Raajneeti
File:Ranbir Kapoor snapshot - Rajneeti.jpg Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Prakash Jha
Produced by	Prakash Jha
Screenplay by	Anjum Rajabali Prakash Jha
Starring	Ajay Devgan Nana Patekar Ranbir Kapoor Katrina Kaif Arjun Rampal Manoj Bajpai Sarah Thompson Naseeruddin Shah
Music by	Wayne Sharpe Pritam Aadesh Shrivastava Shantanu Moitra
Cinematography	Sachin Kumar Krishnan
Editing by	Santosh Mandal
Distributed by	Prakash Jha Productions Walkwater Media UTV Motion Pictures
Release date(s)	June 4, 2010 (2010-06-04)
Running time	167 minutes[1]
Country	‹See Tfd› India
Language	Hindi
Budget	60 crore (US$11.97 million)[2]
Box office	143 crore (US$28.53 million)[3]

Raajneeti (Hindi: राजनीति; English: Politics) is a 2010 Indian political thriller film directed and produced by Prakash Jha, with a screenplay by Anjum Rajabali and Prakash Jha, and starring Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Ajay Devgan, Manoj Bajpai, Arjun Rampal, Naseeruddin Shah and Nana Patekar in the lead roles.^[4] The film was originally produced by Prakash Jha Productions, and was distributed by UTV Motion Pictures and Walkwater Media. It was shot in Bhopal. The title translates literally as "Politics" and contextually as "Affairs of State".^[5] The film draws parallels to the epic Mahabharata where shades of Krishna, Arjuna, Bheema, Duryodhan and Karna can be seen in the characters portrayed by Nana Patekar, Ranbir Kapoor, Arjun Rampal, Manoj Bajpai and Ajay Devgan respectively.

Rajneeti was released in theaters worldwide on 4 June 2010, after some controversies regarding similarities between real-life people and the characters in the film, as well as issues about the national anthem.

Plot[link]

The film begins with a quick flashback into the life of Bharti Rai (Nikhila Trikha), the daughter of Chief Minister Ramnath Rai (Darshan Jariwala). Influenced by leftist ideology, she rebels against her father and joins the rival party of leftist leader Bhaskar Sanyal (Naseeruddin Shah). Bharti develops an illicit relationship with Bhaskar, who, guilt-ridden over taking advantage of the younger woman, leaves for parts unknown, having unwittingly gotten Bharti pregnant. Upon the child's birth, he is abandoned in a boat by Brij Gopal (Nana Patekar), Bharti's brother. Bharti later marries Chandra Pratap (Chetan Pandit), the younger brother of Bhanu Pratap (Khan Jahangir Khan). Bhanu leads the Rashtrawadi political party. The story then shifts to present, where, the government in the state collapses and Bhanu suffers a stroke. In the hospital, he hands over power to his brother Chandra. Chandra's son, Prithviraj Pratap (Arjun Rampal) tries to take advantage of his father's power and starts to impose his own decisions on the party, which results in a clash with Veerendra Pratap (Manoj Bajpai). Chandra also starts to take side with his son, sidelining Veerendra. When Prithvi rejects the nomination of a local leader, Sooraj Kumar (Ajay Devgan), who is chosen by the common people, Veerendra gives his support to Sooraj. Unknown to all, Sooraj is Bharti's abandoned son, who was found and raised by Pratap family's driver.

When Chandra and Prithvi try to kick Veerendra out of his own father's party, he asks Sooraj for help. Sooraj ends up assassinating Chandra in his car, while he is returning from the airport after seeing off his younger son, Samar Pratap (Ranbir Kapoor). In an ensuing drama, Prithvi is arrested by police under the influence of Veerendra and put on trial for a true case of raping a woman party worker (Shruti Seth). Samar comes to the rescue and tricks Veerendra into dropping all charges upon his brother, promising that his brother will resign and that he will move with his family to the U.S.. However, Samar does not keep his promise and he, along with Prithvi, begins rallying public support. After Bhanu officially expels Prithvi, the latter splits from the Rashtrawadi party and contests elections under "Jana Shakti party", a new party with Gopal as his mentor and Samar as the executive. Meanwhile Samar's American girlfriend Sarah (Sarah Thompson) arrives in India to see the situation. To raise funds for the new party, Samar shrewdly ensures Prithvi's marriage to their childhood friend Indu (Katrina Kaif), the daughter of a powerful businessman. Indu had always loved Samar, however, Samar only thought of Indu as a friend and loved Sarah.

The film gets murkier with both sides trying every trick to ensure their victory in upcoming elections. Allegations and counter-allegations are made. Subsequently, Samar uncovers that the real murderers of his father are Sooraj and Veerendra, and decides to take revenge. On the other hand, Prithvi executes the former police officer, who had arrested him, and the woman worker at a farmhouse. Veerendra again seeks help from Sooraj and Sooraj makes a plan to assassinate Samar, being aware that Samar was behind all the tricks. Amidst of all the events, Indu realizes her love for Prithvi and Prithvi accepts her love in return. Also, Sarah is revealed to be pregnant with Samar's child and Samar promises Sarah that he will go to America with her and leave politics. A car bomb is planted in Samar's car. Prithvi goes to save Samar and Sarah, who were to be dropped off at the airport in that car. He manages to save Samar but gets killed while trying to save Sarah in vain. Devastated by the loss of his brother and girlfriend, Samar decides to retaliate. He suggests Indu to take the reins of the party and arranges the election campaign single-handedly.

Meanwhile, Sooraj is revealed to be the first child of Bharti, who implores him to join his younger brother Samar. Sooraj refuses to part ways with Veerendra and asks his mother to leave. Exit polls predict a victory for Indu's Party and on the counting day, Samar lures Veerendra and Sooraj to an unused factory by spreading a rumor about electronic voting machine being hacked. Veerendra and Sooraj fall in the trap and Veerendra gets shot by Samar and his men. Sooraj requests Samar to leave him and Veerendra till they reach the hospital, but Veerendra dies on the way. Gopal prompts Samar to shoot Sooraj who questions the morality of the act, but Gopal convinces him to take the revenge. Samar shoots Sooraj and takes the revenge for the destruction of his family.

Later the election results are declared, and Indu emerges with majority and is made Chief Minister. Samar is seen asking forgiveness and is seen attempting reconciliation with Indu. Explaining his decision to return to America, he reflects that he always wanted to stay away from politics as politics is a game that brings out the "inner devil" . Indu is also revealed to be pregnant with Prithvi's child, while Samar leaves India to look after Sarah's mother and settle there.

Cast[link]

• Ajay Devgan as Sooraj Kumar
• Nana Patekar as Brij Gopal
• Ranbir Kapoor as Samar Pratap
• Katrina Kaif as Indu Pratap
• Arjun Rampal as Prithviraj Pratap
• Manoj Bajpai as Veerendra Pratap
• Sarah Thompson Kane as Sarah Jean Collins
• Naseeruddin Shah as Bhaskar Sanyal
• Darshan Jariwala as Ramnath Rai
• Shruti Seth as Party Worker
• Chetan Pandit as Chandra Pratap
• Kiran Karmarkar as SP Sharma
• Daya Shanker Pandey as Ram Charittar
• Nikhila Trikha as Bharti Pratap
• Khan Jahangir Khan as Bhanu Pratap
• Vinay Apte as Babulal

Reception[link]

Critical reception[link]

In India, Mayank Shekhar of Hindustan Times rated it 3/5 and said, "None of the actors assembled on stage let him (the director) down; right from an unusually inspired Rampal to his powerful, polar opposite Bajpayee".^[6] Nikhat Kazmi of The Times of India rated it 4/5 and said, "The film basically anchors its plot in two classic tales — The Mahabharata and The Godfather — to create an engrossing diatribe on India's political system where democracy may prevail, but not in its purest form."^[7] Anupama Chopra of NDTV rated it 3/5 and said "Jha creates a real sense of the machinations and sordid deals that fuel politics but then hobbles it with outlandish twists and some decidedly 'filmy' moments".^[8] Rajeev Masand of IBN said, "Raajneeti is thrilling and gripping for the most part, even though it does lose steam in its final act. For the superb acting, and for the exciting dramatic highs, it's a film I recommend you do not miss."^[9]

In the U.S., Rachel Saltz of The New York Times said, "[T]he film — full of romance, intrigue and fraternal strife — is too diffuse to score political points. Or to have much impact."^[10] Robert Abele of the Los Angeles Times found that while it aimed "for something trenchant about thwarted destiny and ugly ambition in modern Indian democracy", it "mostly winds up with a convoluted and tonally awkward Godfather rehash, with nary a character worth rooting for," and that "Kapoor's performance is stony rather than calculating...."^[11] Frank Lovece of Film Journal International said, "More pulpy than political, this Godfather-ripoff Hindi electoral drama is a candidate for oblivion in U.S. theatres. ... [I]t all eventually becomes so ridiculous and over-the-top violent that there is nobody, nobody, to root for."^[5]

Box office[link]

Raajneeti recorded an opening of nearly 10.50 crore net on its first day.^[12] It had the second highest Friday opening in India after 3 Idiots, and the highest Friday opening in the first half of the year, surpassing Kites.^[13][14][15] It collected 34 crore at the end of the weekend and set a record for biggest weekend in the first half of the year, surpassing Housefull.^[16][17] It showed no major decline in business on Tuesday and collected Rs. 5.85 crore.^[18] At the end of the first week, the film collected Rs. 54.75 crore and set a record for biggest week in the first half of the year beating Housefull.^[19] Raajneeti sustained well in the second weekend and collected 16.25 crore.^[20] It is currently the tenth highest grossing Bollywood film.

Overseas, the film opened to weekend business of $2.25 million.^[21] In the U.S., the film played well for a limited release, noted Ray Subers of BoxOfficeMojo.com, grossing $850,244 on 124 screens its opening weekend, "which was good for first among limited releases and 11th place on the overall weekend chart." He specified that Raajneeti "became the third Bollywood movie this year to lead all limited releases in its first weekend," following My Name is Khan and Kites.^[22] In Australia and New Zealand, Raajneeti surpassed the opening weekend record set by 3 Idiots.^[23]

Awards and nominations[link]

17th Annual Star Screen Awards 2011

Won^[24]

• Best Actress (Popular Choice) - Katrina Kaif
• Best Screenplay - Prakash Jha, Anjum Rajabali
• Best Background Music - Wayne Sharp

Nominated

• Best Actor - Ranbir Kapoor

6th Apsara Film & Television Producers Guild Awards

Won^[25]

• Apsara Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role - Arjun Rampal

Nominated^[26]

• Apsara Award for Best Film - Prakash Jha
• Apsara Award for Best Lyrics - Sameer for "Mora Piya"
• Apsara Award for Best Playback Singer (Male) - Aadesh Shrivastava for "Mora Piya"
• Apsara Award for Best Performance in a Negative Role - Manoj Bajpai
• Apsara Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Male) - Ajay Devgn and Arjun Rampal(won)
• Apsara Award for Best Dialogue - Prakash Jha
• Apsara Award for Best Story - Prakash Jha
• Apsara Award for Best Screenplay - Anjum Rajabali & Prakash Jha
• Apsara Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Male) - Ranbir Kapoor

2011 Zee Cine Awards

Won^[27]

• Best Supporting Actor - Arjun Rampal

Nominated^[28]

• Best Actor - Ranbir Kapoor
• Zee Cine Award for Best Actor – Female - Katrina Kaif
• Best Film
• Best Director - Prakash Jha
• Best Female Playback Singer - Antara Mitra for "Bheegi Si Bhaagi Si"
• Best Lyricist - Sameer for "Mora Piya"
• Best Supporting Actor - Nana Patekar
• Best Actor in a Negative Role - Manoj Bajpai
• Best Story - Prakash Jha
• Best Cinematography - Sachin Kumar Krishnan
• Best Editing - Santosh Mandal

Controversy[link]

Raajneeti was first denied a censor certificate by the censor board of India for what they have thought as that the lead character played by Katrina Kaif, in the film is inspired fully or partial from the Congress Party's chief Sonia Gandhi and Rashtriya Janata Dal's chief Rabri Devi. Director Prakash Jha dismissed this allegation, saying his only inspiration was Mahabharata, an epic from ancient India.^[29] References to electronic voting machines and parts of the film suggesting that women have to compromise to get ahead in politics, crude dialogues about the Muslim community and some intimate scenes and excessive violence were also removed before giving the film a U/A censor certificate.^[30]

Soundtrack[link]

The background score of the film was composed by Wayne Sharpe while the soundtrack was composed by Wayne Sharpe, Pritam, Aadesh Shrivastava and Shantanu Moitra. The lyrics were penned by Irshad Kamil, Gulzar, Sameer and Swanand Kirkire. The soundtrack consists of four original songs and four remixes. The soundtrack was released on 14 May 2010.

Tracklist[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Raajneeti at AllRovi
• Raajneeti at Bollywood Hungama
• Raajneeti at Box Office Mojo
• Raajneeti at the Internet Movie Database
• Raajneeti at Metacritic
• Raajneeti at Rotten Tomatoes