Revolver Rani


Revolver Rani is a Bollywood comedy flick written and directed by Sai Kabir featuring Kangana Ranaut and Vir Das in the Lead roles. The film also has Piyush Mishra, Zakir Hussain, and Pankaj Saraswat in supporting roles. Sai Kabir, who has Kismat Conncetion and Lahma to his credit for story and screenplay, has come up with a unique masala entertainer, which once again doesn’t allow your conscious to emphasize much over the logic of the story.

The film is a satirical and unusual love story set against the back drop of Politics. This romantic comedy which goes into the deadly world of goons , where guns speak in volumes.

It’s back to the hinterland. Back to the region of goons, bullets, bloodbath and slimy netas. Back to the world where human life is cheap, the characters are either grey or black, the lingo is loaded with expletives and the games people play may seem contemptible to us, but is a way of life for them. Striding into the territory of Tigmanshu Dhulia’s PAAN SINGH TOMAR and BULLETT RAJA and Anurag Kashyap’s GANGS OF WASSEYPUR, REVOLVER RANI, directed by Sai Kabir, is set in the region where alliances are twisted according to convenience.

While Kangana’s Plain Jane act in QUEEN continues to wow spectators across the globe, the talented actress sports a new avatar in REVOLVER RANI. The actress after ‘Queen’ has come up with stronger performance this time. Her dialogue delivery with performance is extra ordinary. You might disown this flick but would love to take her back home. None is the scene which goes without an impact and Kangana makes no mistake in bringing out the appropriate expression . It’s a 180 degree turn actually, since Alka [Kangna’s character in REVOLVER RANI] is wild, kinky, impulsive, explosive and violent.

Alka Singh (Kangana Ranaut), is a gruesome leader of a political party in Madhya Pradesh but falls weaker for her love Rohan (Vir Das) who is a struggler in Bollywood. On the other hand, Rohan wants to use her as a ladder to climb up in Bollywood but he ends up being her lust instrument.

The opposition party – the Tomar party headed by Udaybhan Tomar (Zakir Hussain) along with brother Govind Tomar (Pankaj Saraswat) want to destroy Alka completely and when they realise about her love interest they plan to deal with it emotionally. They kidnap his toy boy Rohan played by Vir Das. How Rohan finds himself trapped in this whole political fuss and how Alka saves him from being targeted by the opposition party, Kabir Sai narrates this complete scenario in his unusual mode of satirical and dark humour.

This film basically revolves around a woman political giant who falls in with a Bollywood actor and then has to protect him from her enemies.

REVOLVER RANI isn’t consistently engaging and that’s a minus. The sparkling moments dry up in the second hour and what ensues is the usual game of one-upmanship between two warring factions. Random sequences are forced into the goings-on and they make no impact whatsoever. A tighter and an invigorating screenplay would’ve only helped — the director had a clever concept on hand, frankly — but he lets go of the opportunity.

While the promos may give an inkling of what to expect from the film — one expects the film to shatter the laws of conventionalism — the fact is REVOLVER RANI comes across as a distant cousin of BULLETT RAJA and GANGS OF WASSEYPUR. Now this is all the more surprising since a name like Tigmanshu Dhulia is attached to the project — someone who has consistently raised the bar and carved his own path with several remarkable films. Director Sai Kabir attempts to amalgamate a love story with hi-octane drama, political maneuvers and rustic action and also coats it with the local flavor to make it seem authentic and bona fide, but something’s amiss. After a fairly engrossing first hour, the post-interval portions slide downwards.

The characters too — the opponents especially — transform into being mere caricatures after a point. In fact, most twists and turns are foreseeable, except for a few fleeting moments that catch your attention. The director does come up with an interesting twist towards the closing stages, but making Kangna single-handedly eliminate dozens of attackers appears unreal. The makers have also kept the provision for a sequel, which seems unnecessary.

The soundtrack of REVOLVER RANI gels with the mood of the film, but the appeal is restricted. The dialogue are raw and rooted in reality.

Kangana goes full-throttle in REVOLVER RANI and emerges trumps. There’s a strong possibility that people may walk in keeping Kangna’s stellar act in QUEEN in mind, but the actress is sure to make heads turn with yet another super act in REVOLVER RANI. Enacting the part of a woman who has the power and loves to flaunt it, Kangana shoulders the attitude with aplomb. The body language, the lingo and the attire [including funky glasses and metal accessories] makes her appear alluring, no doubt. Vir Das gets ample footage [despite Kangna dominating the screen time] and the actor makes a strong impression. Vir Das, who is playing Kangana’s love interest in the film, has proved his comic timing like never before.

Piyush Mishra effectively plays out the part of Kangana’s trusted uncle Balli. He too has given some brilliant scenes to excel in. Kabir brings out the shrewdness with him who can go to any depth to extend his existence in the political world. Along with him, the twist which comes in at the end isn’t extraordinary but works for time being. Piyush Mishra is once again brilliant in his act. Looks like he jumps straight out from ‘Gangs Of Wasseypur’ and lands here but with a different twist. He is a ‘Shakuni Mama’ for Alka.

Zakir Hussain continues to deliver in his own way. He had done a fabulous work in executing a shrewd politician cum goon.Kumud Mishra is in his elements. Pankaj Saraswat is alright. Zeishan Quadri gets minimal scope.

Music by Sanjeev Srivastava is good and delves well with the scene. The background score is brilliant. The film’s comic timing is impeccable. Director Sai Kabir has managed to tell the complicated love affair of a woman political goon and a Bollywood star effortlessly . The film starts with much promise, with a kind of quirkiness and black humour that fits well with the subject in hand. The narration and the background music work in absolute tandem to bring us a satire that succeeds in making you chuckle more often than not. But unfortunately, some scenes are so long drawn out that the whole impact begins to fizzle out by the end of it . The best thing about this film is of course, Kangana. The capable actress portrays this offbeat role of a violent, passionate but vulnerable with commendable ease. On the whole, REVOLVER RANI has engaging moments, but they are few and far between. This being Kangana’s immediate film release after the remarkable success of QUEEN may benefit the film to an extent. The film proves to be a must watch for Kangana’s exceptional performance as a rebellious political goon.

Comments

comments