He is known for his choice of subject and director Ram Gopal Verma has chosen media as his theme for his upcoming movie Rann. A host of actors come together for Rann, which narrates the story of media industry and its pros and cons. This is perhaps for the first time that Bollywood attempts to expose the workings of media and its ethical and unethical take.
After two consecutive not-so-hit films, the director seems all set to hit the bull’s eye with Rann. The story centers around Vijay Harshvardhan Malik (read Amitabh Bachchan), the founder of India 24/7 - the first private news channel in India. Malik is a man of principle and he is looked upon as an epitome of virtue and discipline. He practices honest journalism and leads his channel through the path of ethics and sincerity.
Vijay discovers a competitor in Amrish Kakkar (read Mohnish Behl), who was also the former employee of Vijay’s company. Amrish has entirely a different take on the way news should be presented before the public. His idea pushes him to marinade any news to give it an entertaining shape and deliver it to the public. He can be considered as a successful media entrepreneur as his channel rides high when it comes to viewership numbers.
Vijay’s son, Jay Malik (Sudeep), comes in the scene as he strives hard to pull back his father’s company and surge forward in the race to emerge as the No 1 news channel in the country. He thinks of a plan to dodge his competitor Amrish and move forward. Paresh Rawal plays a cunning politician who intends to use media, more specifically Jay’s plan, in reaching the top ministerial position.
While Riteish Deshmukh plays an investigative journalist at Vijay's channel, Gul Panag will be seen donning the role of a Riteish’s girl friend and a budding Ad filmmaker. Eminent actors like Manisha Koirala,Rajat Kapoor, will also have their share of screen presence in the film along with Raima Sen and Rajpal Yadav.
Apart from the initial controversy with the title song being inspired by the Nationoal Anthem, Rann did not get any pre-release hiccups. This pro-media film, as Big B claims, is expected to be an intense mental conflict of whether to stick to consciousness or allow business to take the driving seat. Written by Rohit Banawlikar, Rann may reprise various facets of media industry including the recent paid news syndrome. The film releases on Jan 29.
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