The ugly and awkward truth

Ram Gopal Varma is one filmmaker who always inspires reaction. Whether it is for his “Devil may care” attitude, whether for being such a master of attention to detail, or for his inspired choice of storylines. RGV has always had a love-hate relationship with the media, and it is evident in his latest film, Rann.

Rann opens with a deftly edited montage reminiscent of a vintage RGV horror flick, and hits the ground running. Like a visual foreword, RGV firmly establishes in the minds of the audience that the average television viewer is the master of the remote control, thus setting up the premise of the movie - the extent to which TV channels would go to get TRPs. There was an incredible amount of buzz surrounding the movie, most of it generated because the movie is centered on the Indian media. Rann, all hyperbole aside, is a gripping film made by a filmmaker who is unparalleled in Indian Cinema. It is a thinking man’s film, and certainly not meant for bored college teens with Attention Deficit Disorder Syndrome (ADDS)

Despite the presence of heavyweights such as Amitabh Bachchan and Paresh Rawal, the movie’s central character is Purab Shastri, played by Riteish Deshmukh, a journalist who idolizes Media Baron Vijay Harshvardhan Malik, the Editor in chief of India 24X7, a news channel. As in most of RGV’s films, there are very strong political undertones to the film.

Firstly, what does not work in the film. RGV, in his endeavour to “expose” the media, goes over the board a bit, by making media-centric sequences seem overtly larger than life at times, and as a consequence, unrealistic. In real life, there is a symbiotic relationship between the media, and politics, and it must be said that Ramu has captured it to near perfection. The camera angles, though largely emotive, do get distracting at times. The background score is inconsistent. It is loud and jarring at times, and sometimes, it does its job, that of enhancing the scene. Thirdly, while the media-centric sequences seem larger than life and to an extent, over the top and unrealistic, the scenes involving political leaders, largely, the Prime Minister of the country, and the leader of the opposition, falter, and seem pale in comparison. It is laughable how the Prime Minister of the country moves around with an almost non-existent security detail. The only security that you can see are a couple of cops who look clearly out of place in the khakhi uniform. Television reporters get access to the Prime Minister of the country as easily as they might to a low rung state level minister. In a political gathering that would normally be massive in scale in real life, in Rann, it is relegated to looking like a political meeting of your local neta. Riteish Deshmukh, in his first serious role in a while, starts in a competent way, looks a little too studiously serious, and has but two expressions in the entire film – frown, frown deeper.

With that out of the way, Rann certainly delivers on the pre-release hype. The movie promises as insider’s look into the media, particularly the electronic media, and that’s exactly what it delivers. Rajpal Yadav’s histrionics as the creative editor of a news channel are scarily accurate, though the initial amusement starts waning towards the end.

The attention to detail as far as news production techniques are spot on, and one can expect no less from Ram Gopal Varma. One of the best scenes in the movie is how a television channel takes an innocent comment, edits it to suit their story and ends up making it look incriminating. Paresh Rawal, back in a serious after a long time as the villainous leader of the opposition Mohan Pandey steals the scene everytime he’s in the frame. He is almost larger than life and caricature like, but deadly accurate at the same time. The excellent Rajat Kapoor, in an attempt to play an unscrupulous business magnate, does not quite do justice to his immense talent. In a sequence where he tries to convince someone to take part in a devious conspiracy, he ends up looking almost pleading rather than manipulative and cunning. That said, he does play his role of Sanjay Shankalya largely with panache. Mohnish Behl, making a comeback to the silver screen after a long time, is offered a plum role, and it must be said that he sinks his teeth into it with relish. He clearly looks like he is enjoying the role of Amrish Kakar, the boss of a rival news channel much given to sensationalism. The lovely Neetu Chandra and Gul Panag have little to do. Suchitra Krishnamoorthi does a good job in the limited role she is given. Riteish Deshmukh is serviceable.

Now for the show stealers. Sudeep, who is going from strength to strength, was cast by RGV as Malik’s son, Jai. He more than holds his own against stalwarts like Amitabh Bachchan and Paresh Rawal, and that is no mean feat. At times, his performance falls a little flat, but not enough to take anything away from his fantastic performance. Amitabh Bachchan once again shows the world just why he is called Big B. He is magnificent in his role as a righteous and ethical journalist who is forced to act against principles due to practicalities. He is spot on with his expressions, especially in the scenes where his expression clearly displays the internal conflict between his conscience, sense of logic and strong sense of ethics. He steals the show in the last five minutes with his impassioned speech on the truly deplorable state of the Indian media. One line sums it all up. Where once, for the media, news was the end with money as the medium, now, money has become the end with news as the medium.

Kudos to Ram Gopal Varma for having the chutzpah to take a not so subtle dig at everyone, including himself, and even the celebrated and controversial Ram Jethmalani.

In conclusion, RGV’s Rann definitely has its weaknesses and is not watertight, but it is one of the most gripping films ever made by RGV. RGV shows us once again why he is considered such a master of attention to detail. While the story could have been pacier, the content more than makes up for it. Ram Gopal Varma, after his recent string of flops, has made a come back in grand style. Rann is gripping, serious, intermittently funny and well made