Rakta Charitra Cinema Review : History Told In Extremes

(రక్త చరిత్ర సినిమా రివ్యు)

Film: Rakta Charitra
Banner: Cinergy productions
Cast: Vivek Oberoi, Abhimanyu Singh, Shatrughan Sinha, Kota, Radhika Apte, Zareena Wahab, Sushant Singh, Tanikella, Subhalekha Sudhakar, Vishwajeet Pradhan, Rajendra Gupta, Ashish Vidyarthi, Kitty and others
Dialogues: Nageswara Rao
Music: Dharam- Sandeep
DOP: Amol Rathod
Editing: Bhanodaya, Nipun Ashok Gupta
Story, screenplay, direction: Ram Gopal Varma
Producers: Madhu Mantena, Sheetal Vinod Talwar, Chinna Vasudeva Reddy, Rajkumar
Release Date: 22nd Oct 2010

Ram Gopal Varma is back after a long hiatus into the Telugu circuit and he chose his favorite genre of violence, intensity and bloodshed. Let us see how far RGV is successful in convincing audiences. Let us peep into good and bad in the movie:

StoryNoted MLA Narasimha Reddy (Kitty) has got a trusted aide in the form of Veerabhadriah (Rajendra Gupta) in Anandapuram area.
 
However, Narasimha’s relative Nagamani Reddy (Kota) is unable to take this for reasons of caste and losing his presence. He plants a seed of friction and in no time, Narasimha Reddy gets Veerabhadriah killed. This enrages Veerabhadriah’s elder son Shankar Ravi (Sushant) and he gets into a killing spree and operates from forests.
 
Veerabhadriah’s younger son Pratap Ravi (Vivek) who is away from all this gets to know of this and before he realizes, Shankar Ravi also gets killed. He vows revenge on his father and brother’s killers and in this process, Narasimha Reddy, Nagamani Reddy and others are brutally killed. Nagamani Reddy’s son Bukka Reddy (Abhimanyu) who is insane to the core is unable to take this and he becomes Pratap’s main enemy.
 
Meanwhile, the rise of Pratap as opposite force to Bukka Reddy is noticed by Shivaji Rao (Shatrughan) who sets a new party and he decides to lift Pratap to put an end to Bukka Reddy. What happens after that forms the rest of the story.
 
Performances:
Vivek Oberoi is an apt choice, his eyes deliver the sufficient emotion of revenge and his body language is intense. He has done full justice to his role.
 
Abhimanyu Singh is a complete show stealer. His menacing looks and his cold blooded performance will give some spine chilling moments.
 
Shatrughan Sinha was contained and it must be said that traces of real life N T Rama Rao are quite prominent in his gestures and dialogue delivery.
 
Kota was perfect, Radhika was naturally appealing, Zarina was neat, Tanikella was impressive and he made his presence felt, Rajendra Gupta was adequate, Sushant was brief, Ashish Vidyarthi was alright, Subhalekha Sudhakar was standard, Subrat Dutta was good, the others did their bit as required and added value.
 
Highlights:Symbolism shots with respect to showing a cycle in Shivaji Rao (Shatrugan Sinha)’s place (recalling TDP and NTR), usage of left had, addressing as ‘brother' are impressive.
 
Showing a dog barking after the death of Naga Mani Reddy (Kota) depicts ‘kukka chaavu'..That’s impressive.
 
Ram Moorthy (Tanikella) saying to Pratap Ravi ‘to shave beard as a politician should look clean at face although dirty at heart'
 
Bukka Reddy’s introduction scene
 
Disappointments:RGV’s voice over is overflowing. It’s not a radio drama to explain everything with a voice over. Whatever RGV is saying in voice, is being conveyed visually! It disturbed the mood to some extent.
 
Pratap Ravi stays in forest as per the dialogue. But he stays in a dusty hill area that hardly looks like a forest. It may sound trivial, but when such observations linger in mind, some audience gets distracted from the mood.
 
Why Dabbunnoda song? The context is not convincing.
 
Challenges:The subject chosen is quite hard hitting so one needs to have some background information before actually connecting to the film.
 
Facing criticism with respect to Shivai Rao’s (a replica of NTR) characterization and converting it into publicity element.
 
Facing criticism and questions with respect to ‘pedda sir' (implying YSR) and again converting it into a publicity element
 
Mood is suddenly dropping down at the conclusion point of the movie. Waiting till Part-2 to get completeness in feeling is a challenge for audience and it’s challenge for maker to sustain interest for 1 month till Part-2 release.
 
Analysis:“Goodness or badness can never be anyone’s property. They are situational.
If a man is hunger free, he showers only goodness. But if any sort of hunger (be it lust, power craving or greed or vengeance) hits him, he spells badness'. 
Rakta Charitra is a fiction based on historical facts.
It’s rather powerful to say that it’s a true depiction of human emotions.
It’s a tour to extreme human beings.
 
Ramayan or Mahabharat or any chronicled history in dramatic form depicts the extremities of emotions in every character. For example if Karna is known for generosity, its shown with eccentricity of chopping off his own armored skin to offer for a beggar. If Bheeshma is known for sacrifice, its shown in extreme point of choosing life time celibacy to keep himself and his legacy far from kingship. Any drama holds grip only when the characterizations are strong. This fact was known for dramatists right from Veda Vyasa and Valmiki. Similar path is now chosen by Ram Gopal Varma is depicting a historical fact in dramatic form.
 
He has shown Bukka Reddy as a determined rapist (!) and dedicated murderer (!).The incidents canned around this characterization are extreme in imagination. Pratap Ravi is shown as a bad guy, but for a true reason (since he is chosen to be the hero of the plot).
 
Ram Gopal Varma is a master of movie making and an expert storyteller. This is seen here yet again. As such, the storyline can be understood in few words and there is nothing unpredictable about it but then it is the way Ramu takes off with each scene and how he gets the viewer into the film which counts.
 
His screenplay techniques and shot compositions are one of those dexterities he possesses. Perhaps a layman might find the visual appeal to be dim but then there are few flashes of his brilliance which are seen on and off. The focus was more on the emotion of the protagonist and the villain so that is a challenge to handle for more than two hours.
 
On the other hand, it is not a typical Varma characterization where most of the actors give hard expressions, talk less and convey more. Here the characters speak sufficient and sometimes little verbose!! But still there is a rhythm in their performance and it connects to the regular audience.
 
On a whole it’s a movie about the raise of a leader.
 
Bottom-line: For the lovers of realistic violence.

When Aniston got a letter from Jolie

Former Friends star Jennifer Aniston was shocked when she once received a letter from actress Angelina Jolie. According to reports, Jolie, who raises six children with Aniston’s ex-husband Brad Pitt, decided to reach out to her in an attempt to put an end to their long-running feud.

"Angelina doesn’t want any more bad energy in her life and she hates the hostility that exists between her and Jen," showbizspy.co.uk quoted a source as saying.

"It’s taken her a very long time to work up the courage, but she’s coming from a good place and genuinely wants to put the past behind them," the source said.

"It may seem crazy, but for those of us who actually know Angelina, it really isn’t all that surprising. She’s an unpredictable character, so for her to reach out to Jen like this is just the sort of behavior she’s known for."

"In the note, Angie tells Jen that she would make a wonderful mother and that she’s at the perfect age and time of her life to have her first child. What’s more, Brad is fully behind her. He’s so proud of Angie for reaching out to Jen," the source added.

The source further said that when Aniston opened Jolie's note, she was "beyond shocked. I think she suspected at first that it must have been sent as some kind of a prank."

"Still, when Jen realised Angie’s letter was sincere and genuine, she actually went from shocked to being impressed. Being a mature person, Jen must have recognized how much of an effort it was on Angie’s part to have gone through with the letter," the source added.

Brook struggles with her bust‎

Model-actress Kelly Brook admits it's hard to find clothes that keep her breasts covered.

The 30-year-old says it is difficult to make fashion choices that go well with her curvy shape.

According to British newspaper the Daily Star, she said: 'Finding clothes that suit my curvy shape has been a struggle.

'When I was younger I was a trend follower without thinking if it suited by body shape.'

The brunette beauty added: 'Now, I stick to accentuating my waist as it helps to balance out my hips and boobs.'

Brook has recently been roundly criticised for appearing in a bikini in nearly all of her scenes in the new movie Piranha 3D.

Kim bares all for W magazine

After stripping for Playboy magazine, socialite Kim Kardashian has posed nude for Amercian fashion magazine W.

Kardashian had said she was "sorry" after posing nude for Playboy in 2007, but she is back at it, reports dailymail.co.uk.

The 29-year-old has appeared completely nude on the November issue of the magazine for its annual art issue, but three text boxes have been strategically placed to cover her privates.
      The pictures inside the magazine have her completely nude except for a strip of silver paint.

Aguilera splits from husband

According to reports by the US Weekly, singer Christina Aguilera has separated from her husband Jordan Bratman for ‘a few months’. They also have a son together – Max, who is 2 years old. They met for the first time 8 years ago. They dated for a while before deciding to tie the knot in 2005.

There were reports that the 29-year-old singer and the 33-year-old music executive Jordan Bratman have already been separated for a few months. The reason responsible for the separation is yet to be clearly known.

It does seem surprising that the couple decided to separate for a while, because some time ago, in an interview the singer had said that she was very happy in her marriage.

However neither Christina nor Jordan have firmly decided whether they want a divorce or not. According to sources, this is just a trial separation and they both want to see how things turn out eventually.

According to sources, “They were very much in love. But over the last six months, it ­became clear they were more like friends than husband and wife.”

The singer also tried to rekindle the romance in their marriage with a proposed vacation but things didn’t turn out the way that she expected.

Russell, Katy to make sex tape

Russell Brand joked that he and pop-star finacee Katie Perry would definitely make a sex tape together.

Brand, 35, answered in good humour when asked if he and pop-star finacee, 25 might ever work in a movie together. "We''ll do a sex tape! Give them what they want!" People magazine quoted Brand as saying.

"It takes up enough of my time to be in love with her. Negotiating in films is very, very hard. Imagine trying to direct someone you really love - it would be a [expletive] nightmare," Brand said.

"I've found someone who is singularly important to me, so it means compromise, growing up and all the things they tell you in school," he said.

"Love between two people is the most spectacular yet ordinary thing in the world," Brand added.

Madonna has a new toy boy?

Has Madonna got 'Sticky and Sweet' with the guy with the sexy body and the smooth moves?

Rumours have it that 33-year-old Brahim Rachiki, a choreographer on Madonna's 'Sticky and Sweet' tour, caught the pop superstar's eye.

Madge was spotted at a hot spot in downtown New York on Thursday night, according to Page Six, holding hands and "sneaking kisses" with her "handsome" colleague.

A source says that Madonna, 52, tore up the dance floor for a lengthy stretch before the two "immediately started making out in front of other guests."

And a witness reports that once the pair relocated to another nightclub in the wee hours of the morning, "they hugged and kissed for the rest of the night."

The singer's last serious beau, 24-year-old Brazilian model Jesus Luz, has allegedly been flirting with women closer to his own age back in his home country. His relationship with the music icon was characterized by many as a fling.

Richiki is listed as second assistant choreographer in the credits for the Michael Jackson documentary, 'This Is It.' According to his official website; he's also worked with Janet Jackson, Chris Brown, Gnarles Barkley and modeled for Levi's.