There couldn’t be a bad time to release this movie. With ‘Ramleela’ in tow and the bad bad publicity of Rajjo and not-so-charming hero of the movie who cannot offer muscles and biceps when you get bored of his over-the-top acting, Rajjo will silently pass off. The movie is vibrant- but then which movie about red light district isn’t? There are very engaging characters all over the movie, with a eunuch who kills his lover, the Virar train and its exclusivity to the movie, the abandonment of Chandu from society, the society at large in a never seen before tell-tale. There’s a lot that goes unexplored though- Rajjo’s trauma from being used as an object, Chandu’s sheltered upbringing and inability to face the real world, the politics of the kotha and the despicable men who visit prostitutes.
STARRING
Kangana ranaut and Paras Arora
Rajjo (2013) (IMDb | Wikipedia) : OVERVIEW
Rajjo is a 2013 Indian romantic musical produced by Four Pillars Entertainment and directed by Sahitya Akademi Award winning writer Vishwas Patil.
MOVIE TRAILER
REVIEW
STORY
Chandu (Paras Arora) is a 21-year-old youngster who is a normal guy-on-the-block kinds with a future to think about and living a life that is far away from Mumbai’s red light district which destiny takes him to. There he falls in love with Rajjo (Kangana Ranaut) who is a beautiful Moulin rouge styled- prostitute in a strikingly similar setup as Moulin rouge. The two get married against all odds and Chandu loses his virginity in presence of a parrot with goons and Handa hell bent on getting Rajjo in their dance bar. The Moulin street affair then changes to Memoirs of a Geisha, as evident by the film’s poster.
PERFORMANCE
Kangana Ranaut struggles with her Mumbaiyya dialogues with a no-competition to Umrao Jaan and it isn’t entirely her fault as, standout performances can never emerge from a shoddy script. Not as graceful in the dance sequences as one would have expected, but then again- the movie explores the world beyond dance floors ad mehfils. Mahesh Manjrekar and Prakash Raj are absolutely wasted in the film. Vishwas Patil’s directorial debut fails to leave a mark, its almost two decades old as far as execution goes. When you have a performer like Kangna who has done intense roles in the past like Fashion or Gangster, Patil fails to exploit a daring heroine..
MUSIC
Though the film was promoted as a romantic musical drama, it hardly leaves an impact when it comes to mujras and mehfils. ‘Julmi re julmi’,’mere dil ki train’ and ‘kaleja hai hazir’ are absurd and boring numbers. Huh huh
VERDICT
Watching Rajjo made me realise that how well a movie could adapt to the audiences mind and praise the artistic nature of entertainment while it sadly left no impression at all through its bland storyline- it still gave a useful impact in terms of a non-commercialized movie which has a tinge of genuine and emotions at its notch, in it. Editing could have been better. Many things, I wish, could have made the film bearable for all but still, it’s easy to sit and point mistakes while one could have enjoyed the movie in bits and tits.
MOVIESDROP RATING: 2.5/5