Vivek Oberoi's 'Rakta Charitra' 5 Reasons of Success?

Vivek Oberoi's 'Rakta Charitra' 5 Reasons of Success?: Vivek Oberoi has scored over Mallika Sherawat and John Abraham this week at the Bolly box office as Vivek’s ‘Rakta Charitra’ has smelt blood at the cash windows. On one hand, where Rakta Charitra is selling at hot rates, ‘Hisss’ has fizzed and ‘Jhootha Hi Sahi’ has not done any remarkable business.

Ram Gopal Verma must, indeed, be a happy man now that his much-hyped flick has clicked with the movie goers. Here are the reasons why it has spawned such a craze:

1. Firstly, positive word of mouth publicity has done a lot of good to the film which began sluggishly but later gathered momentum.

2. Secondly, the critics gave the film mixed reactions while some recommended it whole heartedly.

3. Thirdly, the political controversy surrounding the film has, indeed, added fuel to public’s interest.

4. Fourthly, this film has been tagged ‘the most violent film ever made in India’. Who wouldn’t want to witness this bloody gore?

5. And fifthly, the fact that its competitors ‘Hisss’ and ‘Jhootha Hi Sahi’ have fallen flat, has surely made its way easier.

Box office Report: Rakta Charitra going well in south

Box office Report: Rakta Charitra going well in south: Three films releasing on the same day are most likely to eat into each other’s business. But there’s not much to bite into, if the reports of the opening day collections are to go by.

Rakta Charitra, Ram Gopal Varma’s most violent film to date, had an excellent start in Andhra Pradesh.

The film’s Telugu version is running to house-full shows, and the reason could be that the film is based on the story of the bloody rise to power of the Andhra politico Paritala Ravi, played by Vivek Oberoi in the film. In the north, however, Rakta Charitra (Hindi) got a below average response from cine buffs, with mere 25 to 30 percent occupancy in theatres.

In comparison, Jhootha Hi Sahi, starring John Abraham and Pakhi, had a better start with about 35 to 40 percent occupancy, but the mixed reviews it has got from critics isn’t going to help it pick up much in the days ahead.

On the other hand, Mallika Sherawat’s Hisss, which has been unanimously panned by every critic, had a good start at single screen theatres. But the bad reviews and negative word of mouth might slow its run at box office.

Both Jhootha Hi Sahi and Hisss have got a poor start at the UK box office.

Which of the three films will sail and which will sink at box office will be clearer by Monday.

Rakta Charitra Review

Rakta Charitra Review: When a proverbial maverick like Ram Gopal Varma sets out to make a film and titles it Rakta Charitra, it’s a foregone conclusion that an unrestrained celebration of blood and gore is on the platter. So is the case with this utterly violent film, starring Vivek Oberoi, Abhimanyu Singh and Shatrughan Sinha in major roles.

Now, the bloody question is - how far is Rakta Charitra different from Ramu’s previous films of the same genre.

The film’s plotline, inspired by the story of the Andhra politician Paritala Ravi, is definitely farm-fresh, but the theme of revenge and counter revenge and the bloodbath that follows is something we have seen in lesser degree in Ramu’s own films before. What’s different is that instead of being gunned down, people here are hacked. Weapons like sickles, crop-cutters, pickaxes and even heavy boulders come handy in this revenge saga with a political angle.

Pratap Ravi (Vivek Oberoi) is a simple collegian who turns into a killing machine to avenge the gruesome killing of his idealist father (Rajendra Gupta) and brother (Sushant Singh). As he slays one rival after another, Pratap becomes a figure of dread and awe in the rural hamlet, sparking a wave of counter revenge from his arch foe Buka (Abhimanyu Singh).

Pratap is taken out from rakta neeti and introduced to rajneeti by a powerful politician Shivajirao (Shatrughan Sinha). Thereby begins an altogether new journey of rise to power of this killer-turned-neta.

Ram Gopal Varma cuts to the chase with a bloodbath right at the onset, making clear to the flummoxed viewers in theatres that he intends to shock and awe them with unapologetic depiction of violence, killing, abductions and rape. To be fair to him, some sequences do hit you like sledgehammer, particularly the scene when Vivek guises as a police officer to do the killing. Even the scenes between Vivek and his mentor Shatrughan Sinha are gripping.

Is this Vivek Oberoi’s best performance. Nah! Not really. As a youth seething with rage, Vivek can play a character like this even in half sleep. But there’s no denying that the actor does shine in certain sequences (like the slaying of the minister) and does bring out a laudable transformation in his character, as the hot-headed and vengeful Pratap turns into a somewhat calculated politician.

Abhimanyu Singh comes up with the most powerful performance in the film; his portrayal of an unforgiving villain is chilling to the bone. Shatrughan Sinha too pitches in a riveting act. In supporting roles, Radhika Apte (as Vivek’s ladylove), Zarina Wahab and Ashwini Kalsekar come up with fine performances.

Rakta Charitra bears a Ram Gopal Varma stamp from start to end. The unconventional camera angles, the sepia tone, the sharp close-ups, and, not to forget, the deafening background score, which Ramu seems to be obsessed with. Amol Rathod’s cinematography is doubtlessly marvellous, though the Jayesh Dhakkan’s sound lacks any restraint.

What’s particularly off-putting is the glorification of violence in the film. Ramu seems intent on making a point here and he appears to have gone overboard. The scenes of people getting pummelled, slain, gunned down become revolting after a point. However, the film ends on a curious note - with the introduction of Suriya - leaving Ramu with something further to build on for the second part, Rakta Charitra II which will come soon.

Before that you need to get over this blood-and-gore fest and brace up for the next one.

Vivek Oberoi's most powerful film 'Rakta Charitra'

Vivek Oberoi's most powerful film 'Rakta Charitra': Even though his wedding is just a week away, actor Vivek Oberoi is fully committed to promoting his film Rakta Charitra. He calls it his most powerful film till date.
The movie, directed by Ram Gopal Varma, has Vivek playing a character based on the slain Andhra politician Paritala Ravi. It’s an intense role with a lot of emotional turmoil for the character.

“It is the most powerful film I have ever done. It is a very relevant story and something that is happening in Indian heartland. For me it was a challenge to understand Ravi's degree of pain, which forced him to turn into a rebel,” Vivek is quoted as saying by a news agency.

The 34-year-old star added that the nuances of his character in Rakta Charitra made it an acting challenge for him.

“With my performance in this film, I hope to take my acting career a few notches higher from my Company days. After all it is the toughest role of my life and also marks my debut in Tamil and Telugu,” Vivek added.

Rakta Charitra faces tough competition from other releases this Friday - Hisss and Jhootha Hi Sahi - but Vivek is hopeful that the film will find its takers at the box office.

Rakta Charitra not like a Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham

Rakta Charitra not  like a Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham: It was a special screening of 30-minute-long Rakta Charitra footage for the press by the movie’s director Ram Gopal Varma. Also present were the stars of the film Vivek Oberoi and Shatrughan Sinha. But when the director said the movie is not for the people who like Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, media people were left aghast.

As all know, Ramu loves to take potshots at Karan Johar and the kind of films he makes and his Twitter account clearly bears the proof, but talking like this about someone’s film in public is a new for Ramu. Talking about Rakta Charitra at the event, he said, “In terms of the pitch of the film, I just want to quote an incident that happened with Hollywood filmmaker Quentin Tarantino.”

“When he showed his first film ‘Pulp Fiction’ to people, he apparently went on stage and asked the people that did any one of them like the ‘Rain Man’. About 30-40 people raised their hands. He told those people to leave because he said that this film was not for them.”

Extrapolating from this, Ramu added that Rakta Charitra, which is about a slain factionist and political leader from Andhra Pradesh, Paritala Ravi, is not for the people who like ‘Kabhie Khushi Kabhie Gham’.

The movie is full of gory scenes and will release on October 22.