Review: Rajanna - fine film from Nag

Hyderabad: A tale told in the context of the struggle post independence and focussed on feudal excesses before the state of AP is formed, the film maker takes liberties aplenty with times and history. There is so much blood that you nearly run for cover and clean the slime.

A combination of Naunihal (1967) a tad of Rang De Basanti (with period costumes) and some inspiration from Mangal Pandey makes for a strange combo. Though formatted to be a biopic of a balladeer Rajanna (Nagarjuna) deals more with the travails of the orphan Mallamma (Annie) he leaves behind.

The tale starts with he death of Latchamma (Sneha) and with a clear signal that you are surely not going to miss out on loud melodrama. Mallamma is a gifted girl and a favourite in the village. Her tormentor is Dorasani (Shweta Menon).

She escapes from an attempt on her life and heads to New Delhi to meet up with Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (remember Naunihaal!). She walks all the way from Adilabad to New Delhi.

Before long the villains catch up with her and just when she is about to lose faith, we get the flashback of her father Rajanna, who having fought the local lords in Maharashtra returns to his native land to find exploitation and repression at the peak.

With swords and spears used with the ease of butter knives and forks, you are dumb struck at the degree of violence, its credibility and also its relevance.

The film takes your intelligence for granted. To begin with, you have the happenings in early 1950s and songs of Maya Bazar (1957) played in a transistor! With no respect for flow and no sense of direction the film meanders with sudden bouts of violence and songs.

It is refreshing that Telugu cinema is willing to experiment. This is yet another instance of Nagarjuna displaying a willingness to do cinema outside the predictable. Coming as it does after Gaganam, it is clear that the actor is open to challenge.

The mindset does not really match the skill set though. The main stay in terms of performances comes from young Annie. The young girl shows great maturity and walks through the script with the confidence of a veteran. The times she goes overboard are truly attributable to the Director (Vijayendra Prasad) and not to her.

Yet another fine feature in the film is the music by Keeravani. The songs may needlessly intervene in the script but the quality is so high that the interruptions come as a boon. Rajanna is a clear indication that it is not enough if you desire to experiment.