This is the world of politics and sorry you don’t have any margin for error. If you are not a “ruthless and a conniving politician” you stand nowhere in this mercurial world. ‘Rajneeti’ is a mirror to the contemporary political community and a whole-hearted effort to spill the worms gnawing at the age-old tradition of Indian polity. Director Prakash Jha deserves a pat at the back for etching out such an engaging film keeping in mind umpteen numbers of factors.

“Rajneeti” is not a song-filled blockbuster but a sheer creation that tries to taste the dangerous fangs of politics and recreate the real-life turbulence and fear that accompany the political leaders. There are warring factions within the same family and both the factions worship the same god – Power. Keep aside the brotherly ties or the parental bonding and be a seasoned contriver because then only you can overcome your sentiments and fit into the garments made for a successful candidate for the election.

Set against the backdrop of the state elections, Rajneeti has a dish of Mahabharata and a dash of God Father. Samar Pratap (Ranbir Kapoor) is the man who slipped into a crafty and a calculative politician from a mere PhD student, who had the least interest in politics. From an apparent collision of ideas and differential thinking to an epic battle, the film has its dramatic highs with twists catching you unaware.

Rashtravadi Party went on the fast track to decadence immediately after the party founder Bhanu Pratap takes the bed permanently. What followed is a bitter game of pulling down each others and putting a lot at stake just to emerge as a leader of the mass. Malicious machinations ruled the proceedings with Veerendra Pratap (Manoj Bajpai) the son of Bhanu Pratap sets his agenda to fight his cousins Prithvi (Arjun Rampal) and Sumar. He finds a perfect companion in Suraj(Ajay Devgn) , a rebellious individual, strict to his words.

As the strife continues between Jan Shakti Party and Rashtravadi Party, the characters unleash their inner beast and thrive on the dark sides of their nature. Brij Gopal (Nana Patekar), the constant guide to Prithvi and Samar, is a perfect instance of a cold-blooded deviser, ever potent to prey for the enemies. Ranbir Kapoor has done volumes when it comes to do justice to his character. He did exactly what he was asked to and the mask of a fiend fitted him the best.

Love has short life in this unpredictable journey and before it could settle down well on the characters they are either transformed or dead. Indu Pratap (Katrina Kaif) repents for loving Samar and even Samar’s American girlfriend realizes that the bonding of love is not as strong as the urge to be on top and rule the people. Frequent chorus of thousands of people, manipulative preparations before the elections and the tough calls taken t every juncture creates the perfect surrounding.

Revenge, counter-revenge, vindication and bloodshed are always the common visitors in the plot, which is complex but narrated in a lucid style. Prakash Jah has been successful in giving a true-to-life description of a gripping story. There is, however, redundancy in patches. A finer editing could have made the second half more intense. Like always, the film does not leave a space for complain in the field of camera work and background score. Watch the making and breaking of political ideologies and how situations force the kings and the pawns to reverse their roles. You will know how foreplay can have an ulterior motive and how truth and lie suffer from identity-crisis.