Movie Review: Revolver Rani is the 'art of dark comedy’
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At first, I thought Revolver Rani was another average Bollywood movie. I think it was because the first half was quite long. The screen shots, the politics, the hooligans, the commotion and the gunshots: it was as if the director had brought the gang wars of Mumbai to the rural world of Chambal.
I must admit I was wrong. Director and writer Sai Kabir’s Revolver Rani is not another average movie. It’s in fact the ‘art of dark comedy’. It has an interesting plot, great direction, amazing acting, and a powerful climax; these combine to make the Revolver Rani a really good Indian film.
In the political arena of Chambal, an Indian village, two political parties have locked horns. Uday Bhan Tomar (Zakir Hussain) and Alka Singh (Kangana Ranawat) are the two leaders whose political groups are fighting for a victory in the elections. Both the leaders want to vitiate one another’s political image. To control Alka Singh, the opposing group kidnaps her lover and Bollywood actor Rohan Mehra (Vir Das). Enter Alka Singh aka Revolver Rani; a bereaved lover who will fight to free her beloved from her enemies.
Alkha Singh is a moody and stubborn woman who has an inferiority complex which she keeps away from being noticed by indulging in violence.
In the future, however, there comes a time when she finds her ideals being altered. Sadly, though, once someone dives into the dark abyss of politics and crime, there is no turning back.
Since the political scene of Chambal is pretty much a practical embodiment of might is right, you are sure to hear more than enough cannons firing away. A suggestion would be to keep yourself ready for the bangs.
The film revolves around how caste and religion are used as tools in politics, and how loyalties change so quickly and easily in game of games that is politics.
Although the plot of Revolver Rani is appreciable, we cannot give it credit for originality. The film’s theme seems to be inspired from award winning Hollywood writer and director Quentin Tarantino’s hit Kill Bill. One could, however, say that Sai Kabir is Bollywood’s Quentin Tarantino.
The screenplay is floppy. Some scenes have been stretched way more than enough. Although after watching the whole movie, one comes to the conclusion that the stretching of the scenes was important in order to create a particular impression about the movie.
Revolver Rani is not the usual A-grade commercial film in the world of Bollywood. The extreme looseness of the script and the film’s depiction of clumsy realities is actually the beauty of the whole venture. No A-grade star could have performed well in this film as they would not be able to come out of their personality shells.
If you have seen Kangana Ranawat in the film Queen in the beginning of this year, you should forget that innocent and shy Kangana. Revolver Rani’s Alka Singh is a stubborn and brave girl who believes in eye for an eye with a bullet.
All the roles that Kangana has played so far have nothing in common with the character she comes in this movie. The whole movie basically focuses our protagonist the Revolver Rani, and the way she has performed leaves the audience amazed at her skill in the profession. Although in the beginning it seems that Kangana has lost track of the character, but as soon as the film enters its second hour, she transforms completely in line with the requirements of the character, adopting it heart and soul.
Coupled with Kangana for the film is Vir Das who does not have a huge part but in all the scenes that include him, he can be seen earnestly playing the part he is chosen for.
If there is an actor worth a mention after Kangana in light of the movie Revolver Rani, it’s Zakir Hussain. He is a versatile actor who plays all the negative roles with amazing dramatic affiliation. Another of the interesting roles in the movie is that of Balli Mama, played by Piyush Mishra.
There are nine musical scores in the film. They can be rated average. One reason for this rating is that the film’s music has been composed in an untraditional way. You will get the taste of it when you hear the title song of the movie Revolver Rani Kee Thaaen Thaaen Thaaen. One of the songs in the movie is Kaafi Naheen Chaand which is performed by Asha Bhosle. Sanjiv Shrivastav is the music director of the film.
Cinematography of the movie is of average quality while the editing, too, required a little more effort. The dialogues are a bit belligerent. The film is produced by Raju Chada, Nitin Tej Ahuja and Rahul Mitra. The duration of the film is two hours and twelve minutes. It was released in India on April 25, 2014 while on May 1, 2014 in Pakistan.
It would be no exaggeration to term the Revolver Rani a masterpiece by Sai Kabir. It is a character that visits the audience once in a number of years. She is expected to return to the screens soon.
Directed by Sai Kabir; Produced by Raju Chada, Nitin Tej Ahuja, Rahul Mitra; Written by Sai Kabir; Cinematography Suhas Gujrati; Editing by Ranendu Ranjan.
Starring: Kangana Ranaut, Vir Das, Zakir Hussain, Jami Jafry, Salim Javed, Zafar Khan, Kumud Mishra, Piyush Mishra, Zeishan Quadri, Pankaj Saraswat, Abhijeet Shetty and Preeti Sood.
Read this review in Urdu here.
Translated by Aadarsh Ayaz Laghari