Raktha charitra- Ram Goal Verma experiment Failed

Ram Gopal Varma’s recent experiments failed to impress – whether it was the controversial Sholay remake, Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag, the much-publicised Sarkar Raj or the overhyped media expose Rann. None of them clicked at the box office, rather what made news was RGV’s verbal spats with fellow directors Karan Johar and Sanjay Leela Bhansali.
Rakht Charitra, based on the true life story of Andhra Pradesh politician Paritala Ravi, releasing in two parts and in three languages, was expected to mark the maverick filmmaker’s comeback to gritty drama.

Times of India’s Nikhat Kazmi observes that RGV does try to do a Tarantino but similarities end with the abundant use of blood and gore:

For while Tarantino layered his blood fest almost like filigree and bolstered it with a thrilling narrative, Rakta Charitra plays it over the top from start to finish. It’s very very loud in every way. The background music is deafening. The high-decibel voice-over is irksome and unnecessary. And the gore is unlimited. But that’s not the real bugbear here. We do have a stomach for violence and can watch it without shutting our eyes. What bothers us in Rakta Charitra is the character graph of almost all the main actors. Other thanAbhimanyu Singh, who essays the role of the almost-insane, truly bad, Ravana-like villain, none of the other characters manage to connect. And that’s because they flit across the screen in cameos that are nipped as soon as they begin to have an impact.

Anupama Chopra writes that Varma is least interested in the “psychology and evolution of his characters,” instead what intrigues him is “extreme behaviour”:

As Karan Johar revels in beauty, Varma revels in ugliness. So he spends an inordinate amount of time on exploring the ways in which people can hurt each other and his depiction of depravity feels uncomfortably voyeuristic.

The way RGV revels in the bloody and gory spectacle that the narrative creates is most discomfiting. CNN-IBN’s Rajeev Masand finds the film “bold and disturbing” but also says,

On the flip side,

Rakta Charitra

jars on account of a bothersome voice-over, and the unending violence threatens to reduce the film to a string of killings in search of a plot. The motives behind much of the action in the film feel simplistic occasionally, and the degree of violence itself is likely to turn off even the brave-hearts.

Pune Mirror’s Minty Tejpal wrote a befitting conclusion to the film’s review:

To end with one of the films few sharp lines. When Vivek’s prospective father-in-law asks what sort of place Anandpur is to stay in, he laconically answers, “Rehne ke liye achchi jagah hai, aur na rahne ke liye aur bhi achchi”.
The same goes for this violent film — Rakta Charitra is ok to watch, but very good to avoid.