User reviews

This is a great movie ! I was hesitant to see this movie because of Ram Gopal Verma's recent flops due to which I thought he lost the knack on making a good movie.

This is definitely one of the best movies I saw. Those who are looking for a sensible and realistic movie to watch then this is it.

If you are looking for songs, dances and bollywood masala then you may not find it here. This movie is an eye opener and exposes the present mindset of news channels - news has become a sort of a drama (a sansanati khabar) to make money than really to provide news. No wonder all the media people have given this movie a bad review and rating. Do not go by such bad reviews and ratings.

I will give it a honest 8 !!

With "Rann" Ram Gopal Verma strongly strikes back with his own kind of cinema, wherein he only believes in telling his stories as they are, irrespective of their expected prospects at the box office. The movie is based on the news channel networks in the media and talks about the unhealthy competition prevailing within the industry to get higher TRPs than the rival channels. RGV in his own unique style blatantly reveals the hidden truth behind the so called Sting Operations shown on the news channels, which are capable of generating a massive reaction among the general public.

As it should be, RGV straight away comes to the point in the first 15 minutes itself and does not waste time in establishing his artists in their respective roles. But as expected, "Rann" is not a media bashing movie. Instead it's a movie more interested in showcasing the underground nexus existing between the clever politicians and media networks who are helplessly dependent upon the mercy of these policy makers. It tries to awaken the general public with the fact that today, news is not being reported truthfully, but it's being created tactfully in order to survive in this tiring competition. So, everything seen on the news channel may not be true and hence the public has to take the right decision with its own intelligence and instinct.

However, "Rann" does not entirely focus on the negative side of the topic. Very insightfully, the director shows Three kinds of mindsets prevailing in a society. Amitabh & Ritesh are the two protagonists fighting for their true spirits of a sincere journalist. Paresh Rawal, Rajat Kapoor, Sudeep, Mohnish Behl and Suchitra Krishnamurthy are the ones only interested in the wrong side of the game. But the third section is full of people like Gul Panang, Neetu Chandra and Simone Singh who are neither interested nor willing to participate in any such activity on the social front. Sadly these are the kind of people who constitute a major part of our huge population and let the bad people continue with their ugly tricks of the trade.

"Rann" makes an impact right from the start and leaves you thinking with an interesting intermission. The climax comes up with a well written and superbly rendered speech by the one & only Amitabh Bachchan who is ashamed of himself being a part of the game played on his own channel unknowingly. Amitabh is once again superlative in his brilliant act of a sincere owner of a news channel who wants to run his channel on his own moral principles. But surprisingly, he hasn't got many scenes in the movie apart from the main climax. In fact the movie majorly revolves around Sudeep, who plays Amitabh's son and performs brilliantly in the role assigned. RGV once again gives the Industry a rather unknown actor who has got the talent and capabilities to handle tougher roles as proved in "Rann".

Paresh Rawal, returns on the screen as the main villain and is superb. Ritesh Deshmukh surprises you with his superb portrayal of a calm and sincere journalist, who refuses to accept the unhealthy norms of the trade and is willing to quit. Mohnish Behl is great as the owner of a rival channel. Rajat Kapoor fits to his role as a T. Suchitra looks ravishing and acts well as the in-house spy. Gul Panang looks delightful on the screen. Both Neetu Chandra and Simone Singh are just fine and Rajpal Yadav does bring some relief moments in the tense script.

Interestingly, Censor banned the use of "Jan Gan Man" composition in the movie, but quite amazingly missed out on the lyrics of all the other tracks used in it. Cinematography is of top rate especially in the climax speech of Amitabh. Dialogues are sharp and hard hitting as expected from an RGV film made on social issues and background score is well arranged and apt for the subject.

The movie has a basic plot resembling with Madhur Bhandarkar's "Corporate", but still unarguably it's more thought provoking and relevant in the current scenario. RGV is right there visible in the entire film and impresses you the most in the scenes where Paresh Rawal is interacting with his silent mother, Amitabh is explaining the irrelevant difference between a Hindu and a Muslim, Sudeep trying to cope up with the extreme pressure of being successful, his suicide scene and the well written climax where the truth prevails in the end.

Here, it must be noted that many viewers may find it hard to digest and unentertaining as they may argue that they don't buy a ticket for getting preached. But for all of them I would like to say that Cinema not always should be a means of entertainment alone. At times it's the duty of the intelligent film makers to come up with films which are capable of starting a debate especially among the younger generation, who have the power and enthusiasm to bring the desired changes in the society.

In the past, "Ankush", "Yuva", "Rang De Basanti", "Swades" and many more such films were made by on the similar grounds of starting a debate. With "Rann" RGV contributes to the same new age wave & I hope it is able to burn a new candle in the dark lives of our directionless youngsters.

In the end, I would like to add that in an Industry, where everyone is more concerned about the financial prospects of a venture, only RGV and no other film maker in the whole Bollywood could have dared to attempt a movie like "Rann". It's a must watch for all who have a thinking soul and know the value of that one single vote you have in your hands which can make all the difference.

For once, I thought the content was good, the message noble, the performances credible and noteworthy but the packaging was gimmicky, the camera angles too wanna-be and almost nausea / headache inducing and the soundtrack loud and irritating. Both the camera work and music actually detracting from the film.

Amitabh Bachchan plays one of the most respected news presenters, a man of integrity, who lives by his principles and runs his now declining news channel by the same. His son, Sudeep, just back from USA is hungry for success, is nervous, twitchy, short-tempered and also game for some shortcuts. Rajat Kapoor, his brother in law, is an industrialist who dreams big and has aligned himself with a politician, Paresh Rawal, who also dreams big, is tired of being in the opposition. Suchitra Krishnamoorthy works for Amitabh's channel, Mohnish Bahl used to but now has his own channel, which is the number one channel in TRP terms. Enter Riteish Deshmukh, who idolises & is inspired by Amitabh, to join the world of news….

All the dilemma's presented are real, tangible and identifiable. We all face them in our own ways. To go for the inconvenient truth or the happier compromise…where no one but the faceless public gets shortchanged ? Every time we break a queue, bribe an official, shut our eyes at an injustice around us, we're falling into the same trap…the trap of a thousand cuts. And, God help us, but what if there is this fundamental value misalignment amongst members of a family ? What if the son-in-law, the son and the father seem to believe in different things, have different objectives ? We can then easily understand how someone like Amitabh feels as the edifice he's built around him begins to show cracks. And what someone like Riteish feels as he see's truth being sacrificed at the altar of the highest bidder.

All performances were credible, Riteish (very believable), Paresh, Rajat, Sudeep (slightly over-strung) but Amitabh Bachchan for me continues to mesmerize…there is a dignity, a believability that shines through in his every expression.

Now for the disappointing bits. Its almost as if the film makers felt the subject alone wasn't good enough and so decided to go for cutting edge camera angles and really loud background soundtrack to mask the film, heighten the tension. It actually was not needed, the subject matter and performances were good enough, they didn't need gimmicks like this or the abandoned national anthem. There were some obvious flaws. You would probably keep your helmet visor down if you were trying to follow someone incognito nor follow so closely. And maybe you would put your phone on silent when in the vicinity of someone you're trying to 'sting' ? Also, I felt the women characters were sadly shown as mere puppets throughout the film…inconsequential pawns in the hands of the men who controlled their destiny. Surely more could've been made of the combined acting talents of Simone, Neetu Chandra, Gul Panag and Suchitra ? Its definitely worth a watch, Amitabh's performance alone worth the price of a ticket. And there is food for thought…now if only the damned music wasn't cluttering up the mind…. More reviews at ApurvBollywood...

Ram Gopal Varma is a proficient filmmaker, films like 'Satya' 'Sarkar' & 'Jungle' have gone down as true Cult-Classics. But, for a long,long time he has been wasting his time in crappy & shitty films. 'Aag', 'Nishabad' & 'Darling' were resounding duds. I as a fan of his at a time, I gave up on him! But his latest offering 'RANN' has made me curious after a long hiatus.

'RANN' is a interesting fare, with RGV's direction deserving a clap. Rohit G. Banawilkar's writing is intelligent. 'RANN' however, despite the merits, caters to a very tiny section of audience, it's strictly not meant for those who worship escapist cinema... it's for the 'I Love Serious, Intense Cinema' chaps... unfortunately that section of audience over-here is as good as nil.

RGV exposes the media industry in 'RANN'. It has good twists and turns, and gripping second hour. But 'RANN' is not without it's share of minuses, the film actually takes off in the second hour when the scandal comes all over. The first hour is more on introducing characters & their motives. RGV could've have easily started the engine much before interval, there is a possibility you might lose patience in the first 60-minutes. But guys, the second hour makes up for it. The climax, also, is well-done.

Coming to the acting department, Bachchan delivers a restrained performance. Sudeep is the life of the show. Playing a arrogant mind with amazing understanding & ease. Paresh Rawal is outstanding, as freaking always. What an actor! Ritesh is okay. Rajat Kapoor is excellent. Mohnish Behl is exceptional. He excels in a meaty role. Rajpal provides a few laughs. Gul is wasted, ditto for Neetu Chandra. Suchitra, seen in a film after a long gap, is fantastic.

Bottom-Line: 'RANN' is amongst RGV's better films. It deserved to do better at the box office, it didn't. Now, give the due it deserves.

"Government, businessmen and politicians are responsible for the stability of the country, thereby encouraging development but to the common man, how are they accountable for their duties? For this very reason, Media was born". Rann deals with the misuse of media's power that reaches out to millions with the truth. This high voltage, no nonsense thrilling drama that captivates your mind and engages you into its unpredictable screenplay has Ram Gopal Verma written all over it and it is indeed among his finest films. Rann is technically brilliant in every aspect. The subject is serious and seldom will you find a light moment and when the story demands it, Ramu enters the realm with all his might. Not a single song for diversion, not a single heroine dancing around, not a moment to edit, not a single mundane dialogue and not a stone unturned. This is cinema in its finest story telling form.

Vijay Harshvardhan Malik (Amitabh Bachchan) is the Godfather of India's news media. Righteous and truth seeking in his approach, Malik always favors the truth over TRP ratings and sensationalism. His son, Jai (Sudeep) wants the company to prosper by catering to the viewers' choices while supporting his father's integrity. Naveen (Rajat Kapoor), brother-in- law to Jai, introduces Jai to Mohan Pandey (Paresh Rawal), the cunning politician who will cross all limits to gain his political mileage and together, they convince Jai to create news to gain a tremendous jump in the channel's viewership. Purab Shastri (Ritesh Deshmukh), the new comer in the channel is a devotee of Vijay Malik and as the sinister plot unfolds before him, politics and media unleash true mayhem. In all this, Amrish Kakkar (Mohnish Behl) stands to gain advantage out of his competitive positioning and his shrewdness.

Rann moves at a reckless pace with a riveting narrative and explosive dialogue from its ensemble starcast. In terms of its distinct musical score, Sikkon Ki Bhookh, Gali Gali Mein Shor & Jana Gana Rann are very pertinent tracks to the movie's theme and will take repeated listening to catch the essence of the lyrics. Credit for a phenomenal screenplay goes to RGV and for optimizing the potential of such a strong cast of actors. Amitabh Bachchan is outstanding as the restrained and truthful media baron. His finest moment is towards the end when he comes in front of the nation, unravelling his channel's misuse. Paresh Rawal as Mohan Pandey is evil yet his confidence in his techniques is appalling. The smoothness with which he misleads the public in his speeches deserves some chuckles. Rajat Kapoor impressively plays the over ambitious businessman, Ritesh Deshmukh portrays the right amount of composure for his character while walking straight on RGV's guided path while Mohnish Behl deserves an applause for such an awesome come back. He is a capable actor and one wonders why his on screen shrewdness went unnoticed for so long. Gul Panag and Suchitra Krishnamoorthi are worthy in their roles while Rajpal Yadav renders some comic relief without digressing from the movie's theme.

But RGV is the true hero of the Rann. With slick presentation, brevity, brilliant screenplay aiding the seamless narration and a no-nonsense, to-the-point approach in every scene, he conveys the movie's message in a thriller like socio-drama. Sikkon Ki Bhookh, Gali Gali Mein Shor & Jana Gana Rann are very pertinent tracks to the movie's theme and will take repeated listening to catch the essence of the lyrics. Rann is uplifting, enlightening, meaningful, intense and worthy of a large combo deal at the cinemas.

8.99 on a scale of 1-10.

After Sarkar and Sarkar Raj RGV is back again with another serious creation that brings out some of the most important hidden elements of activities running inside the country. Rann is one such movie which emphasizes on teaching the hidden truth to the audiences than entertaining them. Here the prime subject of Rann is media behind the camera and political corruptions, although it is not new but at least editing and presentations are acceptable.

According to box office report Rann failed in return on investment. But who cares it whether a hit or flop!!! We have to care only whether it succeeds to touch the consciences of the large spectrum of audiences. Most of the critics thumbs upped the movie but due to lack of audiences it could hardly run in the business.

As the audiences of a democratic country each and everyone have the right to like or dislike a particular movie. And to tell the truth I liked and enjoyed Rann. In justifications of performances Big B did a mindblowing job as a media icon Vijay Harshvardhan Malik owning a TV news channel India 24x7. But, in some moments his role reminds of Subhash Nagre in Sarkar and differences are only in his dresses. After all it also came from RGV.

Sudeep played the role of US returned Indian who wishes to settle in India and help his father in controlling the TV news channel. His role is prepared to put more pressures in the story. Sometimes his character appears as emotionally immature man, who most of the time loses his sentiments. He was much better in Phoonk than in Rann.

Next comes Ritesh Deshmukh who puts some masala in the storyline as a decent and serious journalist Purav Shastri, who is the only solution to the problems. To date he is offered here his evergreen role, and that is also in a RGV production. Ritesh appears better in serious and dashing roles than fool or comedian boy. I give thousands thumbs to him in Rann!!! Paresh Rawal as a politician Mohan Pandey is not new. And we have been seeing him in this kind of appearances right from the late 1980s. He looks rather tired than fresh, and hardly influences in the story. The other actors need not be mentioned, as they are not necessary. Moreover, Rajpal Yadav has nothing new to make us laugh than getting rid of him.

Rann is a very serious movie as like as previous RGV movies, and what should we expect more than this? He is a kind of filmmaker who experiments on a particular subject instead of trying to entertain the audiences. He does not agitate in making a movie in his own way with his own beliefs and ideas. But as long as Rann runs till the end, it brings out thoughts about moral and corruptions in audiences' minds. Hope to see again such movies from RGV in future.

Rann is that rare cinema about the collective conscience which we often like to think has gone out of style.Rann shows how tough it is to hold your head high up in dignified righteousness in a world where ethics crumble faster than cookies in wide-open jar left out too long in the sun.

Cleverly, Ram Gopal Varma situates his morality tale in the cut-throat world of the electronic media where the TRP is God, and deadlines the devil. And may the voice of the conscience rest in peace.

Varma plunges us into the world of the characters that he knows only too well. The glistening sweat on ratings-challenged eyebrows are captured through tight close-ups of worried faces that give nothing and yet everything away.

The narrative is taut restless and biting in its depiction of corruption in supposedly responsible places. Ram Gopal Varma gives no space to the complicated labyrinth of relationships to grow. We are left to gauge the depths and dimensions that underline the furious flow of empathy and antipathy between various characters by reading between the lines.

Rann is a razor-sharp bitter and biting look at the real world of rapidly-moving moral issues. Varma extracts superlative performances from the entire cast.

From Ritesh Deshmukh's heartbreaking idealism to Amitabh bachchan's superb acting........everything in the movie is pitch perfect.....and the movie on whole is really gonna be applauded for its awesome screenplay......

RGV's best work after company!!

a must-watch!!!!

With 'Rann' Ram Gopal Verma proves he's finally back on track. Unfortunately, his reputation thanks to his previous dozen of abysmal film may be the reason why 'Rann' received so little recognition. Telling the story of the corrupt Indian media, the film is insightful and poignant as it shows how the ratings system (TRP) works in India and displays the influence of media on the common population. It feels like a Madhur Bhandarkar film but with better writing and execution. The tension builds subtly and the director maintains it right until the end.

The execution is solid with razor sharp editing, a terrific score and fine cinematography (for the most parts). The only thing I disliked about the cinematography is that sometimes the hand-held shaky camera movement was a little overdone. Most of the songs are thankfully set in the background but the satirical lyrics are hilarious and contribute to the scenes. The writing is mostly good but the sequence where Purab is lures Jay as Khanna feels a little awkward. The final monologue delivered by Amitabh Bachchan is a little too long and reaches the point of becoming preachy and spoonfeeding the viewer.

Verma has assembled a great cast. Riteish Deshmukh has done a competent job. Amitabh Bachchan is adequate. He has played similar roles before but does a good job nonetheless. He doesn't dominate the film as he leaves enough space for his fellow cast members to perform. Gul Panag and Neetu Chandra's roles may not be much of a challenge but they hold their own with strong screen presence. Rajat Kapoor is commendable. Paresh Rawal plays the clichéd corrupt politician as a caricature. Mohnish Behl makes quite a comeback with an understated performance. Suchitra Krishnamurty is impressive.

One can only hope Ram Gopal Verma keeps up with making films of this quality instead of turning back to the likes of his previous crap again. With 'Rann' he is definitely heading the right direction and this already gives us hope that the once great filmmaker may have come back.

The news is that old RGV is back on track.

I was hoping for RGV to hit form at least in RANN after few craps like Contract, Aag and Agyaath. And guess what, He actually hit form in this movie. Trailers were promising and thats what took me to the theater. In the end I was really touched by this masterpiece which really went unnoticed. This was definitely one of the best works of RGV since Sarkar.

The movie rightly exposes internal politics of the media and how the news are created instead of reporting the actual news. No wonder why the electronic media reviewers like Rajiv Masand, Anupama bashed the movie saying "Ill researched"!!!!

Coming to the performance, Everybody from Rajpal Yadav to BigB has done justice to the character but Sorry BigB its Sudeep who steals the show with his terrific performance.

Pros.. Almost everything..

Cons Nothing really...

Verdict: Get your copy of DVD right now

I was giving the guys a birthday treat, the treat being a first show of either Ishqiya or Rann. After much contemplation, the invitees banked upon Rann, against my better judgement of choosing Ishqiya. Not because I thought Rann was going to be bad, but because Ishqiya sounded more interesting.

Ah well, we went for Rann. The hall was empty, surprisingly, considering the fact that Rann took up the entire TOI front page a few months ago. RGV...RGV...RGV... the man doesn't change nothing, does he? Same style of film-making, with a loose script, interesting concept, and such cliché cinematography (but it's good, the cinematography style, suits the theme). The editing, thank god, was good. The direction, well... looks boring in the beginning, but becomes engrossing soon. Even though it's an interesting concept, it's a cliché, predictable storyline, and a "Duh! I knew it" climax. GOD, when will RGV learn that loud, "Govinda" type music isn't everything!

As for the performances... well. No one but Amitabh Bachchan (hands down) and Paresh Rawal deliver. Terrible performances by others, the one's that had the big roles, that is. Terrific performance by Big B is all that adds the cherry to the cake. Light, subtle humour by our very own Rajpal Yadav keeps the mood light, something that is a must for these issue-based movies.

Final thought? Go for it, obviously! But I still wanted to try Ishqiya... would probably catch it tomorrow...

But boy, if what these guys have shown IS really the truth, then I gotta tell dad to watch the newz less. Much, much less.

6/10. ***

RGVs teaming with BigB always had led to highly anticipated movies and with Rann the same goes. So Post 26/11 when RGV got embroiled along with Ritesh, Rann was definite movie to watch out his vengeance. The product works, only at a few places - sad!

Media is the crux of the movie, and the problem is a shallow depiction of it. Its evident that the writer did not do his homework properly but concentrated on fabricating a story around the industry.

¤ Big B:: In my opinion, the character is a straight lift from Mahabharata - Dhritarashtra, for the love of his son. The over-the-top idealistic portrayal was not warranted. It wasn't a full BigB outing and also it wasn't like his role was indispensable. The emotional charged lines in the grand finale attempt to cover up for the short-comings.

¤ Ritesh:: The publicity machine portrayed his character to be derived from Howard Roark and honestly thats conning. Or maybe the character did not get screen time to crystallise into The Fountainhead.

¤ Sudeep:: A Duryodhana in disguise who know how to manipulate his Paa. His accent needed to be improvised and mimes Raghuvaran to the T. Also touching the face frequently does not qualify for acting.

¤ Paresh Rawal:: Its good to see Paresh joining hands back with RGV after a long gap. His character does have meat in it and I wouldn't be surprised if it was based on a couple of real-life conniving politicians.

¤ Mohnish Behl:: Now he is the one who steals the thunder practically right under everybody's noses. Fantastic performance and truly goes to show what he is capable of if truly tapped his potential.

¤ Rajat Kapoor:: Well, it is the usual "suave" character he portrays practically in every other movie.

¤ Rajpal Yadav:: A realistic character and as usual he goes a bit over- the-top the moment camera starts whirring. But hey, he says one memorable line which pretty much sums up the industry "hum humari filmon ko NEWS kehte hain!".

Finally coming to the ladies, if I dare say the truth - you were all conned by RGV.

Background score is very loud, a la 1980's B-grade masala flick. Songs are pathetic, the composition or the lyrics - cannot decide which is the worst. What happened to the glorious days when RGV teamed up with R D Burman, Rahman, Vishal Bharadwaj, Gulzar etc.

Rann goes to show the level "The Factory" is stooping to.

One of the best movie of Ram Gopal Verma! Must watch...

Good Movie. Amitabh Bachchan and everybody acted very well in the movie. Songs and BGM in the movie were not so good. The movie was interesting in 1st half but the movie bored and lagged a bit at 2nd half. The movie could be more interesting. Good Movie.

"Rann" is one of the best Indian films I've ever seen. And, while I have seen far fewer films than most Indians, I still have seen many films from this film making power house.

The story is set in India but it could just as soon be set anywhere else. It's a film about the news media and how they've slowly become either banal (with news stories which are crap) or outright lies. The film is set at a CNN or Fox News type of media empire run by Vijay Malik (Amitabh Bachchan). While his India 24/7 Network prides itself in presenting real news, it's also suffering because of this. A newer, glitzier media giant has emerged...Headlines 24. Headlines 24 isn't afraid to wallow in the mud and deliver crap to its viewers...and the people are eating it up. In desperation, Vijay brings his brilliant son Jay back from America to help him run India 24/7...not realizing his son is as completely amoral as the boss at Headlines 24. Jay sees his network slowly collapsing and makes a fateful choice--to throw his lot in with the sleaziest and most evil politician and create news. To solve the mystery of a recent terror bombing, Jay concocts news--implicating the evil politician's rival and setting himself up to become the next Prime Minister. Into this horrible and corrupt mess comes an incredibly idealistic reporter, Purab (Riteish Deshmukh). What is one small man against two media empires and a politician who makes Darth Vader seem like a pussy cat?!

This movie has everything going for it. The script is taut and exciting and after the film was over, I felt drained. Many times I felt myself gasping or on the verge of tears near the end...it was THAT powerful. It also helped to have some amazing acting. Everyone was great but Bachchan really outdid himself during the monologue near the end of the film. The direction was amazing. And, the music was very tense and exciting--and among the best I've heard. Unlike a typical sort of Bollywood film, there are no song and dance numbers (this would have severely hampered the movie) but a couple well chosen nice musical interludes really worked well. Overall, a terrific film with nothing to complain about...nothing. And, unlike most films, it has a universality that makes it a great bet for anyone no matter where they live. A must-see.

Before the actual release of this movie, I was eagerly waiting for it. Especially because it seemed to have all the desirable things one can expect out of a Ram Gopal Verma made crime/political film.

When I read reviews of so-called critics, I was very disappointed. Most of them gave it mere below-average to average ratings. I almost gave it up thinking that it's another failure of an RGV experiment. But, I am glad I didn't.

I don't know why the critics gave it bad ratings. According to me, it was a very good film. It was well presented, not a bit exaggerated, to-the-point film.

Things I liked about it - couple of good sarcastic background songs, very well-defined/well-judged characters and the opening as well as climax of the movie.

Things that could have been better - background score and some minor touch-ups in screenplay/plot.

Bottom line - It's a very good film, overall. The plot was pretty good with some minor holes. Despite being predictable, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

This is a 2010 release from Ram Gopal Varma (RGV). After being premiered at the Toronto film festival it gat a normal release in India in January. Commercially it did not make waves and got a rather quiet burial having grossed only Rs 12 Crores. A deeper look at the plot of the film and its treatment will perhaps throw some light into the reasons thereof. Rann deals with the often talked about theme of the politician media nexus. We have Ashok Malik, the upright owner of the struggling news channel India 24X7 who holds all the tenets of an ethical media close to his heart. His US educated son Jai returns and in true dynastic tradition moves in to inherit the doting father's business. His bête noire is the owner of the rival channel run by Amrish Kakkar, himself an ex-employee of India 24X7. In his ambition to turn around his channel and win the race to be number one, Jai sells his soul to the devil - Mohan Pandey the ruthless politician who will stop at nothing to achieve his ambition of becoming the Prime Minister. In this mission Jai is egged on by his businessman brother in law Naveen. The twists and turns show the dirty tricks politicians indulge in, fake news and even created news being reported by the media, emotional manipulation of a doting father by his ambitious son, and the final denouement through an expose by a greenhorn reporter, Purab. The casting is superb - we need not say anything about the acting prowess of the established stars Amitabh Bachhan (Ashok Malik), Paresh Rawal (Mohan Pandey), and Rajpal Yadav (who does a cameo as a TV anchor with a flair for dramatics). They live their roles with effortless ease. The ladies in the film are there purely for decorative purposes - including an accomplished actress like Gul Panag who looks pretty, dimples and all. The surprise packages are Mohnish Behl who is very convincing as the ruthless rival media baron and Sudeep who effectively portrays the mental trauma of the ambitious but morally ambivalent Jai. It unfortunate that a talented actor like Mohnish has had so few opportunities to exhibit his talent. Riteish Deshmukh as the young idealist who sees Ashok Malik as a role model brings the right balance of eagerness and disillusionment to his role of Purab. However, the director does go overboard by caricaturing him as a sweater wearing and motorbike riding common man's reporter; his stylish flat gives the lie to his 'modest' pretentions! Also the scenes of his tailing Jai in full view of his rear view mirror are rather amateurish. Having said that, one should take nothing away from the tight editing which keeps you interested right through the 137 minutes of the movie. Rann is right down the alley of RGVs iconoclastic movies questioning and even perhaps subtly justifying today's politician's morals - which would perhaps put even alley cats to shame. While talk of paid media, fake news and media politician nexus is passé in today's context, when we consider that this movie was released in early 2010, it is eerily prescient. It is so easy to relate to the events of today and even believe that the riots, scams and exposes, and the empty rhetoric of voluble politicians which we hear of on a daily basis are the paid handiwork of one party of the other - there are no saints in the business of politics - ably aided and abetted by a self-seeking and greedy media. No surprises here that this movie would not have found too many friends among the political class or the media houses who very often 'create' the success or failure of movies. I would go with three and a half stars out of five for this wakeup call from RGV.

Ram Gopal Sharma's Rann examines the corruption of the media and how it can be manipulated or seduced by either party into compromising or even forgoing their ethical obligations, in the name of favours, and money. And in some respect, the issues presented here aren't far fetched, and from incidents time and again, we see how the media can be used to gain an unfair upper hand, and the power that it wields to bring down positions of power when investigative journalism gets into gear. And of course, having the evergreen Amitabh Bachchan star in a leading role as Vijay Harshvardhan Malik, an ethical, no- nonsense media mogul who runs his own news channel called India 24/7, is one of the major draws of Rann.

As the moral compass of the country, Vijay's editorial news programme sets the agenda, but unfortunately in the face of stiff channel competition and falling ratings, his son Jai (Sudeep) wants to take the channel into a new level through the injection of external funds. Cautious that the source of such funds would mean an erosion of ethics that his channel is renowned for, Vijay decides to allow Jai to proceed with his plans, but little does anyone know that under their noses, India 24/7's COO Nanlini (Suchitra Krishnamoorthi) is a mole in their corporation, feeding chief rivals H24, run by Amrish Kakkar (Mohnish Bahl) all the information on India 24/7's strategy, thereby letting the competition always stay a step ahead.

The story by Rohit G. Banawlikar is fantastically multi-layered, with ample development given to the this industrial espionage, and how it draws Jai to the dark side of shady deal-making, which ultimately culminates in the assistance of his industrialist brother-in-law Naveen (Rajat Kapoor), and his friend, the dubious politician Mohan Pandey (Paresh Rawal), with the ambition of taking over the prime ministership of the country, through a carefully crafted scheme which draws upon threats, murder, terrorism as well as a fake undercover expose recording, delivered unknowingly and none other than Vijay himself.

It is also the story of a greenhorn investigative journalist Purab (Ritesh Deshmukh), who idolizes Vijay and his pursuit of journalism excellence, and whose honor and ethics Purab wants to emulate, so much so that he decides to join India 24/7. A part of the story has Purab caught in the entire web of deceit, and the moral dilemma he faces with acknowledging the probable stain in his boss's reputation and career, an act of betrayal, the realization that his inexperience had caused a lot more damage than it should, before deciding to gamble it all in doing the right thing. There are ups and downs as we follow Purab in his journey, making him one of the more well developed characters in the film that we both root for, and be exasperated with.

It's not all doom and gloom though, with well timed comic relief introduced (without going overboard) through Anand Prakash Trivedi (Rajpal Yadav), a presenter who just tries too hard, with an interview scene being one of the funniest delivered in the film. But the more memorable scene here has to be the stinging monologue that Amitabh Bachchan delivers with gravitas, a rebuke on the role of the media, and how it is so easy for those in powerful positions to collude for self interests and money, that everything, including the progress of a nation, can be sacrificed. There's no big bang finale action, but a talkie finale which hammers it in with heartfelt emotion, one that I wish our own powers that be could have a chance to listen in, and perhaps remind themselves of their back to basics responsibilities.

The film quietly builds itself into a fire-cracker finale, having to witness how deep the rabbit hole goes, and just when you thought it had hit rock bottom, more events unfold to dig us further into the consequences of the conspiracy which not only impacts the individuals on a personal level, but you shudder at the thought of how the impact would be on a national scale. When it it bottoms out into an inevitable conclusion, on one hand you'd expect difficult sacrifices and decisions to be made as a resolution to the problem posed, while on the other feel sorry for those innocent caught up in the crossfire, and shrewd as RGV is, there's room for a sequel to be made as well.

Should there be any gripe, those who cannot stand shaky camera movement will find it disturbing to view the film through a camera lens not mounted on a tripod, which in a way provided a sense of a documentary feel to the entire proceedings with its fair share of twists and turns. Female characters too are tokens in the film, mostly relegated to wives and girlfriends who repeatedly looked quite sorry at being bewildered at their man's problems. There was a little bit of a brushing of a couple's differences in religious backgrounds (something sensitive with the older female generation perhaps?) that despite it being mentioned and played out briefly, didn't serve up any depth in the issue, probably side- skirted and being an abandoned sub plot.

If anyone would think that Bollywood makes Masala type films only, then obviously their horizons need to be broadened. Rann is an excellent political thriller that's kept tight and pacey from the get go, coupled with a charismatic cast whose delivery will keep you at the edge of your seat as the narrative unfolds. Definitely recommended stuff, and it goes into my books as an early contender for the top films of this year.