenced by his aide Nagamani Reddy (Kota Srinivasa Rao), doubts and insults the integrity of Veerabhadrayya (Rajendra Gupta) who has the support of his local community. Nagamani Reddy prepares ground to kill Veerabhadrayya through one of his own men, and thus uses Manda (Ashish Vidyarthi) for the job of killing Veerabhadrayya in front of his wife Naramma (Zarina Wahab) and his supporters. The elder son of Veerabhadrayya, Shankar Ravi (Sushant Singh), vows to take a gory revenge but is soon killed by sub-inspector Gajapathi Rao upon instructions from Nagamani Reddy. His younger brother, Prathap Ravi (Vivek Oberoi), sees no choice than to seek vengeance "to preserve the self-respect and integrity" that his father and brother died for. His love interest Nandini (Radhika Apte) stands by his side and so does his mother and several of his deceased dad's supporters. How Prathap Ravi steers his path and pursues his personal goals while reminding himself of his father's noble ideologies and responsibilities to people, how he becomes a part of the politicial system by joining the Praja Desham Party headed by popular film star Shivaji Rao (Shatrughan Sinha) form the rest of the story. More characters such as the sons of Nagamani Reddy, Puli Reddy and Bukka Reddy (Abhimanyu Sekhar Singh), are introduced as the story moves along the path of revenge.
Performances
Cast:
Vivek Oberoi delivers a controlled performance as the protagonist who's forced into the path of violence. His voice (dubbed by R.C.M. Raju?) has a considerable role in successfully pulling off the character on the screen. Radhika Apte (voice dubbed by Sunitha) as the lead lady makes a positive impact in the very limited scope of her role, and her aptitude can be noticed when the camera is up close on her expressions. Kota Srinivasa Rao is at his usual, and yet distinctly notable, while playing a cunning politician. Shatrughan Sinha is appreciable in the role of a star-politician who etches the political career of the protagonist. His gestures and addressing people as "brother" are natural. Abhimanyu Singh has a strong screen presence in the role of a sadistic and violent womanizer. His expressions are very natural and subtle. While Ashish Vidyarthi has a very short-lived role, Tanikella Bharani, Sudeep and Subhalekha Sudhakar are wasted. (They may have more to do in the second part of the film.) Zarina Wahab does the needful. Ashwini Kalsekar is good as the police inspector that confronts Bukka Reddy. Singer Sukhwinder Singh appears in a song, though the vocals are rendered by Vandemataram Srinivas.
Cast:
Vivek Oberoi delivers a controlled performance as the protagonist who's forced into the path of violence. His voice (dubbed by R.C.M. Raju?) has a considerable role in successfully pulling off the character on the screen. Radhika Apte (voice dubbed by Sunitha) as the lead lady makes a positive impact in the very limited scope of her role, and her aptitude can be noticed when the camera is up close on her expressions. Kota Srinivasa Rao is at his usual, and yet distinctly notable, while playing a cunning politician. Shatrughan Sinha is appreciable in the role of a star-politician who etches the political career of the protagonist. His gestures and addressing people as "brother" are natural. Abhimanyu Singh has a strong screen presence in the role of a sadistic and violent womanizer. His expressions are very natural and subtle. While Ashish Vidyarthi has a very short-lived role, Tanikella Bharani, Sudeep and Subhalekha Sudhakar are wasted. (They may have more to do in the second part of the film.) Zarina Wahab does the needful. Ashwini Kalsekar is good as the police inspector that confronts Bukka Reddy. Singer Sukhwinder Singh appears in a song, though the vocals are rendered by Vandemataram Srinivas.
Technical Departments:
Supposedly based on the story of a leader, Paritala Ravi, the film starts off with a disclaimer saying that any resemblances to individuals living or dead is not intentional! That's a good start to shake up the minds of the audiences and make them forget all the expectations and take them into the "film version". Interestingly enough, the film's story is not set in the past; in fact, no timeline is mentioned explicitly, though there are aspects such as use of not-so-huge cellphones, Innova vans, and district-wise vehicle registration numbers, suggesting that the story could be considered to be set in mid-'90s. If one really wants to compare the film's story with the recorded history of the life of Paritala Ravi, there are so many number of minor and major deviations that one could actually watch the film as just any other film. One of the best technical departments in the film is the background score that elevates the mood of the film appreciably. Camerawork is commendable too. The art department did not have to struggle a lot since the film is not set into the early '80s, but a lot of coordination among the departments of art, costumes, makeup, and direction can be seen on the screen. Editing is crisp with no boring scenes anywhere as the film moves at a considerable pace, while the audience can still absorb the scenes. Some dialogues are particularly notable. Ram Gopal Verma's voice-over is not as effective as it should have been.
Supposedly based on the story of a leader, Paritala Ravi, the film starts off with a disclaimer saying that any resemblances to individuals living or dead is not intentional! That's a good start to shake up the minds of the audiences and make them forget all the expectations and take them into the "film version". Interestingly enough, the film's story is not set in the past; in fact, no timeline is mentioned explicitly, though there are aspects such as use of not-so-huge cellphones, Innova vans, and district-wise vehicle registration numbers, suggesting that the story could be considered to be set in mid-'90s. If one really wants to compare the film's story with the recorded history of the life of Paritala Ravi, there are so many number of minor and major deviations that one could actually watch the film as just any other film. One of the best technical departments in the film is the background score that elevates the mood of the film appreciably. Camerawork is commendable too. The art department did not have to struggle a lot since the film is not set into the early '80s, but a lot of coordination among the departments of art, costumes, makeup, and direction can be seen on the screen. Editing is crisp with no boring scenes anywhere as the film moves at a considerable pace, while the audience can still absorb the scenes. Some dialogues are particularly notable. Ram Gopal Verma's voice-over is not as effective as it should have been.
Ram Gopal Verma ensures, for the most part, that the treatment of the scenes does not create unnecessary controversies in the otherwise controversial film. After a long time probably, violence and gory bloodshed in an RGV-mark film are limited to guns and bullets, thus making the violence in the film much less compared to what's projected by the film's title and trailers; in fact, Telugu screen has seen much more violent scenes in films than all the violence in this film put together. In fact, no death - except by bullets/guns - is shown on the screen. (Notable from a social concern point of view, however, is how some audience "enjoyed" and applauded the on-screen violence.) His care as the director is seen, as usual, in choosing the right artistes for every minor role and ensuring the right emotions, particularly in closeup shots. However, it's a pity that the story is based on political faction feuds in Andhra Pradesh and the director hails from Andhra Pradesh too but the film hardly has any Telugu artistes (even counting familiar faces like Ashish Vidyarthi as "Telugu artistes"). While the songs in the audio album also sound far from native Telugu sounding, only the theme song and another song ( DabbunODaa... composed by Vijay Kurakula) and a few chants are retained in the film. DabbbunODa is good number.(It's again surprising that the chants chosen are not audible for most part, and when you can listen to the words, you keep guessing if it's Telugu or Sanskrit or something else and also their relevance to the scene - such as using the mRtyunjaya stOtram when the protagonist vows to kill everyone. Even the popular Siva panchaakshari stOtram is mispronounced - bhasmaanagaarayafor bhasmaanga-raagaaya - and is repeated the same way several times over!) The film is not "complete", in the sense that the other part is due to release on Nov. 19, 2010 (as indicated at the end of the film), but the story doesn't end abruptly.
Bottom Line:
Rakta Charitra-I is executed well, with not as much violence or controversy as is projected, and makes you look forward to seeing Rakta Charitra-II within the next one month. The first-time experiment of two-part release seems to be worthy a wait on the part of the audience and a confident move on the part of the makers. If you are used to seeing violence on the screen in all recent films where the protagonist goes around carrying ordinary and designer weapons and using them more frequently than the antagonist may use one, this film is probably not very violent for you. Some scenes depicting violence are unsuitable for children! (And, that is, of course, why the film received an 'A' certificate from the Censor Board. Please discourage children from watching any and all such films - it's against the law.) However, given that the film attracts only various pockets of target audience - it's a given that this film may not be suitable for family audience - how it rings the box-office is a wait-and-see affair.
Rakta Charitra-I is executed well, with not as much violence or controversy as is projected, and makes you look forward to seeing Rakta Charitra-II within the next one month. The first-time experiment of two-part release seems to be worthy a wait on the part of the audience and a confident move on the part of the makers. If you are used to seeing violence on the screen in all recent films where the protagonist goes around carrying ordinary and designer weapons and using them more frequently than the antagonist may use one, this film is probably not very violent for you. Some scenes depicting violence are unsuitable for children! (And, that is, of course, why the film received an 'A' certificate from the Censor Board. Please discourage children from watching any and all such films - it's against the law.) However, given that the film attracts only various pockets of target audience - it's a given that this film may not be suitable for family audience - how it rings the box-office is a wait-and-see affair.
Review by:NaChaKi
TC Rating: 3.5/5.0
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