Writer’s Note: Probably because I am directing a film or probably because I love intense films or probably the liking I have on creative stuff, I am writing this piece. But, more than any of such above reasons, a thinking viewer in me has pondered the plot of Rakta Charitra and here I am with this piece to satisfy that thinking viewer. Faint hearts are not advised to go through my post!
The film starts with two headlines:
“Revenge is the ultimate bliss” – Mahabharat
“In revenge lies one’s destruction” – Mahatma Gandhi
Out of these two statements comes my take - can revenge be a soul of one’s existence? Yes! That was my instant reaction after watching Ram Gopal Varma’s magnum-opus ‘Rakta Charitra’ (RC). RC is an intense violent story not between the good and the evil; rather, it is between sustaining the revenge and winning the feud as a result of that revenge, purely for pride and supremacy and for nothing else.
The expressions best define a person’s emotion in that particular instant. The intensity of that emotion results in an activity. The nature of the activity whether it is good or bad depends on how the people perceive it according to their perception. To be precise, an activity cannot be termed as good or bad. It is purely situational-based and is driven by a motive, the nature of which is purely subjective.
A film is a channel or a medium through which a film-maker envisions his/her vision on the celluloid. One’s day begins with executing an emotion in one form or the other, knowingly or unknowingly. Capturing that emotion on screen is the task of a film-maker. One such film-maker leads us to Ram Gopal Varma who is adept at portraying such visuals. The intensity with which he portrays his characters on screen is nothing less than a visual delight.
This film is all about the story, the characters and the intensity with which it was portrayed on screen. Perceptions of understanding the film are diverse in nature. But the film’s fate hangs on how well the film-maker conveyed his vision to the audience. And in case of RC, Ram Gopal Varma succeeds in doing so.
The quotient of violence shown in the film is undoubtedly ruthless. Men are bludgeoned with stones, axes and hammers; drills are driven through their heads, the sharp ended tree branches pierce into men’s hearts, the rats are jabbed into men’s abdomen, the arms are chopped off, the men are thrown into the wells, and their heads are hanged to the crowbars, smashed with the coconuts and kept in stakes. There is a relentless blood flowing throughout the film. As a viewer, one should refrain from watching such acts as the brutal violence portrayed in the film can always send wrong messages to the society challenging the very purpose of making a film. But from a film-maker’s point of view, there lies a onus on him/her to portray the facts happening in the society and no doubt, the way these scenes are canned are exactly the way they are happening in reality in such intense blood and revenge soaked killings.
To visualize the characters and the emotions they carry out through their expressions in essaying their roles is a wonderful experience as an audience. This topic isn’t over yet. The saga continues on December 03. Yes! You have guessed it right - it’s the scheduled release date of Rakta Charitra-2. But, still the story never has an ending as it is the part of a blood-soaked historical saga and a historical saga has no end.
