Rajneeti -- Best Indian Political Thriller in Decades

Rating 3/5 (some reviewers have given it 3.5 (Minty Tejpal) and 4 (Nikhat Kazmi) -- I can understand why they did so.)
Value for money: 100/90 (I got Rs.100 value for a Rs.90 ticket. In other words, more than paisa vasool.)

My Facebook status:
RAJNEETI -- 3/5 -- One of the best movies I have seen in decades. Definitely, India's best political thriller to date! A bit too political, a bit long, a bit gory! This film goes directly into my Top 10 film list, and is No.2 after Sholay. If you are looking for laughs -- avoid! Want a behind the scenes account of politics -- go for it!

In a tweet:
Rajneeti is one of the best if not the best Indian political thriller in decades. Definitely, Prakash Jha's best movie till date.

There is much hullaballo about it being based on Gandhi parivar and also it being based on the Mahabharat. Preposterous to associate it with Sonia Gandhi -- except that both Sonia and Katrina speak very poor Hindi. Of course, Sonia has improved over the years. the Mahabharat connection too is very loose -- and one would realize it only because it has been touted so much. Else, it is infact difficult to see the connection.

Good Points
It takes a good 30-45 minutes to get started. Then another 45 minutes to understand the threads. Interval. After the interval -- it is a total political thriller. The machinations of politicians is clearly brought out like never before. Out of a total of 3 hours -- 2 hours is pure thriller entertainment. You never know what is coming next -- neither the characters nor you know where the film is heading.

Bad Points
At 3 hours, it is too long, the start is pretty slow. It is a rather ponderous story -- I think Prakash Jha put in too much of effort trying to base it on Mahabharat. There are far too many characters and it is really difficult to keep track of who is who's brother, father, uncle, etc. There is too much of violence and gore in some parts of the film. Actually, what stops me from calling this a great film is that it has copied many scenes and ideas from Godfather (so must compliment both Anjum Rajabali and Prakash Jha for hoodwinking us by adding touches of Mahabharat to fool us from understanding that it is essentially a Godfather Indian version, set in the political mileu instead of mafia.)

Acting
Ranbir's performance is not exactly award winning -- but very nearly there! In fact, I would not be surprised if he won a few awards. Nana Patekar could have done better. Katrina -- the lesser said the better. Arjun Ramphal -- ditto. Ajay Devgan is good. Naseeruddin Shah has only a cameo part -- and he is there only to add his name. Manoj Vajpai disappoints as many have high expectations of him.

Will I watch it again? Most probably, YES -- despite its length and its problems.

This will indeed be a super hit film! Prakash Jha at his best, entertainment at its best.