Rakta Charitra (2010) User Reviews

A huge content after a long time

[sharpthoughts · 7/10 · 22 October 2010]

Before starting about RGV and all the hype he does. Primary factor to be discussed here is the Story of the movie. As everybody knows Raktacharitra is a make of popular rivalry between Paritala Ravindra and MaddelaCheruvu Suryanarayana, most of us in Andhrapradesh knows the facts of the story. But the unknown facts hidden are always hidden under the darkest corner of the history. And to find them all in a movie is greater experience. The movie provides wonderful and powerful story which Indian audience are missing since years. As the title shows it, the soul of the story is revenge, power and politics; And all the three factors not in tuxedo style, but on pure Indian grounds. All the three factors played significant role to make the story powerful.

But, the movie, play and storytelling could be better. The movie opens with a murder scene in daylight; Which introduces us with the emotion and heat of the story world. When story slowly unfolds a stretch of scenes are merely visual and audible, No scene development is done; which resulted in no emotion and banal storytelling and a feeling of watching Discovery Documentary show. Adding to the fuel, RGV's Voice- over is a partial disaster but he was able to carry the emotion of the scene and intention of the story in his voice. The scope of the first half is huge. A director can ask for no more. There is lot of politics going around in the first half which would've resulted in an epic drama if scenes are well planned. Unfortunately, no ideas in Storytelling and screenplay were used and all drama was wasted. Maybe the director doesn't wanted the screenplay to dominate the story? Wat soever, It could've been an epic.

After the first episode, The big time drama starts and audience lost themselves in to the dramatic world of the story. Politics, Power, Revenge and Powerful Characters are the life of this movie. Every scene is linked, has value and content. Raktacharitra is gore story and demands gore scenes. You cannot see a Gandhi with a missile and Adolf Hitler preaching Peace. This movie is presented as it is chosen by Story and the story is chosen by reality.

Other Factors

RGV could've concentrated on the dubbing artists which brought previous movie experiences and confused audience unknowingly.

Screenplay and scene development cud be better.

The idea of voice-over is good to make the lengthy story short and a direct interaction of story teller to the audience.

One song is an abuse to the movie.

We need more movies with content. Thanks to RGV

RGV delivers a really good thriller

[visakhcr · 9/10 · 22 October 2010]

Revenge is the purest emotion."

The first part of the two-series film, Rakht Charitra, keeps up to its tag line. As the saying goes, revenge makes a man blind. And as Gandhiji said, "An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind."

After the collateral damage in the form of Aag, Ram Gopal Varma (RGV) has risen from the ashes like a phoenix. He delivers a well paced, well scripted and well shot movie in the form of Rakht Charitra. The film is split into two parts, with the second part slated to release on November 19.

The plot sticks to the actual story of the Telugu politician, Paritala Ravindra. Ravindra started out as a naxalite to avenge the death of his father and brother and later enters mainstream politics. Read the document from Scribd for more details about him.

--spoilers ahead

Coming back to the film, Vivek Oberoi plays the role of Ravi, who leaves his studies and comes back to his village Anatpur to avenge his father's and brother's death. Aided by his father's people, he succeeds in killing the big shots who were behind the tragedy that occurred in his family. One of the villains son is left and that causes the wannabe politician cum superstar, Sivaji (Shatrughnan Sinha - looks like he is trying to portray NTR) to enter the scene.

He makes Ravi an MLA and a minister. Ravi using his new power wipes out his last enemy. The film ends with the introduction of Suryanarayan Reddy (Suriya Sivakumar) which leaves the story open for the second part.

--spoilers end

Most of the cast delivers commendable performances. Vivek Oberoi especially delivers his career best. Shatrughnan Sinha as the shrewd politician is really convincing. The teaser for the second part gives us a glimpse of a powerhouse performance by Suriya. National award winner actress Priyamani also joins Suriya for part 2.

As one will expect, the camera angles are trademark RGV. The background score, which samples heavily from Hindu slokams are apt (though a bit repetitive at some times). There is only one song which was completely unnecessary.

Like any other RGV movie, RC has all the ingredients to make it a dark movie. This time, the blood and gore has gone very high which forced RGV to comment that company will look like Kabhi Khushi Khabhi Gham. Beware, this is not at all for the light hearted.

I will give it 9/10.

One more thing. If you are going for the part 1, book your calendars for November 19 for part 2. Otherwise, it will be like just having the starters and skipping an 8 course meal!!.

awesome portrayal by varma

[d_deepu007 · 9/10 · 24 October 2010]

RGV has done it again and it is a complete Varma's movie. It is no less than a movie that remains forever. Story narration by RGV in Telugu is apt for the genre of the movie that he selected. Story goes as it is supposed to go with no flaw in any corner of the movie. Varma did a great job in selecting appropriate characters for the roles. Vivek was stunning in the role as Paritala Ravi. Portrayal of characters with no compromise is what every director has to learn from RGV. Am eagerly waiting for its sequel to release which is going to hit screens on 19th Nov. There would not be any look back in going to movie on first day even for its sequel (Rakta Charitra 2).

varma paints faction blood history for all of us to see..

[neonagesh · 10/10 · 22 October 2010]

rakta charitra has only one feeling throughout, that of revenge. yet it makes you feel it non-stop for more than two hours. at the end of it you cant wait for rakta charitra 2. varma is at his violent best. without unnecessary flashbacks and narratives he starts with a voice over and right away gets to the heart of faction violence, the revenge. basic human emotions like love and revenge can push ordinary men into extreme situations. the story is unique and most of it is true. the cast in this movie did excellent job, vivek, shatrughan, singh, just eased into their roles. background score reflected the mood and dabbunnoda song in varma style reflects the lone moment of celebration. cinematography is good and never too colorful which suits the mood and content of the film. this movie certainly lives up to the expectations. whats more? surya is joining the cast for RC 2. surely its gonna get better.

Epic!!!

[ShyamNTK · 10/10 · 25 October 2010]

RGV did it again!! Rakht Charitra can be easily mentioned as one of the best of RGV, or even one of the best in the history of 'Dark Cinema'. The direction is top notch, the dialogues are hard-hitting, and the performances are extremely natural and great. Rakht Charitra has all those elements in the right place, to make it a classic. The movie is flawless, fast-paced, and freakingly violent! Yes, the weak-hearted better stay away from this flick!! Rakht Charitra is about an era, where it was believed that 'Revenge is the purest emotion', rather than 'An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind'. It is about Pratap Ravi, one with a strong heart. After he loses his father and brother in the dirty game of Politics, he decides to take revenge, and the real Rakht Charitra begins. There is a lot of tears in the movie, tears of downtrodden mothers and wives, tears of abused and exploited sisters, but there is even more blood in the movie, which takes the revenge to all the tears shed. But, do not expect a mindless movie with blood only, it has a strong storyline, without which, the movie would have been a forgettable offering from RGV. But this has the story, and is executed extremely well, and it has turned out to be a must watch for people who watch movies with true spirit.

Vivek Oberoi is in his top-form, he does the role of the lead protagonist Pratap Ravi with ease, he is excellent in his role. Look at his eyes, the way he looks, gazes and stares, you will realize it!! And Abhimanyu Singh, he is damn great!! Excellent acting, it is fact that villains in RGV flicks will be notorious, but this guy is great, he is excellent in his role. Sushant Singh was awesome in his scenes, I had a strong sensation of clapping loudly, while watching him walk in slow motion. Shatrughan Sinha is good, Zarina Wahab, Radhika Apte, Ashwini Kalsekar, Kota Srinivasa Rao, Rajendra Gupta, Anupam Shyam all were good. Sudeep and Darshan Jariwala, I guess is reserved for the 2nd 'Adhyay' of Rakht charitra.

I really want to point out some scenes that prove the director's excellence, but it may lead to spoilers, so I'm not going to do it now. The only negative I could find is RGV's voice, which lacked high power. However, all I can say is watch the movie, you won't be disappointed. The movie has got the power, it is not just a movie, it is Epic!!!

Bloodshed like never before

[Saayer · 6/10 · 23 October 2010]

RAKHT CHARITRA

There is a certain level of violence one can take in a film. And there is a certain level of violence one can take in a day of watching multiple films. Rakht Charita (RC) crosses both the levels in its first hour. I read what Ram Gopal Verma (RGV) tweeted about RC not being for one of those who liked K3G but now I feel that was an understatement. I happen to love RGV's hardcore cinema. Company and Satya are my all time favorite movies and I remember each and every dialogue of those films but even for me, RC was a bit too much to handle.

Let me clarify one thing. I am not saying it's a bad movie. It's a good movie which actually wins on most of the technical and acting grounds. The problem is the level of bloodshed it shows. Very authentic, very red but not the entertaining violence of Dabangg that makes you whistle in sheer pleasure but a bona fide brutality that makes you take your eyes off the screen.

The film shows numerous methods of torture and killings for retribution and in politics with different weapons, drawing different levels of pain and blood. In a 50% occupied theater on the eight day of its overseas release (which I think is a big achievement for this kind of film), I heard someone saying 'Damagh Ka Vaat Laga Diya' (it has screwed my brain). That's what RC is.

The story, based on a real life character of South India, is pretty much Mahabharata and God Father in the first hour. It becomes a lot more original in the second half and becomes really interesting after the introduction of Shatrugan Sinha in a very attention-grabbing role. The 'Khaaamosh' of Mr. Sinha has been replaced by 'Topic Khatam' in this one. The story moves between being realistic and being a bit mind-boggling throughout and has also been dragged on multiple occasions. The over-exposure of Bukka Reddy could have been slashed by 30% very easily. That amount of time could have been given to the love story of Pratab and Nandini to make things lighter and show a softer side of Pratab. To top it all, the movie does not finish when it finishes. It's only half of the film that has been released as of now and the remaining half will be released on 19th November. That might still be a smart move because those who sat through the entire movie will actually end up watching the second part as well. I will also watch it because I saw Priyamani in the trailer it showed. PRIYAMANI in Hindi movie!

Vivek Oberoi does very well as Pratab. His concentration and the effort he has put in that role are noteworthy. Watch out for his scenes in Nandini's college, altercation with Manda and attacking the Reddy house. He very well looks like a man with vengeance on his head. However, the stage where his career is now, he has chosen a wrong film for his comeback. This is a make or break film for Vivek with more chances of breaking it because it will be very difficult to find the audience for this film. He would have been much better-off with something like Saathiya for his return.

Abhimanyu Singh as Bukka Singh is one of the most terrifying villains I have ever seen in the Hindi films since Ashutosh Rana's Lajja Shankar. Even though he gets a bit comical at times with his choice of wardrobe (which means nothing but shorts) but he does emanate cruelty. He surprises you when he cries but the way he treats the lady police officer sends shivers through your body.

Zarina Wahab is excellent as Pratab's mothers. Radhika Apte as Nandini is very cute. Her role could have been meatier. It will be interesting to see how she performs in glamorous roles in the future. Another show stealer is Ashish Vidyarthi as Manda. Good to see the guy back in a very strong performance. The actors playing Pratab's right hands are excellent. Ashwini Khalsekar as the lady police officer is strong. Sushant Singh as Pratab's elder brother does justice to his small role. The men in Pratab's gang are efficient. Shatrugan Sinah looks different and goes overboard at times but has an important role to play.

Cinematorgrpahy by Amol Tahor is very good. It suits the need of the film and he has an RGV stamp on it. The light and smoke treatment throughout the film is excellent. Background sound is too heavy and adds to the violence. The title song in the background keeps haunting you in slightly lighter scenes.

RGV has done a good job. The film is quite real and raw and he has achieved what he wanted to achieve. He could have achieved the same in slightly shorter duration too but it looks like he deliberately kept it longer so that the violence looked prolonged. RC is sadistic and that's what he wanted to show. The questionable thing is his purpose to show that much bloodshed. He looked to be on a spree to satisfy some fetish of his. I would believe that he has been a bit unfair to Vivek for this role because his career doesn't seem to be going anywhere with it.

The tagline of RC says 'REVENGE IN THE PUREST EMOTION'. The film justifies this tagline to the core. If you have a 10% reservation against violent films and your definition of violence is the last fighting scene of DDLJ, stay away from RC. If you like RGV brand of cinema like Company, Sarkar and Satya, even then it's going to be challenging. I will, as I said, watch the second half too but I have my own reasons. PRIYAMANI. You can decide on your own.

History written in Blood : Raktha - Charithra

[psarjun · 8/10 · 22 October 2010]

We call him, RGV. This is one of the best and bold attempt though not as successful as Company, still he had handled exceptionally well. He really deserves respect, the way he had presented it. Though story is different, at times reminds us of Satya, Company, Sarkar etc may be because of the Camera Angle, the presentation is similar. RGV, we can feel his passion for film making. Very rarely does in India, somebody comes up with a movie about a Real Life Prominent person, and almost all the time they had given us an above average movie. Eg: Company, Nayagan, Sarkar, Gandhi, Iruvar, Legend of Bhagat Singh etc.. Part 1: The raise of Pratap Ravi is explained at the same time we hear a lot about a person who is the reason behind the fall of Pratap, and here is the lead to the Part 2. Thats a very different Idea and good indeed. - he had given a movie which is not for soft heart, not for kids, not for family and not for masala movie fans.

Minuses: At times, its seems like a Documentary. The story is tolled in the voice of 'RGV' itself, the sound is not catching but 'had shown a very good voice modulation', still should have given to somebody else. The glory of Violence will keep the Family viewers and Kids away from theater. And People who are the fans of movies like Brindavanam, Khaleja is not going to enjoy this movie. The film is exceptionally good to the Targeted viewers and very bad for others.

Overall: The story moves slowly in the first half, you will witness few of the most drastic and terrific scenes in an Indian movie and second is very thrilling, where number murder is reduced and the politics takes the key. The Part 2 is expected to release on 19th Nov, 2010. It shows the director, who want to give the second part before the viewer forget the part 1. You will come of the theater with a feeling as if you had just watched a person's real life very closely.

Point: Vivek Dominates first Part along with Shatrugansinha, Abhimany. And I expect, Part 2 is a Suriya movie with Sudeep. The characters are introduced in the First Part itself, and will see another side of the same story. Very good thinking and direction by Ram Gopal Varma.

Lookout: Post Interval, Scenes between Shatrugansinha and Vivek. Most splendid scene - Suriya's Introduction.

Tagline: Hats of to RGV for his Passion, Sincerity and love for Film Making.

Glorifying Violence, Dark side of the politics

Ram Gopal Varma redefines REVENGE in Indian Cinema with his answer to the western KILL BILL.

[bobbysing · 7/10 · 27 January 2011]

To be straight, the movie is A Big No for all the kids and even for the grown-ups having weak hearts. The extremely brutal killings shown freely in the film can really leave some disturbing marks on the innocent psyche of the kids. So the first rule of watching RAKTA CHARITRA is that you should not take your kids along to the theaters (and may be the ladies too).

The second revelation about this first part of RGVs sequel is that it is evidently not everyone's cup of tea in the literal sense. The viewers, who wish to have a good time and fun in the cinema, may find it unentertaining, meaningless, bloody and too hard hitting. But movie freaks, who are well familiar with the brand RGV and love to see some cunning, strong and realistic kind of cinema told with a fresh narrative, are sure going to love it in one manner or the other.

Returning to the movie itself, it is apparently made on the true story of famous gangster turned politician Paritala Ravi of Andhra Pradesh. Here I would like to add that if everything shown in the film is really true and is not glorified to a large extent, then it is really scary to know that it all actually happened in a city full of living human beings.

Apart from the storyline you may also complain about the similar RGV kind of camera angles, lightings and confrontations scenes in the film, reminding you the ones seen earlier in his SATYA, COMPANY, SARKAR, SARKAR-RAJ and many other underworld movies coming from the RGV factory. And for many the film might be a documentary focusing only on all the hardcore murders coming one after another on the screen without any basic storyline behind them. But still RAKTA CHARITRA works in a particular way for all the RGV fans and for the viewers who are game for something experimental tried by the gutsy director of Indian Film Industry.

Frankly what worked for me in RC is the attitude with which it is made fearlessly by the one & only RGV. The man dares to do what he feels like and with his every new film tries to make his own set of rules about film business. For instance, he simply doesn't care if his project gets deliberately avoided by groups of college going boys and girls, love couples, and families especially having small kids, even if this takes away a major part of his collections at the box office. He makes what he wishes to make and that too in a style which cannot even be thought by many other glossy film-makers of Bollywood churning out chocolate movies with big stars every year. Mahesh Bhatt was the one man who used to take up such kind of subjects earlier but then he too always decorated his projects with controversial scenes, loud emotional dramas and hit songs. Today, RGV moves way ahead in that direction with RAKTA CHARITRA and delivers a film which might be unbearable for many having his name written over every frame of the reels till the end.

Using hidden talented actors such as Abhimanyu Singh, Ashwini Kalsekar, Zarina Wahab and Rajendra Gupta, RGV transforms them into believable lively characters with his remarkable vision and skill. Now who could have thought to cast Shatrughan Sinha with a look without his famous moustache? And who could have thought of making a complete film of 4 hours and then releasing it in two parts at a gap of one month?

Only RGV showed these guts but honestly his sequel idea also looks like inspired from Quentin Tarantino's KILL BILL series of movies. Tarantino's world famous classic is also a pure revenge action thriller which was initially made with a duration of 4 hours to do full justice with the script. With this extra length, Tarantino also decided to release it in two parts, but at a gap of 6 months. RGV seems to be following the same idea but the master moves one step ahead than Tarantino when he right away shows the trailer of his IInd part in the end of RAKTA CHARITRA and that too along with the date of its release written of the screen in red. (This he earlier vaguely tried in his AGYAAT too).

So, as a final verdict, I would like to recommend RC to the viewers who wish to see execution more than the content and don't mind blood thrown all over the screen right from the start. Its strictly for the movie freaks who get excited watching the slow motion sequences of terror accompanied by a haunting background score. And for the ones who get pumped up watching the real action on screen with the voice of "Rakta Charitra – Rakta Charitra" being played in the background constantly. Moreover, I would like you to watch RAKTA CHARITRA for three names alone and they are Abhimanyu Singh, Shatrughan Sinha and Vivek Oberoi in this particular order. The three excel themselves in the movie undoubtedly, but the surprise element is delivered by Abhimanyu Singh as Bhukha, who will get hatred in return for his role from every single viewer of the movie unconditionally. And that truly would be the real reward for his superb performance filled with terror.

Summing up, with RAKTA CHARITRA, RGV redefines the word REVENGE in BOLLYWOOD and makes all previous movies made on this topic look like dwarfs. It will not get appreciation from all but if you are real movie lover, then you got to see this pure example of a director's bloody vision of an old story. In clear words, its an RGV movie all the way with his famous attitude of "I WILL DO WHAT I WANT – If you don't like it then don't watch it".

Never before seen bloodshed on screen...

[hbdave_77 · 8/10 · 22 October 2010]

Vengeance is back on Indian screen with a baggage of excessive violence. After making one of the worst film of his career, Ramgopal Verma is back with a big bang. He returned to his fort of crime, violence, power, politics and thrill with the original real life story of Andhra criminal cum politician Paritala Ravi. This is his striking and desperate attempt with a punch with all his capable might and madness which either make you hate or just praise him for his daring effort showing you never before unthinkable violence and bloodshed on Indian screen. Though in showing reality of dirty nexus between crime, politics and shifting volatile power and portraying some of his character too diabolic, he crossed the limit of Indian audience and orthodox censor board but while doing it in his limitless frenzy he made another 'original' and 'cult' film for his fans.

This is the only Indian commercial film shot and made with a length of more than five hours and the reason enough why it has to be released in two parts. The first installment begins with impressive shifting of power that gave birth to revenge and bloodshed with mind-blowing treatment, brilliant ensemble cast and striking performances all with what one can expect from RGV's diabolic dark mind. The film is saving grace and praiseworthy comeback not only for RGV but also for Vivek Oberoi and he's the extension of fire what we witnessed in his debut 'Company' with the same mentor. Apart of him, the film has fine ensemble and supporting presence of many RGV loyal cast with certain new entries. The prominent among them is Shatrughan Sinha, who has short but impressive presence with his mustache less face as popular film star cum politician Shivaji with dialogues and attitude that suits his aura; this time his 'Khamosh!' is replaced with 'Topic is over'. Abhimanyu Singh who blew our minds in his short but terrific presence as Ransa in 'Gulaal' has performed one of the most heinous and violent villain you have ever seen on Indian screen as Bukka. It's in portraying him as 'Rakshas', RGV showed certain objectionable violence crossing all possible barriers. But the intensity of Abhimanyu Singh's act is visible in some of the striking scenes with his bloodthirsty rage in expression and pervert body language. Watch the scene where he continuously slapping the lady cop repeating 'Touch nahi karna' or another where he's showing his temper when his brother comes to meet him in prison. Without a doubt he's the villain of the year.

Technically film is almost flawless and has gripping editing with few avoidable distractions and a song. Cinematography, background score and production deserved clapping. The only complain is too dark portrayal of characters shedding their part of violence on screen. It would have been better if Ramu had explored multiple dimensions of their charcterization like 'Satya'. He ended the film on interesting turn with showing you rushes of his second part releasing 19th on next month with the entry of South Indian superstar Suriya to give Vivek enough fire. I'm desperately waiting to see the second part and I'm sure that Ramu won't fall short of my expectations in making this epic bloodbath of his career.

The film is strictly no, no to family audience and achche ghar ki bahu-betiyan. It's all loaded for RGV fans who're as mad enough as him. Watch it at your own risk, it's quite hard to digest for all.

Ratings-8/10

PS- "I am like a hardcore porn DVD. You might hate it, love it, look down upon it or get disgusted by it but if it is in the room you can't resist watching it." - RGV's interesting comment on his blog.

Good but could have been better...MUCH better...

[chirag-shah86 · 7/10 · 30 October 2010]

Ram Gopal Verma is back in good form...Well, kind of... This movie isn't in the league of Satya and Company, however it is much better than his recent films. To some extent, he is back! There are quite a few sequences in the film that work quite well. It's a nice story about REVENGE.

What works in the film. Well, after the first 15-20 minutes, it is quite clear what the protagonist plans on doing. His father and brother are killed. He and his mother lose two family members and now it is up to him to set things right! One murder takes place after another, in a very chilling and gripping manner. That's what works! It is exciting to see the villains get murdered and we are with the protagonist throughout the film. The death of the main antagonist, BUKKA REDDY, is especially excited....

I would recommend this film for RGV fans. This is better than his other recent films (Rann, Phoonk 1 and 2, Shiva, AAG, etc)...

Rayalaseema

[down_to_planet · 10/10 · 13 November 2010]

1. what can u say when u make a movie on Rayalaseema... the real life is gorier than reel life.. at this place..

2. voice over... disaster.

3. BUKKA REDDY... name fantastic...character amazing... acting... deadly..

4. death of BUKKA in the movie... too funny and feeble...actually.. considering the man was so deadly in real and reel life....some electrician killing BUKKA AKA OBUL is a joke... should have had VIVEK trying his best to kill him.... huge mistake...

5. SHIVAJI... too sensitive a topic to even touch.. this is NTR we are talking about...

6. NAGAMANI's REDDY's right hand... DURGA... future RAMU product in the making... is superb... should have had a deadlier death than was portrayed...

7. even in the Hindi version...they should had some TELUGU phrases.. to make it sound more real... missed the ANDHRA accent all together...

8. verdict: 1000 times better than the **SHIT** BOLLYWOOD makes about BALTIS and tears and BAILAS...

cheers,

DOWN_TO_PLANET

Being "loud" is not being confident!

[pratip-apz · 6/10 · 26 October 2010]

Ram Gopal Varma has given Bollywood some of it's most famous movies. But may be he has given all he had, because in Rakht Charitra I he tries to stuff in all the elements he ever had in his kitty. What new he adds to it is sheer loudness. A grumpy,irritating voice-over unnecessarily explaining what we could otherwise easily see with our eyes and make out leaves not much for the audience to do - treating them like school children being dramatically read out a history lesson in class. And the overtly loud background music, with repeated,unnecessary,harsh chantings(whose meaning we couldn't often make out) tries to keep the audience engrossed in their 'lesson' and never miss the feel - but it fails miserably as it sounds simply ridiculous at times and doesn't go with the pace of the film. May be RGV was too afraid that his audience would not be able to relate to his story, like they couldn't in Agyat,Aag,Darling,Nishabd etc.

The director overdoes with some of his poor clichés which he should have done away with by this time, like trying to involve the family a bit too much and not transforming characters well with time. Women readying breakfast on the table while serious matters are dealt with a few hands away; the maid cleaning a candle-stand while state-level politics is being discussed in the room and with a transformed Vivek Oberoi his aides' wardrobes remain pretty much the same as before. Similar things we have seen and spared in hits like Company and Satya - but we expect the director not to repeat them emphatically, which he does here! May be all these to hide the bit jumbled up script.

In terms of acting is where the film does best - with a host of talented actors(a few too many, one may think) with bits of parts to play. Vivek has a little lesser screen-presence to my liking and does look a touch confused n shaky with his characterization right from his first scene where he strolls a scooter down the neighbourhood.(not a grand entry) But he does well to get into his character as the film progresses. And the topsy-turvy transformation journey he is set into is handled efficiently, showing glimpses of his earlier brilliance in the dying scenes of the film. May be RGV could have left a bit more on his shoulders since he is supposed to be the central character - hopefully we will see more of him in the 2nd part. Shatrughan Sinha is provided with the bulk of the smart dialogues which he does justice to. But the show is stolen by badman Abhimanyu Singh who gets lots of screen presence and intrigues some real fear in this otherwise hyped-to-be- violent movie. Almost all the violence is left to him alone and will be missed in the 2nd part. Radhika Apte and Subroto Sen deserve mention for their expressive characterization! The kind of violence didn't intrigue the nausea I had prepared for(prepared for a lot) but it's the music and voice-over which does the job instead! The Telegu version I guess is a better watch with a more suiting screenplay and better dialogues(don't know about the voice-over?)

Better can be expected of the 2nd part.

Disappointed

[mkothamangalam · 3/10 · 22 October 2010]

Shiva: The very first scene sets the tone for the rest of the movie. First couple of minutes of the movie: No dialogue, unique camera-work, exceptional background score, rugged looking thugs, a victim and smoke from the exhaust of an ambassador car. The thug Ganesh is still remembered for his spine-chilling character. Trendsetter in Indian cinema.

Kshana Kshanam: Bank robbery scene grabs your attention from the very beginning. Another scene, even the bearded rowdies have enough intelligence to wait for Sridevi's elevator to stop at a certain floor so they know which floor she lives in, instead of just running up the stairs blindly like they are shown in other movies.

Company: The scene in which Malik and Chandu murder Saeed and his brother Anees in their car on a rainy day, and the very next scene with amazing soundtrack in the background while they drive away from the spot. Coldblooded to the core.

Its scenes like these and countless others in Kaun, Bhoot, Antham, Ratri among others that make me want to watch Ram Gopal Varma's movies. The actors in his movies don't have to say a word but still look every bit the characters they play. Audiences don't need vast narrations of scenes and explanations with voiceovers in a RGV movie. Because he is brilliant at visuals. He always says in his interviews that he makes movies for himself. And I have liked 90% of his movies. The other 10% are only bad because of him choosing the wrong plot or subject matter for those movies. Even his bad movies are exceptionally good in technical aspects. The actors in his movies are very natural and look every bit like the characters they portray in the movies.

Unfortunately, Rakhta Charitra is nothing like his earlier movies. Some say it's different and I agree with that. But the problem is its below RGV's standard of film-making. Its different because the actors are caricatures of the characters they play. The overdose of low quality dialogues is to a large extent laughable. The characterization is poor. All the actors in the movie are fine actors who look plain stupid in this movie with misplaced dubbing and directionless roles. Most of the movie just doesn't make sense. The screenplay is horrid. The background score is unusually loud and jarring and simply put senseless.

How could someone go wrong with an extraordinary story like this one? What's up with the shaking camera in the 1st half of the movie? Why would you make such great actors "act" when they can be their best just being natural? The 3 stars are for Vivek Oberoi trying very hard to stay in the skin of the character, Abhimanyu Singh for his excellent screen presence and the RGV's guts to make a daring movie about something so dreadful to most normal humans.

I am disappointed because I know RGV has a great potential and he could have done a much better job with this movie. Respect!!! I just hope that Part 2 delivers...and it has to with RGV, Surya and Priyamani in it..it better.

Vengeance has a new name: Rakhtcharitra: RGV & Vivek have done it again.

[haiyumcool · 8/10 · 11 November 2010]

First of all if u don't like movies having blood defying action, then this one is not your flick.

For all those action lover guys, Rakhtcharitra is one of the best action movie in 2010. Based on the true events of AP, the movie never disappoints due to the marvelous action and acting of the stars.

Vivek is kind of actor which has specialized himself in Gangster kind of roles. Raghu of company, Mayabhai of Company and now Pratap of Rakhtcharitra. He has portrayed the character of Pratap with an ease and never let you down.

But the surprise act was from Abhimanyu singh (Bukka Reddy). He has proved his acting skills in Gulaal, but he still needed a big one to solidify him self. And he come with Bukka reddy: A character which reminds you of a Rakshash. He has snatched this movie from all other actors. You must watch this for Abhimanyu Singh.

And lastly the King of Dark movies in India: Ram Gopal Verma. He always make good movies pertaining to Politics, Gangster and Horror. He is the Quentin Torrentino of Indian Cinema. Great work by him behind the scene, which makes this movie a delight for eye.

For action lovers: Strongly recommended.

A must watch if you are...

[princepratap · 8/10 · 25 October 2010]

The movie was an interesting watch. The first time ever, I came to know about we having this movie on earth was at 1.30 pm last Thursday, the day on which it was getting released here at Dubai. Without doubt & without wasting any further time I bought two tickets for the 8.00 pm show, with an expectation of starting our weekend on a good note. Was I disappointed? Far from it. I was thrilled to see an original, strong, inspiring, thought provoking movie, which connected with me immensely.

There are many positives about this movie which far outweighs negatives if any. The movie has got strong characters. The hero is a hero in true sense: He has character (going to the girl's college and bringing her home as his life partner without wasting any time), fearlessness (choosing revenge as his personal duty), belief (declaring and deciding to kill enemies one by one instead of all at once) to name a few.

For those who opine that the movie is too violent: After watching the movie, I done my research on the central characters in real life. The reality it seems was no less violent than what is shown in the movie. The movie is a masterpiece. But I won't be too pleased if other movie makes imitate to make such movies lest it can have a negative influence on the immature. A must watch if you are a strong man at heart.

barbaric violence

[ashdoc53 · 6/10 · 27 October 2012]

Welcome to the world of superviolence .........courtesy the greatest exponent of it ,Ram Gopal verma........

As the name suggests , this film is not for sissys ,kids or vegetarians........

........And Ram Gopal Verma himself has gone on record to say that ,as far as this film is concerned ,women should stay at home.......

That explains why the theater was 2/3 rd empty.....on the second day itself....

Because the audience has been cut down to only males ,that too the non- veg eating ,blood and gore loving types......

And what a feast for them !!

Rivers of blood flow ,enough to make a vampire overnourished for weeks.......

Women are abducted , literally in broad daylight ,and raped like whores.......

Boulders are smashed on peoples heads ,and other innovative methods of killing people like boring holes through their skulls are invented......

The place seems to be alive with rifles ,knives ,pistols ,koytas,and other such weapons.......

And masterminding all the mayhem is Nagamani Reddy ( played by Abhimanyu Singh ) ,the villain of the film......

His performance is the stellar performance of the film ,what holds the film together.....

..........For he plays with with absolute perfection , the role of a sadistic ,savage ,absolute brutal despot of a small town ,with animal- like instincts ,that too the carnivore type............

The small town is Anantpur in Andra Pradesh , and the film is based on a true enemity.........

Which means that such a person really existed !!

And who's his enemy ??......Vivek Oberoi ,who else ,who also has to murder and kill in equal measure........

And he does that with determination and skill........a good acting performance from him too........

Shatrughan Sinha does a brave effort to fit into the mighty shoes of N T Rama Rao.........but only a Telgu can tell if he succeeds........

And what a Telgu can enlighten us is also about the real-life happenings in Anantpur in the past........since they were considered worth making a film on them......

Verdict--not bad , if barbaric violence is your cup of tea......

surpassed sarkar and company

[soonder-shyam · 8/10 · 24 October 2010]

Last movie of rgv i viewed in a theater was Aag. I have never expected this to b like the way it is. It has no unnecessary scenes no stupid dialogs and every one in the movie has been their best in their roles.... although the best 1 being of Bhukha. There are nice & unexpected scenes in the movie which made the movie more interesting. The first half killed almost 75% of the villains so i thought there would not be much in the second half but vivek transforming into a politician and using white ways to kill the Gundas made the movie 1 of the best 1 for rgv. It contains a lot of Blooody scenes, so i ask them who never liked movies like Saw or Wrong Turn don't go u may not like this one. "Topic is over"

Ram Gopal Verma ki Charitra

[CastleToe · 6/10 · 4 December 2010]

Message on the first screen: Characters and story are fictitious. No resemblance to reality.

Message on the second screen: Based on a True Story.

A "controversial" film??

A man is chased by knifing-gangsters and his blood is splashed across a Gandhi statue.A cranky old voice introduces this bloody story about Anandpur(I heard it was director RGV himself whose voice was modulated!). Possibly RGV was impressed with the voice to such an extent that he chose to irritatingly play around with the narrative voice which spoils any impact you think the movie could have had.

A political rift resulting in the murder of a scheduled caste(*beeped* by Indian censors) leader sets off this revenge saga. The revenge seeking elder son(Sushant Singh) is murdered too, forcing the younger son(Viveik Oberoi as Pratap Ravi) to place himself in Michael Corleone's shoes. An eye for an eye and the enemies bleed. Folks are slaughtered & smashed, blood banks are robbed of their capital...Editing and a Splash sound does the job. Camera rotates a full 360 degree or is found behind a cart wheel or in some bushes near the steps. The voice cranks along...

Pratap succeeds in reaching the top of the hooligan-ladder and warns other hooligans of the state to stop their illicit activities. The movie ends with a trailer of the sequel(which didn't release on the promised date) which promises a tiff between Pratap & Suryabhan Reddy(marking the Hindi debut of Tamil actor Surya).

The loud background score & the lyrics succeed in charging up the intensity of action sequences(A wedding song with a dancing Sukhwinder Singh was not needed, but didn't mar the overall movie-feel). On the editing & camera-work, the least said, the better. It wasn't bad or good. It was an attempt, a different one. Close-up shots of gangster stubbles and nostril-hairs, 360 degree turns, shaky handwork during intense scenes, shadow-filming... How effective, I cannot say. The cinematography was convincing enough.

Acting wise, Viveik Oberoi did a good job of his 2-phased character(the rebel & the politician). But it was Abhimanyu Singh(Bukka Reddy) who stole the show! The perfect Telugu-politicio. I don't remember being more shuddered by any other movies' rape scenes or by the mere commanding presence of a character as when Abhimanyu entered a scene. He has the potential to go a long way providing he chooses to work with the right directors and stories. Another actor to look out for was the blink-and-miss appearance of Sudeep(DCP Anand Mohan, with more screen space in the sequel) who understands the power of silence in having a greater impact then contorted facial expressions or long lines of dialogues. Veteran Shatrugan Sinha(as actor-politician Shivaji Rao, without his trademark toothbrush moustache) suited the character perfectly but fell short on the dialogue delivery in some scenes. The characters of lady actors (Zarina Wahab, Radhika Apte) were not written in depth and had a negligible role in taking the story forward.

RGV is a director ready to experiment. He wont make fun of homosexuality in his movies or make his actors lip synch to a song. He's ready to keep trying knowing fully well that the outcome(commercial or critical) is not in anyone's hands. He's an earnest story teller who has yet a lot to learn about what works in a movie and what spoils it. He's an unabashed rebel of the Indian film industry(just like his protégé, Anurag Kashyap, who is way beyond most Indian directors), and that shows in his work.

Never lose faith in the man who made Satya. The best of RGV is yet to come. RC is not that masterpiece but is a commendable stepping stone.

6/10

Good Job Vivek and RGV !

[missionbegins2011 · 9/10 · 25 October 2010]

The movie tackles a revenge story that a guy (vivek) successfully takes for the murder of his wannabe politicians father and brother and ends up becoming a robin hood kinda politician himself, Story is fairly simple but execution is quite brilliant. Technically the movie is completely an RGV movie, Close up shots, awkward camera angles, sporadic use of shaky cam, dim-lit, backgrounds, and loud but effective background score, in one scene the camera even takes a 360 degree rotation. The movie relies heavily on the treatment as the story is pretty straightforward and RGV does just that, By providing a heavy background score he builds tension and background score replaces dialog's at many places, Another strong point of the movie are the acting performances. Vivek has done a excellent job as expected of him 'cause of his previous gangster movie outings in company and shootout at lokhandwala, its a role which is made for vivek only and he does it with utmost ease, i am sure this movie is going to change his career for good, RGV also comes back in his company ,satya, sarkar mode and makes a realistic entertaining movie, shatrugan sinha also has done good justice to his rather short role .A special mention for abhimanyu singh who has played bukka reddy, haven't seen such a terrifying evil act ever in any movie, his bloodshot eyes , ruthless expressions and merciless killings is enough to give the fainthearted nightmares, kudos for the brilliant performance. The movie is quite graphic in nature , the killings are brutal and so are the depicted atrocities on women, certainly not a fare for people who like to stay away from gore but else everyone should like it 8/10

Amazing movies seen after decades.

[hXz0r3 · 10/10 · 13 June 2018]

This Director rocks.. No hard feelings.. Rest of Bollywood directors envy him and morever afraid of him.. Only few directors like Gangs of Wasseypur hold the audience of India to a real diffrerent level.

Else, its just COMIC BOOKS by every other.. A hero and a heroine meet somewhere, some drama, little action and happy ending LOL.

I loved the movie on BLU-RAY. Hope to meet this guy someday (the one who directed)..

Rakhta Charitra

[santhosh-10290 · 5/10 · 9 January 2021]

Good Movie. Everybody acted well in the movie. Songs and BGM were good. The movie was so interesting and thrilling at 1st half. The movie bored and lagged a lot at 2nd half. Good Movie.

Bukka Reddy steals the show

[hXz0r3 · 10/10 · 29 June 2018]

Amazing performance and direction of Bukka Reddy .. An act which was never seen on Indian cinemas.

Hats off to RGV. Great work. Part 2 was disappointing though..

Above all my expectations

[djluv_rock · 8/10 · 24 October 2010]

This is the movie, this is only for strong hearted, It was a fabulous one, but a strict NO, NO if you are planning to go with your family, and same applies for girlfriend, because of it's brutality and violence scenes. Vivek Oberoi role has been portrayed excellent from starting, i like the way he dressed as an politician, the Ray Ban Sunglasses and White Safari Suit, OMG, he looks amazing chopstick there, movie has a lot of violence scenes and very rarely seen killing techniques, they chop off people like we cut potatoes and carrots in the kitchen, with knives and cutters, there's hardly any mercy in the movie, i am eager to watch RakhtCharitra-2, releasing on 19th November,2010 in India.

All other characters have performed well and equal chances have been given to each one, i also like the Shatrugan Sinha's come back with clean moustache and the dialogue "Topic is Over !!!",. Bukka's role played by Abhimanyu Shankar Singh, is the most eye-catching, horrifying role of the movie, the way he talks, the way he reacts to things, he just an eye-opener for all.

I give RakhtCharitra a 8/10. Eager to watch RakhtCharitra-2.

Thanks - Amit

Wonder full

[focusstudy · 10/10 · 17 May 2021]

What a movie, nice acting by vivek sir..... Love the way acting and big fan after seeing this movie.

Vivek Oberoi, Abhimanyu Singh and Shatrughan Sinha stole the limelight with exceptional acting and RGV is back

[sid-coolking · 9/10 · 7 August 2018]

Acting, Direction and dialogues were the highlight of the movie and bloodshed in the movie was too much. Reminded me of Gangs of Wasseypur and it's at the same level with this one...Those who saw Abhimanyu Singh's Gulaal will be in a shock to see him in this one as he is menacing and scary as the villain Buka Reddy...Vivek Oberoi underplayed his role and he deserved an award for this alongside reminded me of his own debut Company...It's a film not for faint hearted and require a lot of patience to watch...Those who were able to go through Gangaajal and Gangs of Wasseypur will love this otherwise give it a miss if u weren't able to tolerate the above films...Action lovers will enjoy it and for them it's a highly recommended movie...