All about Rajneeti Film: June 2010

Saturday, June 19, 2010

BJP Rajneeti is pirated

The BJP, already reeling under a series of organisational crises, has landed in further trouble: it could just be sued for video piracy. In order to keep its Rajasthan MLAs, allegedly locked up at a resort near Jaipur on the eve of Thursday’s Rajya Sabha election, is reasonably good spirits, senior

BJP leaders reportedly organised a video show of Prakash Jha’s recently-released political thriller Raajneeti.

The catch: since a video of Jha’s new film is yet to be released, what was shown to the MLAs must have been an illegally-pirated version.

Director Prakash Jha is livid, and is determined to take legal action against the BJP and the resort management.

Speaking to this newspaper from Patna, a furious Jha said he had already asked his lawyers in Mumbai to initiate action for legal measures. “Nothing preventive can be done now,” he said.

The filmmaker, saying he was “aghast” and “furious”, wondered how “lawmakers” from the country’s Opposition party could encourage such illegal activity. He added: “And then you are asking for my reaction!”

Carry On, Rajneeti

Intra-party fisticuffs over choice of candidates. Inter-party accusations of poaching, ambushes and even kidnap. Netas in political wilderness, 'outsiders' in geographical limbo and near-retirees in professional transit seeking parliamentary parking place. Business tycoons diving into the poll fray as independents backed by sworn political enemies. And legislators incarcerated in five-star hotels so that their loyalties didn't gallop away with the highest bidders. No, that's not the script of a multi-starrer on Indian raajneeti. That was the race to fill seats in the Council of Stakes...er, States.
The House of Elders is an august institution. All who enter its hushed portals - so the political bible says - are exemplars of sobriety and sagacity. But surely there's no law against stakeholders in Rajya Sabha club membership offering mirch masala Bollywood style? Take the 79 BJP MLAs who were herded into a swanky resort outside Jaipur, reportedly to rid them of evil thoughts like cross-voting and defection. Was it pure accident that, there, they watched a new film on political skullduggery called Raajneeti? Too bad the DVD was pirated, making the film-maker breathe fire about "lawmakers" turning into "lawbreakers". In self-defence, the BJPwallahs could ask: if raajneeti's far dirtier tricks can be exposed on-screen for public enlightenment (and possible political emulation), why demand piety off-screen?
Besides, their hotel stay was less recreational than educational: many rookie MLAs were taught "how to vote" in legislatures. This rigorous training was punctuated by equally strenuous dips in the hotel pool. What's wrong if initiation was completed with a filmy lesson on political conspiracy and violence? Thus schooled, could any MLA vote by 'conscience' against the legal luminary backed by his party? So it is that the ex-legal defence of a Parliament attack accused entered the upper House with the help of the BJP, a party big on national security! When Operation Rajya-neeti is on, Operation Parakram is obviously history.
If BJP and Congress were both worried about MLAs goofing up, they hadn't bargained for their goofing off. In Orissa, their partymen were allegedly "abducted" not by aliens but the ruling BJD! The latter dismissed the charge, going on to trounce its adversaries. Last heard, the case of the missing MLAs has been put down to willed truancy, not netanapping. In Bihar, D-Day stood for Ditchers' Day across parties, with not even the fear of Maya taming BSP flock. Clearly, no would-be 'Elder' smooth-sailed like LJP's Paswan, who's now hugging ally Lalu harder. At a political loose end, birds of the same feather take stock together. Especially in Nitish's Bihar.
Recall that Nitish's JD(U) had earlier reminded the EC of its "constitutional" duty to foil poll-time intrigue and sabotage. Today, the EC's probably in deep philosophical thought on the subject of political fidelity. For, it seems little can stop back-room backscratching, be it party whips, high commandeering, hostage crises in luxury resorts or EC bosses eating politicians for breakfast. In short, riders on the electoral storm rarely say: horse-trader, pass by. Raajneeti, zindabad.

Friday, June 18, 2010

Jha To Take Legal Action Against BJP MLAs For Watching Pirated Film

Jha To Take Legal Action Against BJP MLAs For Watching Pirated Film Ace Bollywood director Prakash Jha said that he will sue Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs, who watched a pirated DVD of his recently launched film 'Rajneeti' during a party meeting.

The film was shown to Rajasthan BJP MLAs, who gathered in Jaipur for a pre-poll training assembly on Tuesday.

"Whatever legal recourse needs to be taken against people who were responsible for showing the film, and those who watched it, is being taken," stated Prakash, who was in Patna, adding that he would have organized a special screening of 'Rajneeti' had the MLAs approached him.

But, the BJP MLAs stated that they had done no wrong by watching the film.

BJP MLA Rajender Singh Rathore said, "They are making a mountain out of a molehill. This is not good. You talk to Prakash Jha as to what action he will take. We have not done anything wrong." (With Inputs from Agencies)

Pirated Raajneeti' lands BJP in a soup

JAIPUR: Already under media glare over corralling of MLAs, the state BJP on Wednesday found itself surrounded by yet another controversy, this time for watching pirated version of Prakash Jha's Raajneeti' at the hotel where party legislators have been herded for the last two days.
A city resident, Yogendra Singh, has filed a complaint against the party's chief whip in the assembly Rajendra Rathore, the hotel owner and others for the unauthorised screening of the film at the hotel on Tuesday. Filmmaker Prakash Jha has also threatened legal action. He told TOI that the legal cell at his office was looking into the "pros and cons of sueing the offenders of the law" (state BJP leaders).
The MLAs watched the movie at a private hotel situated on the Jaipur-Ajmer highway, where they are all corralled, on Tuesday afternoon. They have been kept there under the supervision of the senior leaders in run up to the Thursday's Rajay Sabha polls in which party-supported candidate Ram Jethmalani is walking a tightrope.
As the movie producers have not yet released the DVD in the market, there is no doubt that the one used for the screening was pirated.
"It is a very unfortunate incident. The lawmakers are themselves turning into lawbreakers," said Jha, while talking to TOI over phone. Jha said he would have loved to arrange a special screening for senior leaders like Ram Jethmalani and Vasundhara Raje, had they approached him. "I would have personally taken care of it, but this is not expected of them," fumed Jha, adding his lawyers were contemplating legal action.
Meanwhile, Yogendra Sharma filed a complaint in a local court in the city against the BJP leaders and the hotel owner for using the pirated DVD. He alleged that when he tried to lodge a complaint with the Muhana police, his request was turned down due to "influence" of the people involved. The court will take up the matter on Thursday.
A resident of Vidhyadhar Nagar, Singh approached CJM, district court on Wednesday. "We have filed a case in the court against Rajendra Rathore, owner of Hotel Greens situated in Muhana Mandi Ramakant Sharma, its general manager, and others,'' said Singh's lawyer A K Jain.
The complainant told the court that he saw the news about screening of the film at Hotel Greens on some TV channels. "It was clear that the screening was illegal. How can the movie be shown like this? The hotel owner did not have any permission and used a pirated CD for the screening. It happened in front of lawmakers," said Jain.
The complainant has alleged violation of Section 10 of The Rajasthan Video Films (Regulation of Exhibition) Act, 1990, Section 63 of Copywrite Act, Section 65 of IT Act and 120B of IPC.
However, the BJP leaders have pleaded ignorance about the the pirated DVD. "It was the hotel staff that organised the screening for us. How are we supposed to know the DVD was pirated?" says Rathore. Senior BJP MLA Dr Digambar Singh said: "How in the world does one expect us to know which DVD is released in the market and which is not? We don't keep a track of these things."

Lessons in Rajneeti

It could have been a scene from a Bollywood film noir but Prakash Jha is not amused. He is quite incensed that a bunch of lawmakers — BJP MLAs hurriedly corralled in a five-star hotel outside Jaipur — did not think twice before breaking the law. Given the tenor of most of his films, that detail should hardly have caused him shock.
But, clearly, the nature of the MLAs' most recent criminal act took him utterly by surprise. Had the MLAs done the usual stuff that powerful political players do to get their own way in Jha's films — murder, rape, pillage, assassinate, subvert, bribe, torture, transfer, etc — the gritty director would surely have been unfazed.
That's what Jha's portrayed them to be, time after award-winning time, after all. But the lawless political class's latest infraction is something else: they watched his latest and typically cynical take on prevailing heartland politics, Rajneeti, on a pirated DVD.
Rather than carp about the loss of revenue from this particular criminal act, Jha should actually be thrilled that his target (if not his audience) has an abiding interest in his oeuvre; they could have watched an Election Commission documentary on Rajya Sabha polls instead, considering the MLAs were reportedly incarcerated for that very purpose.
The greenhorns among them, at least, would have emerged informed and enthused by the great democratic exercise they were to take part in. Now they have undoubtedly come away with a rather colourful presentation of how conflict resolution in a state can be achieved in the shortest if not the neatest or most democratic manner.
That should give the BJP high command some food for thought, as Jha's films rarely end with the bad guys getting their comeuppance. And that could give the sequestered MLAs something to mull over as they mark time in their hotel rooms!

MLAs ready to back Jethmalani

JAIPUR: A day before the voting for the four RS seats in the state, BJP leaders held a mock poll at the hotel where the MLAs have been corralled since Tuesday. By the evening, all the 79 MLAs of BJP had arrived at the hotel, with the party leadership claiming a win for both its candidates.
According to party sources, not only have all the MLAs agreed to vote in favour of V P Singh and Ram Jethmalani, the party also enjoys the support of the lone JD(U) MLA and at least three independent MLAs.
Jivaram Chaudhry, one among the Independents who reportedly pledged support to BJP, is likely to join the party in the near future. However, the day began on a discordant note with the controversy surrounding the screening of ‘Raajneeti’.

Jaipur court orders FIR against BJP leader for 'Rajneeti' screening

A Jaipur court has ordered that an FIR be lodged against Rajasthan BJP chief whip Rajendra Singh Rathore for the screening of a pirated print of the Bollywood film 'Rajneeti' for bored party MLAs locked up at a luxury resort to prevent them from cross voting in the Rajya Sabha elections.
The court has ordered an FIR against the hotel owner too. A court complaint was made on Wednesday and 'Raajneeti' director Prakash Jha is livid.
Jha said he was very angry over the incident. "I am very angry. It is shameful. How can lawmakers can break the law like that? They should be the ones to put a stop to such illegal things and create examples but they are blatantly breaking the law," he said.
"My lawyers are looking into it. We are looking into all aspects like who saw it and where it was screened. We will take appropriate legal action," he said on Wednesday.
The 79 BJP MLAs, led by party general secretary and former chief minister Vasundhara Raje, took time out to watch the film on Tuesday. The film, a political drama, stars a slew of big Bollywood actors.

Court asks police to lodge FIR against MLAs for screening 'Raajneeti'

JAIPUR: A local court today directed the police to lodge a First Information Report (FIR) against some Rajasthan BJP MLAs for allegedly organising the screening of a pirated version of Prakash Jha's political saga "Raajneeti".
Chief Judicial Magistrate Seema Juneja gave the direction on a complaint filed by one Yogendra Singh for violation of the copyright and other acts.
Over 70 MLAs led by BJP general secretary and former chief minister Vasundhara Raje, who were holding close door meetings on the eve of Rajya Sabha polls at a hotel here, had allegedly taken some time out to watch the movie on Tuesday.
In the complaint, Singh claimed that none of the BJP MLAs was staying at the hotel and its owners had not taken any permission for screening of the movie.
Besides the BJP MLAs, including its chief whip Rajender Singh Rathore, the petition also levelled charges against the hotel owner and others.
"As it is the exceptional case of cognisable offence for violating the Indian Copy Right Act 1957, Information Technology Act, and Rajasthan Video Film Exhibition Act, 1991, any person can take up the legal procedure against those who allegedly violated by viewing movie released just two weeks ago," the petitioner claimed.
Meanwhile, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said the law will its own course in the case.
He was replying to a question on the court's direction after casting his ballot for the Rajya Sabha elections.
"I respect the court's order and the law should take its own course," he said.
He maintained that BJP has the practice of keeping its flock together on the eve of elections. "They have been watching movies, playing football and swimming at the hotel," he alleged.
He said Congress, on the other hand, does not believe in such practices and propaganda.
'Raajneeti', a multi starrer, is inspired by the epic Mahabharata and depicts a saga of a warring political family in Bhopal.
The multi-crore film, which was released on June 4, stars Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Naseeruddin Shah, Ajay Devgn, Arjun Rampal and Manoj Bajpai.
Infuriated by the alleged screening, the film's director Prakash Jha had yesterday threatened legal action.
"I am very angry. It is shameful. How can lawmakers break the law like that? They should be the ones to put a stop to such illegal things and create examples but they are blatantly breaking the law," he had told PTI on phone.
"My lawyers are looking into it. We are looking into all aspects like who saw it and where was it screened. We will take appropriate legal action," Jha had said.

Court orders probe into pirated DVD screening of Raajneeti

A court in Jaipur on Thursday asked police to lodge a first information report (FIR) and investigate into allegations that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislators watched a pirated DVD of the recently released Bollywood film Raajneeti.

"Acting chief judicial magistrate (CJM) on a criminal complaint filed on Wednesday by my client Yogendra Singh ordered the Muhana police station in Jaipur to file an FIR against BJP's chief whip in the assembly Rajendra Singh Rathore, the owner of Hotel Jaipur Greens and the general manager of the hotel," A.K. Jain, the lawyer for the complainant said.

He said that Singh, a Jaipur citizen, had lodged a complaint against these three under various sections of the Copyright Act, Information Technology Act and Indian Penal Code in the CJM court.

"Besides naming these three in our complaint, we had also requested for thorough investigation into the matter and to find out who all were part of this conspiracy," Jain said.

Sources in the hotel said 66 of the 79 BJP legislators had watched the movie Tuesday.

Fearing cross-voting in the Rajya Sabha polls June 17, the state unit of the BJP had put all its 79 legislators in Hotel Jaipur Greens on the outskirts of the city to prevent horse-trading and defections.

"There was fear that the legislators may not vote for Ram Jethmalani, whom they consider an outsider, so the party decided to huddle them up together and place them in a hotel. This would mean that the chances of horse-trading or defection becomes negligible," a BJP leader told IANS on condition of anonymity.

Filmmaker Jha is furious that the legislators watched a pirated version of his latest film.

"We are contemplating legal action against illegal screening of the film," Jha told IANS over phone. "This is really bad. How can lawmakers be lawbreakers?"

"We in the film industry are really disturbed that a film which has just been released is being screened in such an illegal manner... We are seeking legal advice and would certainly take appropriate action against the hotel and the people who have seen the film in this manner."

Raajneeti row: Court asks police to file FIR

A local court has intervened in the piracy controversy involving Rajasthan unit of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and has asked the police to file a First Information Report (FIR) against the MLAs, who watched the pirated version of the new Bollywood movie, Raajneeti.

The state unit of BJP had locked down its MLAs in a hotel over the past few days to prevent cross voting in the Rajya Sabha Polls. On Tuesday, Jun 15, a pirated DVD of the Prakash Jha film was screened. The incident came to light with the director reacted to the incident questioning how 'lawmakers can be lawbreakers' and considered taking legal action against the legislators.

On a complaint filed by a man, identified as Yogendra Singh, against the MLAs for violation of the copyright and other acts, the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Seema Juneja on Thursday, Jun 17, directed the police to file an FIR.
The complainant, Singh, has levelled charges against the hotel owner and others besides the BJP MLAs and the party's whip Rajender Singh Rathore, citing that none of the above mentioned had not taken any permission for screening of the movie.
"As it is the exceptional case of cognisable offence for violating the Indian Copy Right Act 1957, Information Technology Act, and Rajasthan Video Film Exhibition Act, 1991, any person can take up the legal procedure against those who allegedly violated by viewing movie released just two weeks ago," the petitioner claimed.
When asked about the row and the court's directions, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot left the matter to the law.
"I respect the court's order and the law should take its own course," he said.

Jha to take action against BJP MLAs

Prakash Jha’s share of controversies over Raajneeti isn’t over yet. After the tussle with the Censor Board over the film’s U/A certification and a plausible run-in with an Indian political family on any similarities between the film and real life politicians, Jha is now battling piracy issues with none other than the BJP!
On June 15, the film was screened at a five star resort, but as it turned out, it was a pirated version of the film.
BJP MLAs had checked into the resort in Jaipur a couple of days before the Rajya Sabha elections. The MLAs then bonded by watching Raajneeti. “We are watching this movie because it has the title Raajneeti, it is the latest movie in town and more so because it has to do with politics,” Vasundhara Raje is quoted to have said when asked what made her screen the movie for her party workers.
But what Raje probably did not realise is that the party was watching an illegal print of the political blockbuster, or perhaps she did. A visibly irritated Jha responds, “It’s funny to see that the first among lawmakers themselves are turning against the law.” He then adds, “It’s ridiculous that they screened a pirated version of the movie! How can they not know that the original version of a just-released movie will never be available in the market?”
He adds, “If they wanted to see the movie so desperately, they should have asked me and I would have provided them with an original copy of the film. Pata nahi in politicians ko kya maza aata hai ye sab kar ke news create karne mein.”
So, is he planning to take any legal action? “No one will be spared, everybody involved – whether it is Vasundhra Raje or the hotel authorities – will be punished. Jo bhi isme involved hai will have to answer and face the law. As of now, I’m in Patna, but I have contacted my lawyer who is seeing what legal action can be taken against the culprits. It’s high time that a lesson be taught to people committing such illegal actions. We have been trying so hard all these years to fight piracy and they just come, watch a pirated movie and go. Not done!” Over to you, Ms Raje.

Rajneeti over Rajneeti

You wouldn’t steal a car. You wouldn’t steal a handbag. You wouldn’t steal a mobile phone. You wouldn’t steal a DVD. Downloading pirated films is stealing. Stealing is against the law. Piracy: it’s a crime.” So went the step-by-step logic of the Motion Pictures Association of America, as it tried to staunch the free flow of bootlegged copies. And now, the BJP might have to walk the plank for its act of criminality. The party, which had practically abducted and holed up its Rajasthan MLAs in a resort near Jaipur to prevent last-minute temptation before the Rajya Sabha vote, found itself foiled by a different kind of Raajneeti.

To divert the restless MPs, the party had thoughtfully provided up-to-the-minute entertainment, allegedly treating them to the latest Bollywood flick on the amoral world of Indian politics. Unfortunately, the film is still running in theatres, and so the DVD would have to be a pirated one. Its director Prakash Jha has threatened legal action against the BJP and declared himself appalled the very guardians of the law were flouting it. (Of course, Jha wouldn’t blink at S&M, murder, rape, abandonment of babies, rampant corruption, extortion etc, which features as a fact of political life in his films — but a DVD rip-off shakes him to the core.) BJP MLAs, though, seem unrepentant about the IPR iniquity, saying Jha was “making a mountain out of a molehill”.

As for Jha’s question about how lawmakers can be lawbreakers, perhaps because intuitively many in India do not equate piracy with straightforward theft, any more than they view photocopying as one. The general attitude is much like Jha’s own vision of Indian politics — ethically indifferent, caught up with immediate gain, and accompanied by a rather dim sense of consequences.

BJP MLAs caught playing dirty Raajneeti

The Congressmen were recently blasted for watching Raajneeti even before it was sent to censor board. Now, it's the turn of its arch rivals BJP MLAs to feel the heat. A local court has asked the police to file an FIR against the Rajasthan unit of the party who watched the pirated version ofRaajneeti.

It all happened at a hotel where the MLAs were locked up to prevent crossed voting in the Rajya Sabha elections. The pirated DVD of Prakash Jha's Raajneeti was screened for the politicians. Following a complaint by one named Yogendra Singh for violating copyright and other acts, the Chief Judicial Magistrate Seema Juneja, on Thursday (June 17) directed the police to file an FIR against the people who watched the film.

The petitioner in his complaint levelled charges against the hotel owner besides the MLAs under Indian Copy Right Act 1957, Information Technology Act and Rajasthan Video Film Exhibition Act, 1991. He alleged that the politicians watched the film without taking the permission of the filmmakers.
Raajneeti, featuring Katrina Kaif, Ranbir Kapoor, Arjun Rampal, Ajay Devgn and Nana Patekar was released on June 4 and has been doing strong at the box office.

Rajneeti's exceptional success at box office

Prakash Jha’s ‘Rajneeti’ has been dominating the box office both in India and overseas, ever since it released ten days ago.

The Walkwater Media and UTV Motion Pictures' production is among the few Bollywood films that have received critical acclaim worldwide and has grossed Rs 945 million in India alone till now.

Overseas score of the movie has also been good in its first ten days with Rs 160 million collected from the 300 screens that the movie is playing on.

While ‘Rajneeti’ has done a business of $1,287,416 in the U.S., it has collected $588,305 in the UK and $726,081 in the Gulf region.

The multi-starrer film, released on June 4, has Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Naseeruddin Shah, Ajay Devgan, Arjun Rampal and Manoj Bajpai in pivotal roles.

BJP MLAs in trouble for screening a pirated Rajneeti
An FIR has been lodged against a few Rajasthan BJP MLAs for screening the pirated version of the political film that is inspired by the epic ‘Mahabharata’.

Seema Junejak, chief judicial magistrate, ordered for filing the complaint after Yogendra Singh complained that the pirated version’s screening violated the copyright act of the movie.

“As it is the exceptional case of cognisable offence for violating the Indian Copy Right Act 1957, Information Technology Act, and Rajasthan Video Film Exhibition Act, 1991, any person can take up the legal procedure against those who allegedly violated by viewing movie released just two weeks ago,” the petitioner claimed.

More than 70 Rajasthan MLAs headed by BJP general secretary and former chief minister, Vasundhara Raje, watched the pirated version of the movie in a hotel, where they were supposed to hold a meeting regarding the Rajya Sabha polls.

Prakash Jha gets angry
A disturbed and infuriated Jha says, “I am very angry. It is shameful. How can lawmakers break the law like that? They should be the ones to put a stop to such illegal things and create examples but they are blatantly breaking the law.”

“My lawyers are looking into it. We are looking into all aspects like who saw it and where was it screened. We will take appropriate legal action,” he further said.

FIR against BJP MLAs for 'Raajneeti'

Allegation of watching a pirated DVD of recently released Hindi film ‘Raajneeti’ has landed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislators of Rajasthan in a legal hassle as a Jaipur court Thursday ordered police to investigate the matter.

The acting chief judicial magistrate has asked the Muhana police station in Jaipur to lodge a first information report (FIR) and investigate into the allegations.

The order was passed based on a criminal complaint filed on Wednesday by Yogendra Singh against BJP's chief whip in the state assembly Rajendra Singh Rathore, the owner of Hotel Jaipur Greens and the general manager of the hotel, AK Jain, the lawyer for the complainant said.

The charges against the trio have been levied against various sections of the Copyright Act, Information Technology Act and Indian Penal Code, with a plea for a thorough probe into the incident to identify others involved in it.

As many as 66 of the 79 BJP legislators of Rajasthan had allegedly watched the movie at Hotel Jaipur Greens on Tuesday.

They were being kept in the hotel by the state unit of the party to prevent horse-trading and defections ahead of Rajya Sabha polls, which were held Thursday.

After the report of the MLAs watching the pirated DVD had emerged, film director Prakash Jha had warned of legal action against the erring legislators.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

'Rajneeti' reflects politics

'Rajneeti' film is based on many political facts but is not the cup of tea for those who do not take much interest in dirty politics. Politics is no more a cup of tea of simple and straightforward persons. It is full of violence for the cause of chair power. Its length is more than needed- editing could have more grips on fast moving sequences.
It is a Ranbir Kapoor's film- he has acted well -quite natural looks in his role. Katrina has not much to do except some oomph factor. Heroines -women in politics have not much role though exceptions are there. It is a hero oriented film. Better if some love making scenes could have been avoided but it is for front benchers -though film is not for them. Women quite often in real life exploit men by false rape charges -this sequence is well presented in the film- here for the election ticket. Ajay Devgan is in usual image role. The dialogues of foreign lady Sara -beloved of Ranbir in English with sub-titles in Hindi is the right direction. Family members' war for chair is truly reflected.
Like once a person enters in a criminal world -it is very difficult to come out of it, same applies to political world. Ranbir Kapoor can win some awards for his beautiful and natural acting. All in all it can be seen once for some true reflection of Indian political life and for Ranbir's good acting.

Trouble for BJp Filmmaker sues MLAs for watching pirated Raajneeti

Filmmaker Prakash Jha has filed a case against those illegally screening his recently released film Rajneeti in Jaipur on Tuesday. The film was screened for Rajasthan BJP MLAs using a pirated DVD.

The state unit of BJP, which has holed up its legislators in a five-star resort on the outskirts of the state capital for a few days to keep them united ahead of Rajya Sabha election, now faces this new trouble after screening the film based on politics of coalition and horse trading.
Jha has filed a case against BJP MLA RS Rathore and the hotel owner.

As if the distrust of MLAs was not enough of an embarrassment to the party, it now stands accused of flouting law. To keep the legislators busy, the party had decided to screen the film Rajneeti, which gained some relevance to the political situation in the state. In the process, it screened a pirated DVD of the movie.
Reacting to the lawmakers' illegal act, filmmaker Prakash Jha told Headlines Today, "This is most abhorring that how lawmakers are the first lawbreakers. I am absolutely dismayed and shattered that the film which has just been released is being screened in such an illegal manner."
"It is hardly one-and-a-half weeks old and this is how blatantly law of land is broken by the same people who are lawmakers. We will take appropriate action against the hotel and the people who have seen the film in this manner. We will be definitely taking legal action against them," Jha added.
But when questioned, the BJP leaders came up with an absurd defence. MLA Digamber Singh said, "I don't know anything. Only hotel management can say about it. But I think when movies release, DVDs are also there in the market so there is nothing unlawful about it."
To dispel this false notion of the BJP leader, Headlines Today double checked with the manager of a multiplex in Jaipur to find out if indeed the official DVDs of the film had been released in the market.
However, the manager of Entertainment Paradise, Murari Lal Sharma, said, "Rajneeti has been released only for screening in cinema and multiplex in Jaipur and if someone watches this on CD or DVD, it is illegal."

Rajneeti The Political Saga

Cast: Nana Patekar, Ajay Devgan, Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Manoj Bajpai, Arjun Rampal, Naseruddin Shah, Sarah Thompson Kane.

Music: Pritam Chakraborty, Aadesh Shrivastav, Shantanu Moitra, Wayne Sharp

Producer & Director: Prakash Jha

RAAJNEETI is a multifaceted Indian political human game played to achievepower and how this hunger changes and transforms them into brutal and manipulative humans. It is not only ‘Mahabharata’ showing the clash of warring cousins, dynastic rule and electoral politics but also ‘Godfather. In spite of knowing ‘Mahabharata’ or ‘Godfather’, one is not able to guess what games the present day political Pandavas and Kauravas would play in RAAJNEETI.

The main theme of the movie is to enlighten how the politician runs the system in the third-world countries to fulfill their desires. Though, the story alters continuously, it will surely keep you overwhelmed at the constant turn of situations. The film not only entertains but also enlightens with its message.

After watching the film one could say that even three hours of time is too short to watch such a good film. Raajneeti is definetly Prakash Jha’s qualitative product and one thing is sure that though it is serious and dry political drama; you definitely don’t mind its length. It is also note to be ensured that Rajneeti doesn’t furnish to a viewer who keeps their brains at home while watching a film. You need to be vigilant while watching this one.

It is much anticipated movie of the year and casts Ajay Devagan, Katrina Kaif, Kareena Kapoor, Nana Patekar, Manoj Bajpai, Ranbhir Kapoor, Naseeruddin Shah, Arjun Rampal and Sarah Thompson in key roles and has music by Pritam, Adesh Srivastay, Wayne Sharp and Shantanu Moitra.

Story plot:

It is a wicked battle in Pratap’s family for the political power between the rival pretenders. It’s quite common that if the elder brother in the family suffers with any intended cause of pain or death, the seat of powerautomatically shifts to his younger brother. But his son Manoj Bajpayee (Veerendra) considers himself to be the rightful inheritor to his bed-ridden father’s seat of power. He doesn’t want his rival cousins Arjun Rampal(Prithvi) and Ranbir Kapoor (Samar) to occupy the throne while he is back in the shadows. So, for that he seeks the help of dalit leader, Ajay Devgn to clear the path for his means to occupy the top power. On the other hand, Ranbir Kapoor (Samar) who came to India from New York on a short vacation strucked in the battle arena of family rivalry. Katrina Kaif (Indu), daughter of a wealthy industrialist, is also caught in this web. Nana Patekar (Brij Gopal), who plays the role of mentor guides Prithvi and Samar as the battle gets bloodier as day passes.

Prakash Jha shaped every one’s character in the movie well and every actor delivers a dazzling performance. Though Ajay Devagan has kept away in the second half of the story, one must give it for his acting with full perfection. Nana Patekar performance is gleaming. His powerful dialogue deliveries having smiled on his face made the audience amazed. Katrina Kaif, in her character showed her sincerity. She is away from her glamourous looks and appeared as a full fledged actress in this movie.

On the whole this movie is really worthful to watch. It’s truly a venerable effort of all the team. So, don’t miss to watch Raajaneeti, a brilliant comprehensive impact.