Genre: Drama
Starring Amitabh Bachchan, Ritesh Deshmukh, Mohnish Behl, Paresh Rawal, Gul Panag.
Review:
Director Ram Gopal Varma, or better known as RGV, gives us Rann after a long spell of ridiculously bad movies. To those who don’t know, this guy did a remake of the 1975 cult classic Sholay as Aag. I just need to say one thing: Aag is No.18 in the Bottom 100 list of IMDB. Enough said.
That’s where you need to know one thing. RGV is like those rapidly fluctuating stocks. Rann simply is one of the best movies shown to what extent corruption shapes our country and affects the people. The movie shows a corporate fight between 2 News Channels and the unethical means and extent to which they go just to garner viewer ratings and make money. The direction is top-notch and the editing has been done brilliantly. This adds on to building tension and uneasiness. The story grabs your attention right from the start till the end.
Story in brief:
2 News agencies, 1 Bomb blast, 1 Honest reporter, 1 Corrupt Son, 1 Self-Righteous Father.
The News agencies upon learning about the bomb blast race to bring it first to the television screens and provide the quickest updates to the public. They begin to hunt for materials to show on television and even creating materials implicating top-level politicians wrongfully. Vijay (Amitabh Bachchan) leads the respected India 24 channel and Amrish (Mohnish Behl) leads Headlines 24/7 channel. There is a strong rivalry as Amrish used to be a subordinate of Vijay and feels jealous of him and detests Vijay. This is where Purab (Ritesh Deshmukh) steps in as a journalist for India 24 under Vijay. An admirer of Vijay and his ethics. But soon he witnesses a breaking news presentation by Vijay which he feels doesn’t fit the ethical image he had of Vijay. The movie sets an amazing pace through which you see how he goes about gathering information and how he might end up shattering more lives than just one.
Songs:
RGV knows his movies. This was an absolutely serious movie with a brilliant pace which could have been absolutely destroyed with any non-sensical song and dance sequences. Yes, there are no songs in this movie.
Acting:
I personally didn’t consider Ritesh to be a top-level actor. Until I watched this movie. He just amazed me with the range of emotions (and sometimes the lack of them) and he could have very well given one of his career best performances. One can’t and one shouldn’t take him lightly. He has incredible potential as an actor. He plays a very vital and almost the core role for this movie along with Amitabh Bachchan. And his performance is just riveting.
Amitabh Bachchan. Many call Shah Rukh Khan as the King of Bollywood. But Amitabh Bachchan is the God of Bollywood. He proves it over and over again. His performance is flawless. And watch towards the end of the movie for a a dialogue delivery by him which lasts for some 8 minutes! Its being said by many that this was done in a single continuous take! Yes, no retakes, no breaks. I am not sure how true this is, but if any actor can do it in Bollywood, it is him.
Everybody else delivers exactly what was expected of them. Mohnish Behl fulfils his negative role very well and you almost feel evil seething out of him. Sudeep, does very well as the son of Amitabh and he showcases a stereotype of how people can turn bad from greediness and bad company. Gul Panag has a very small role and of not any importance in the movie.
Moral:
You might be a man of ethics, rules and principles. But at the end of the day, you are still a human. And so, even if you are someone like Vijay Malik, you are prone to make mistakes. Big Mistakes. What is more important though is whether you own up to your mistakes irregardless of the implications it has for you and everybody else.
This movie shows why you can’t believe everything you see and hear. It’s like how you feel after knowing that the image manipulation software Adobe Photoshop is used to modify 85% pictures in all magazines and publications. You can’t trust those pictures anymore to be original. After watching this movie, you can’t trust any News Channels anymore. They can do anything. To get viewer ratings and money.
Ending notes:
This movie might just make you to start thinking about some of the things that you see in the news or have already seen in the past. A movie which makes you think long after watching it is definitely a good movie in my books.
I’ve watched:
3 times and counting!
Trailer:
bollywood4outsiders 