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A blood-and-gore fest
When a proverbial maverick like Ram Gopal Varma sets out to make a film and titles it Rakta Charitra, it’s a foregone conclusion that an unrestrained celebration of blood and gore is on the platter. So is the case with this utterly violent film, starring Vivek Oberoi, Abhimanyu Singh and Shatrughan Sinha in major roles.
Now, the bloody question is - how far is Rakta Charitra different from Ramu’s previous films of the same genre. The film’s plotline, inspired by the story of the Andhra politician Paritala Ravi, is definitely farm-fresh, but the theme of revenge and counter revenge and the bloodbath that follows is something we have seen in lesser degree in Ramu’s own films before. What’s different is that instead of being gunned down, people here are hacked. Weapons like sickles, crop-cutters, pickaxes and even heavy boulders come handy in this revenge saga with a political angle.
Pratap Ravi (Vivek Oberoi) is a simple collegian who turns into a killing machine to avenge the gruesome killing of his idealist father (Rajendra Gupta) and brother (Sushant Singh). As he slays one rival after another, Pratap becomes a figure of dread and awe in the rural hamlet, sparking a wave of counter revenge from his arch foe Buka (Abhimanyu Singh).
Pratap is taken out from rakta neeti and introduced to rajneeti by a powerful politician Shivajirao (Shatrughan Sinha). Thereby begins an altogether new journey of rise to power of this killer-turned-neta.
Ram Gopal Varma cuts to the chase with a bloodbath right at the onset, making clear to the flummoxed viewers in theatres that he intends to shock and awe them with unapologetic depiction of violence, killing, abductions and rape. To be fair to him, some sequences do hit you like sledgehammer, particularly the scene when Vivek guises as a police officer to do the killing. Even the scenes between Vivek and his mentor Shatrughan Sinha are gripping.
Is this Vivek Oberoi’s best performance. Nah! Not really. As a youth seething with rage, Vivek can play a character like this even in half sleep. But there’s no denying that the actor does shine in certain sequences (like the slaying of the minister) and does bring out a laudable transformation in his character, as the hot-headed and vengeful Pratap turns into a somewhat calculated politician.
Abhimanyu Singh comes up with the most powerful performance in the film; his portrayal of an unforgiving villain is chilling to the bone. Shatrughan Sinha too pitches in a riveting act. In supporting roles, Radhika Apte (as Vivek’s ladylove), Zarina Wahab and Ashwini Kalsekar come up with fine performances.
Rakta Charitra bears a Ram Gopal Varma stamp from start to end. The unconventional camera angles, the sepia tone, the sharp close-ups, and, not to forget, the deafening background score, which Ramu seems to be obsessed with. Amol Rathod’s cinematography is doubtlessly marvellous, though the Jayesh Dhakkan’s sound lacks any restraint.
What’s particularly off-putting is the glorification of violence in the film. Ramu seems intent on making a point here and he appears to have gone overboard. The scenes of people getting pummelled, slain, gunned down become revolting after a point. However, the film ends on a curious note - with the introduction of Suriya - leaving Ramu with something further to build on for the second part, Rakta Charitra II which will come soon.
Before that you need to get over this blood-and-gore fest and brace up for the next one.
Rating: 2.5 stars out of 5
