Rajneeti Movie Review

Rajneeti is Prakash Jha's adaptation of Mahabharat and a some parts of Godfather thrown in.

I had very high expectations from the movie and it totally lived up to them during the first half. But the second half was a very big let down. My major contentions with this movie were from the least to the biggest:

1. Arjun Rampal: He was not bad but his accent, diction do not fit in. Also, as most of his scene are with the bigwigs, his lack of acting skills becomes very apparent.
2. Nikhila Trikha: She play Ranbir's mom in the movie and is passable most of the time. But during her big scene with Ajay Devgan, she messes it up completely.
3. The End: Climax is unbelievable as it happens in broad daylight with no thought for media getting even a hint of a shoot out between 2 major political opponents and Kat's big announcement in the last scene just seems cheesy and not needed.
4. Katrina Kaif: Why why did Jha have to cast her? She falls totally flat. For a character born and bought up in Bihar, her accent is horrible. I think she felt wearing a bindi would show her as an Indian girl, which of course it doesn't and in the second half when she has to give a powerful political speech which falls completely flat! a complete thumbs down to Kat
5. The timeline: can so many scandals, killings feuds happen in a few months? doesn't seem believable at all.

Performances: Nana Patekar is outstanding. Ajay Devgan once again impresses but seems to be under-utilized. Manoj Bajpai does a good job as usual. Ranbir Kapoor seems to be heading up with a commendable performance. as stated above, Arjun Rampal, Katrina Kaif and Nikhila Trikha disappoint.

Story: Overall a good story but gets cheesy and loses steam towards the end. Also the timeline shown could have been elongated.

Overall, I would give Rajneeti a 3/5 for some superb performances and a gripping first half. Definitely more watchable than Kites!