Film: Razakar
Rating: 2.75/5
Cast: Raj Arjun, Bobby Simha, Makarand Deshpande, Vedika, Anasuya Bharadwaj, Tej Sapru, Indraja, Subbaraya Sharma, Annusriya Tripathi, etc.
Music: Bheems Ceciroleo
Editor: Thimmaraju
Cinematography: Kushendar Ramesh Reddy
Producer: Gudur Narayana Reddy
Director: Yata Satyanarayana
Release Date: 15 March 2024
The film caught the attention of the audience with its trailer itself a few months ago. But the release of the film had faced delays owing to censor issues. While a section of society treated this as a propaganda film, another section called it an unfiltered depiction of history.
Finally, it released today, and let us see what is there in this.
Story:
This is the story of the Nizam State, which initially resisted becoming part of Independent India but eventually agreed after several confrontations and warnings.
Mir Osman Ali Khan (Makrand Deshpande) wishes to retain his kingdom without merging it with India. Additionally, Kasim Razvi, a militant, joins him and indoctrinates him, stating that if given power, he would ensure that the Nizam State doesn't become part of Independent India but remains a separate nation named Turkistan. If merging is inevitable, Pakistan is the preferred choice over India.
As Osman Ali Khan empowers Kasim Razvi, he becomes a tyrant resembling a demon, forcibly attacking several Hindu settlements and converting them to Islam. He orchestrates various forms of violence, including rape, murder, and arson.
Finally, Sardar Vallabhai Patel intervenes and liberates the Nizam State from the iron grip of the Nizam.
Artistes' Performances:
Makrand Deshpande nails the character of Osman Ali Khan with method acting, depicting the perfect body language and expression. His silhouette also suits the role well.
Raj Arjun, who played Kasim Razvi, is also very convincing in his role, dominating the screen time with his presence. Tej Sapru as Vallabhai Patel is okay but doesn't depict the strong Iron Man qualities either in dialogues or performance.
Bobby Simha and Vedika's track is short-lived and is one of the many similar tracks in the film.
Indraja as Ilamma is good with her entry but doesn't have as much screen time as anticipated. Anasuya in her guest role and a song is fine. Anusriya Tripathi as Osman Khan's wife appears in a few scenes.
Subbaraya Sharma's role is short-lived, portraying a victimized Brahmin character. Prema also appears in a small episode with her pre-interval action scene. Tulasi, despite her guest role, delivers impactful histrionics in the beginning.
Technical Excellence:
The cinematographer, graphics, art, and costume departments deserve commendation. They took the film to the next level with their skills.
The main technician who made this film impactful is the music director Bheems Cecireleo. He made the film power-packed with a perfect background score and impactful songs.
The flag song at the Parakala episode "...praanam gaaju penku anuko..." is catchy. Anasuya's Bathukamma song is also impressive with its lyrics cursing Razakars.
Highlights:
Music
Performances
Costumes
Cinematography
Drawbacks:
Repetitive tracks
Routine emotions
Too many exaggarations
Analysis:
This film is set against the backdrop of the period before September 17, 1948, portraying the rebellion of people in Hyderabad state against the oppressive governance of the Nizam and the chaos caused by the Razakars.
It undoubtedly delves into the history of Hyderabad, but the events depicted in the film are so unbelievably atrocious that at times it begs the question of why this story wasn't told in history books for decades.
The narrative is compelling, gradually immersing the audience into the story and emotions. Several moments wrench at the heartstrings, evoke anger, and ultimately lead to goosebumps. Emotions are packed with patriotism, self-respect, and a poetic justice with the savior at the end.
On the flip side, the narrative style of the film lands between evoking emotions with gruesome atrocities akin to R Narayana Murthy's style and attempting to meet Rajamouli's standards of visual grandeur within the given budget.
Some parts in the film are of an old-school thought, such as Bobby Simha singing a pathos song after a violent episode, a cow/ox killing a Razakar in another episode, and some scenes being too cinematic and exaggerated, which may not resonate with the taste of present-day audiences.
An interesting point to commend is that the director took the historical narrative seriously by mentioning the date, time, and place of various incidents in chronological order. His extensive research on the subject matter, characters involved, and their stories is aptly knitted. It looks like a history lesson on the silver screen, in spite of with some exaggerations and cinematic liberties.
In a way, this "Razakar" movie can be called 'The Kashmir Files Of Hyderabad' because it follows a similar path in showcasing the gruesome atrocity of religious fanatics on others.
The famous slogan "Raliv Galiv ya Chaliv" ("convert, leave, or die") of 'The Kashmir Files' is directly taken here and kept as a dialogue of Kasim Razvi.
But there are some differences between 'The Kashmir Files' and this film as well. While the former was made in a docudrama style, this is purely cinematic. While the former has no good character among the Muslims on screen, here in this film it is balanced with characters like journalist Shoabullah Khan.
The characters of Kasim Razvi and Mir Laiq Khan are depicted as the main villains of the film, while Mir Osman Ali Khan, the last Nizam, is shown as the one influenced by them and experiences remorse in the climax.
Overall, the sequences look repetitive with similar emotions and graph carried in almost all episodes. The making standards of this film are so impressive that it looks like a high-budget pan-India film. The musical treatment adds a lot of grip and fervor to the narrative.
It's a watchable film for history lovers. Though it's a debatable issue whether atrocities of this degree were really committed or just depicted for cinematic liberty, it goes without saying that this film evokes emotion in many audience.
Bottomline: History on big screen