What is it all about?
A mind blowing experience really. Rajjo is a bad example of an interestingly intriguing idea going kaput. Vishwas Patil is a versatile personality he is an IAS officer, historian and an award winning author (Panipat) is his most acclaimed work. Probably as an historian and as an author he must have watched the legendary Indian movies on Kotha's and Kotewalis like Salam Bombay, Mandi, Bazaar, Tawaif, or Dastak (environmentally ) or even Sadak, Chandini Bar, Chameli to that matter. But sadly he couldn,t just get it right at any point or any time in those 2 hours. Or maybe he has not watched those above mentioned game changers so positively he can watch them again and give it another try. The result will be remarkably different anyways he can keep Kangana as the central character as she does a marvelous job. Coming back to the film `Rajjo' is like a decently decorated mannequin (as a nautch girl) outside a shop you can see her but cannot feel her.
The Story
Writer director Vishwas Patil's Rajjo is a love story, or a film on women empowerment or a stark reality on Kothas and flesh trade is not clear. A popular and in demand nautch girl Rajjo (Kangna Ranaut)meets a college lad Chandu (Paras Arora) who visits the place with his cricket team owner as a treat for wining a match. Chandu belongs to a middle class Maharashtrian family and is a teenager (god knows why the censor asked the makers to declare the age of the boy as 21 in the film it killed its innocence completely. Anyways its love at first sight for Chandu. Rajjo also finds solace in Chandu's company. The Brothel or Kotha is run by eunuch Begum (Mahesh Manjrekar) he is fighting his own battle of a possible evacuation of his Kotha for a commercial building. If we were still to digest and get in these two plots bangs come another of a politician Handa Bhau (Prakash Raj), desires Rajjo for commercial benefits and chasing her even after she gets married to Chandu by the help of Begum. The rest is how deliberately Patil tries to complete these three plots in one film and goes horribly wrong without giving proper justice to any of them.
What to look out for
Kangana Ranaut is very striking and gives a pious and fantastic performance. It's a women oriented solo for her and that's not everyone's cake but the actress who has just shot great guns as a human chameleon in Krrish 3 is brilliant. She dances very well. Looks beautiful and her emotions are bang on. Uttam Singh's music is in sync with the flavor of the film. The environment and settings of the Mumbai's Red Light area is nicely done by Muneesh Sappel . First timer Paras Arora is okay. Upendra Limaye leaves his mark.
What not
Rajjo has seven National Award winners coming together for the film and apart from Kangana and Upendra Limaye rest of all disappoint including Prakash Raj and Mahesh Manjrekar. To cut the story short. The movie which starts on an interestingly stark note gives itself so easily for convenience in the proceedings that it becomes unable to digest. The vision is there but the execution is as unbelievable as an empty Virar local in Mumbai. So amateurish. And mind you its just one of the many loopholes.
Conclusion: Rajjo is vision that lacks the desired execution. Even Kangana's acting and dancing thunders cannot save this cinematic blunder which boost of seven national award winners to its cast and credit list.
Rating **
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