Movie Review: Rann

Rann starring Amitabh Bachchan, Sudeep, Ritesh Deshmukh, Paresh Rawal and others released last friday.

It is directed by Ram Gopal Varma and produced by Madhu Mantena (Ghajini) & Sheetal Vinod Talwar.

RGV is one director who is hated by all and still maintains a cult following. Rann is a film based on Media and its functioning. I always expected the film to be intense & serious exposing a lot of scams & scandals. Lets see if it is able to fulfill that.

Story deals with a person Vijay Harshwardhan Malik (Amitabh Bachchan) who is the most famous journalist of the country and also the owner of a new channel. During the current scenario, "where news is not what we see but what me make", he is suffering a setback where he faces declining TRP's, low revenues & opposition from his own people. And, then how his own son Jai Malik (Sudeep) sells off himself to a corrupt politician which in turn leads to forgery, corruption and ultimately murders.

The story is very powerful and also has a RGV touch to it but what I can't digest is the fact that the film gets too real or too over the top. For instance, Mohan Pandey (Paresh Rawal), the prime ministerial candidate is shown in such a bad light that you question if that's possible. It may be but our heart would never believe it. Things like Vijay Harshwardhan being a messiah to the country, etc are little too over the top. And, the inclusion of songs in the film makes it really irritating. Overall, I think the story is good but the screenplay could have been better. Good!

Amitabh Bachchan has once again given a splendid performance. Sudeep (last seen in Phoonk) has done a great job but I still feel Abhishek Bachchan could have been a better choice for this role. Ritesh Deshmukh has done something different from the regular comic characters and given an intense performance in this very serious role. Mohnish Behl, Rajat Kapoor, Rajpal Yadav, Gul Panag, Suchitra Krishnamurthy have all done well! But, hands down to the winner - Paresh Rawal who has given an outstanding performance which could easily be one of his best. Very Good!

Like majority of RGV films, the music is extremely poor. Infact, it is irritating to have to listen to such plain words by Prashant Pandey & Sarim Momim. Tunes of Amar Mohile, Bapi-Tutal, Sanjeev & Jayesh Gandhi could not make any difference to the film because it is film which would have been better without songs. Background music is okay. Poor!

Direction by RGV is superb and this can be counted amongst his best films. All I can say is, he is in full form after duds like Agyaat & Phoonk. I somehow felt this film is very similar to the "Sarkar films" which can be a compliment or a criticism. I choose it as a compliment! Very Good!

Overall, the film is a gem for people who love "serious cinema" and when RGV is in full form, a few other film lovers who want to see something new should also watch it!

Rating: *** (Good)

Story/Screenplay: ***

Acting:****

Music:*

Direction:****

P.S. Not recommended for entertainment lovers.!

People who do not know, Rann means "Battlefield".