Rann [Hindi] Movie Review – I

Behind the TRPs

In the television industry, channels are blamed for sensationalizing the news to suit their interests and push up their TRP ratings. Ram Gopal Varma, who vowed to show the true face of the modern day media in Rann, unwittingly emulates the very subject of his film by trying to ‘sensationalize’ a serious subject and increase the box office performance of his movie.

And guess what, he succeeds considerably well in his effort, especially in the second half.

In the first half of Rann, the camera is a shy cat; lurking beneath the tables and hiding behind the book shelves to witness the two warring media groups unfold their sinister strategies. But in the second half, probably emboldened by the meat in the script, the camera jumps to the forefront like a tiger, with right angles and a gripping narration and some real content in the script, making the film worth watching.

But in spite of its gripping narration, what splashes on your face like those incessant breaking news in the TV is the lack of research in the film. For a man as influential as RGV, who could visit the Taj hotel with a chief minister and his son just days after the terrorist attack, a bit more research on the way media works would have been a walk in the park. But RGV chooses to concentrate more on the drama than on the content, showing only that part of media which we all have heard and read. We know that TV channels are behind TRPs and we know that they love to sensationalize anything that sells. But could we at least have someone who pretends that he’s giving us some insider info please?

In fact, there is someone who does that constantly, and he’s the less eulogized protégé of RGV, Madhur Bhandarkar. Maybe RGV could take a leaf out of Bhandarkar’s book who keeps belting out his genre of realistic movies every second Friday. But man, is he a master of making you believe that you are watching a well researched film; whatever the truth maybe!

The way Rann is made, the story is secondary. So it would suffice to tell that this is a story of two media groups battling it out with each other to stay on top of the TRP rankings. Amithabh Bachchan plays Vijay Harshvadhan Malik, a seemingly powerful media baron, rendered completely helpless because of his ideals (and AB has been playing that kind of role in RGV’s films for a while now).

Sudeep plays his son, Jai Mallik, with his intense, brooding eyes and flexible ethics about journalism. Although Sudeep does a neat job, his voice sounds unnatural, especially for Kannada audiences who have seen his before. But he shows terrific intensity in many scenes and carries himself off fantastically in front of some of the most revered actors in the Indian screen today.

Paresh Rawal, who plays a villain after a long gap, looks more like the extension of his comic roles from his previous films. The man is made to wear sunglasses all the time, and he has no powerful dialogues to rely on either (in fact, nobody in the film has any!). Rajpal Yadav is entertaining, and Ritesh Deshmukh looks every part of the idealistic journalist with stars in eyes. Gul Panag is the uninterested outsider to the industry and viewers are largely uninterested in her role. The surprise package of the film is Manish Bahl, who turns out a decent performance.

But in spite of its weaknesses, Rann is a film that takes an unusual path and yet doesn’t bore you out of your wits. The best part about the movie is it’s interesting and gripping in parts.

The sad part is, it could have been much more, especially with a director like RGV.

-Movie Review By Raju Shanbhag