Ram Gopal Varma’s latest film ‘Rann’ starring Amitabh Bachchan, Sudeep, Ritesh Deshmukh, Paresh Rawal is RGV’s take on how the media is influencing our lives today. It’s the story featuring real issues based on fictional situations, about real people using fictional names and co-incidentally intentional! Rann narrates the story about how greed can be the biggest obstacle to morality and the frightening consequences if you believe what you see.

What is it about : Amitabh Bachchan stars as Vijay Harshvardhan Malik, the chief of INDIA 24X7 and he’s one of the most reputed journalists in the country who believes that news has to always mirror the truth and media should take an unbiased approach. However the same principles which he follows turn into a bane to his news channels with falling TRPs and rising competition from hordes of other channels which resort to sensationalism for the sake of popularity. His son, Jai (Sudeep) is concerned about the nose-diving TRPs and the slump in their business. On the other hand, Purab (Ritesh) joins the news channel and he considers Vijay Malik as his role model. When Jay’s plans to bring INDIA 24X7 back on track are double-crossed by a competitor, he meets Mohan Pandey (Paresh Rawal) with the help of his brother-in-law Navin (Rajat Kapoor). Mohan Pandey has his eyes set on Prime Minister’s chair and he would do anything to achieve his goal. What do they do and how does Vijay Harshavardhan Malik get involved in their plan forms the rest of the elegantly written story.

What is Good: The film is more about people and how their greed leads them on a dark path to unimaginable consequences than it is about media. Ram Gopal Varma’s ‘Rann’ has a terrific cast ensemble. Each one of them portrays their roles to perfection. Amitabh Bachchan expresses a lot more with his eyes when he has no dialogues and he’s splendid when he has dialogues when he delivers with conviction. Sudeep’s role as Jay is the perfect example of an anti-hero and he’s convincing in this role as an ambitious young man who’s torn between right and wrong. Ritesh Deshmukh’s role as Purab is well written and his straight-faced, serious characterization fits into the story pretty well. Rajat Kapoor, Gul Panag perform well in their well-etched characterizations. Despite the presence of Amitabh Bachchan, it is Paresh Rawal who steals the limelight with his portrayal of Mohan Pandey. His ferocity and power is explained in one of the scenes where he says, ‘There must be reason why I am Mohan Pandey!’

What is bad: Ironically, the concept on which RGV has narrated the story itself falls short of being magnificent. There’s neither a real conflict in the storyline nor does it depict the moral dilemma which the film tries to establish in the first half. The film banks heavily on creating a story out of the consequences of some actions and the impact it has on the characters. These two aspects alone make the film predictable and there’s no real surprise in the end because you know exactly how the characters are going to behave, by the time they have to face the truth. On the other hand, although the film is technically strong, the weird camera angles make it tough to appreciate RGV’s style of filmmaking.

Technical Departments: The story written by Rohit Banawlikar is good and it appropriately includes lot of behind the scene situations in news rooms. Nipun Gupta’s editing is crisp. The music and songs in the film are disappointing and the newly included ‘Vande Mataram’ song is hardly impressive. However, the background score by Dharam and Sandeep is terrific throughout the film. Amit Roy’s cinematography is terrific in parts especially in the scenes featuring Paresh Rawal, however the weird camera angles used in most part of the film make it hard to understand both the cinematographer as well as director’s point of view. The film truly belongs to Ram Gopal Varma and his direction and adeptness in characterization is note-worthy and deserves applause.

Bottom Line: ‘Rann’ merely shows us this is how the media is influencing our lives and we, the people are merely falling prey to their plans. This rant goes on for most part of the film and hardly ever offers a solution to the problem where news is not reported but created. Thankfully, the film isn’t manipulative which quite a few other directors resort to in the name of realism and ‘Rann’ honestly narrates a story of horrific consequences and how does each character in the film deal with it. ‘Rann’ is neither overwhelming nor is it one of the best films in RGV’s career. However, it’s definitely one of the most watchable films RGV has made in recent few years. In the end, the film makes you think and question what you see. Big thumbs up for ‘Rann’ and you are suggested to Go, Run to watch ‘Rann’.