Rakht Charitra-II Review

Rating: * * * ½

Cast: Vivek Oberoi, Suriya, Shatrughan Sinha, Priyamani, Madhura Apte

Director: Ram Gopal Varma

Music: Dharam Sandeep, Kohinoor Mukherji, Imran, Vikram, Sukhwinder Singh, Amar Desai

Producers: Vistaar Religare Film Fund, Cinergy

Rakht Charitra-I, the first part of the biopic on the life of the late Andhra leader Paritala Ravi, ended in way that built excitement and eagerness for its second part. And after watching the second part, one can conclude that the wait and eagerness for it was worth enough. In fact, Rakht Charitra –II is more dramatic and interesting than the first part and even the level of violence is a bit less.

In the end of the first part, Pratap Ravi (Vivek Oberoi) becomes a successful politician and ends gundagardi (hooliganism) in the state. The part 2 begins when Surya (Suryanarayan Reddy aka Suriya) tries to kill Pratap as he believes Pratap is responsible for the death of his family. From here on, an explosive game of cat and mouse erupts between Pratap and Suriya which also takes a huge political angle leading on to an earth shattering climax.

The first 30 minutes of the movie show an edited version of the first part. This will certainly help those who haven’t seen part one but it gets tedious and boring for those who have seen. Hence, that recap portion should have been shortened.

Director Ram Gopal Varma presents the story in the same interesting manner as in the first part. His passion for this subject can be felt throughout. Unusual and creative camera angles, use of explosive background score and songs and a fast, unpredictable and dramatic narrative (screenplay) make the proceedings enjoyable and interesting. The witty dialogues are another plus point. The movie ends promoting a message of non-violence.

Vivek Oberoi continues from where he left in the first part. He shows the same maturity and maintains a high standard throughout. But, it is the southern superstar Suriya who takes the movie by a storm by an astonishing performance in his Bollywood debut. He literally sets the screen afire while showing vengeance. At the same time, he excels in the scenes where he needs to underplay his character. He surely deserves more films in Bollywood.

Priyamani and Madhura Apte play their part very well. Shatrughan Sinha doesn’t get much footage in the second part although he continues his good act from the first part. The rest of the supporting cast and side actors provide excellent support.

Because of the nature of the subject, the film will find it tough to succeed at the box-office. It relies largely on word-of-mouth. However, it should do well in single screens.