Rann could’ve been a good film if it was technically sound, if the script did not have gaping holes, if the characters were well etched, if plot was well researched and if, on the whole the story was not so idealistically predictable. Rating: 2.5/5
Ram Gopal Verma’s Rann is all about a good media baron, who is the pillar of journalistic values and integrity, fighting the bad ones who sensationalize news at the expense of truth to fill their own pockets. What happens in the end? Well, the good guy Harshvardhan Malik (Amitabh Bachchan), who has oft lost the TRP battle to his rival Amrish (Mohnish Behl), unearths the conspiracy between media and politics, delivers a smashing 8-minute soliloquy on integrity and social responsibility and voila! All’s well that ends well!
Like Madhur Bhandarkar, the only striking revelation Ram Gopal Verma makes through his film is – politics heavily influences media and misuses it and media people succumb to it because of their moral weakness. To throw in a bit of reality, they have peppered in a sting operation, and of course the RGV signature cinematography of dark and dingy frames, the lingering close-up shots and the haunting background score.
By the time all the characters are established you know exactly where the film is heading to, because every character is so flat and either black or white, that there is hardly anything left to expect out of the film.
Performances were good, Amitabh Bachchan deserves a pat on his back for pulling of the performance well, but it doesn’t seem any big deal for him to give performances like these. His character was so flat that he almost sleepwalks through it. We all know, at that age, with that experience and expertise, AB can definitely do much better in a well written role.
Rann could’ve been a good film if it was technically sound, if the script did not have gaping holes, if the characters were well etched, if plot was well researched and if, on the whole the story was not so idealistically predictable.
Can do better RGV! Keep trying!
