It’s a bloody battle for political power between the rival claimants of the Pratap family. When the venerable elder suffers a paralytic stroke, the seat of power automatically shifts to his younger brother, much to the discomfiture of his son, Manoj Bajpayee who considers himself to be the rightful heir to his bed-ridden father’s throne. He can’t see his rival cousins, Arjun Rampal and Ranbir Kapoor, rising to power while he is left simmering in the shadows. He seeks the assistance of dalit leader, Ajay Devgn to play his political cards and clear the path for his ascent to the top job (party president/chief ministership), even if it means traversing a blood-strewn and violent road that leads through assassination and fratricide. Of course, he underestimates the power and political shrewdness of the supposedly apolitical youngest cousin, Samar Pratap Singh (Ranbir Kapoor) who ostensibly came to India from New York on a short vacation but ended up playing the role of Arjuna in a veritable political Mahabharata, with Krishna-like Brij Gopal (Nana Patekar) guiding him through the intrigue.

The screenplay by Prakash Jha and Anjum Rajabali is crisp and has a dynamic flow with the drama building up through the political one-upmanship between opponents in every passing act. With the premise that politics corrupts every soul, almost every central character in the film is sketched with shades of grey. So much so that till a point you are puzzled on who’s the protagonist and who’s the antagonist. But by the second half the two are distinctly demarcated with Ranbir’s character coming to forefront. Other than Mahabharat, there’s also a hint of Godfather in the writing when Ranbir stays back in India to win over his father’s lost empire. And here’s where the film shifts track from a political saga to being a regular revenge drama. The formulaic climax adds to the vengeance plot but at the same time complements the original essence of Mahabharat.

The epic tale of Mahabharat has been repeatedly adapted on the small screen ever since B.R.Chopra first did it more than two decades back. But barring Chopra’s version, all other direct derivatives have been shoddy and forgettable. All those losers and other aspirants can take a lesson or two from Prakash Jha about the politics of the trade. Raajneeti is the most effective cinematic interpretation of the Mahabharat since Shyam Benegal’s Kalyug (1981).

Raajneeti is an absolutely performance driven film and Jha not only extracts excellent performances from his cast but also balances each role so that no actor overshadows the other.Prakash Jha’s Raajneeti is a politically correct tribute to Mahabharat. Absolutely recommended!

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Chapters: 4

part 1
part 2
part 3
part 4
part 5
part 6

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part 1
part 2
part 3
part 4
part 5
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part 7
part 8

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part 1
part 2
part 3
part 4
part 5
part 6
part 7
part 8
part 9

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part 1
part 2
part 3
part 4
part 5
part 6
part 7
part 8