Razakar Review: Bold attempt but Poor execution

Razakar is a Telugu movie, directed by Yaata Satyanarayana. The music was composed by Bheems, while the cinematography was handled by Kushendar Ramesh Reddy. This movie is bankrolled by Gudur Narayana Reddy. Raj Arjun, Prema, Vedhika, Anasuya, Bobby Simha, and Makarand played the major roles in this movie.

Story:

The story is set up around 1948, when Hyderabad was being ruled by Nizams.A private army called as Razakars under the Nizam rule tries to resist the integration of Hyderabad state into India and make Hyderabad into an Islamic region and in this process, they start forcing Hindus to convert. What kind of struggles people of Hyderabad faced during this period? What was the action taken by Sardar Vallabhai Patel, the then Minister of Home Affairs and how they tried to bring Peace and integrate Hyderabad in to India forms the rest of the plot.

What about on-screen performances?

Tej Sapru, who played the role of Vallabhai Patel did well. His expressions and the confidence he showed, especially in the second half, while talking to Kasim is very good. Lip sync could have been better to bring more authenticity.

Raj Arjun, who played the role of Kasim Rajvi, did a great job. He brought the much-needed cruelty to his character with his eyes and body language.For sure he will be hated for a long time for his portrayal.

Bobby Simha,as Rajireddy is very good and he brings the much-needed life in the second half.

Makarand is apt for the Nijam King role. Indraja played a good role but could have toned down her expressions a little while showing the aggression.

Anasuya,Prema, Mahesh, vedhika and rest of the cast did their job well.

What about off-screen talents?

The story selected by the director is a very good one and at the same time needs a lot of guts to tell such a story.

After seeing the trailer, the expectations rose high for this film. While the story is very good, when it comes to execution as a cinema, it is not up to the mark.

The first half is mostly filled with violence and showcases the atrocities by Razakars on Hindus. The main problem here is, the director has chosen to show the violence in different episodes and all the episodes runs in same format. While we raise our eyebrows out of shock , but the overdose of violence might not be everyone’s cup of tea.

Rather than focusing more on violence, makers could have shown the reactions of neighborhood states and the Indian government, in a little more detail to bring out the overall picture.

The story gets interesting with Bobby Simha’s entrance and from here the movie goes on a good note except for the dragged-out scenes related to the Army.

The director did a great job by selecting Sai Kumar to narrate (Voice over) the story. However, the whole story narrated by Saikumar in the very beginning, could have been a little more in detail so that people can understand in a better way and also could have helped in setting up the connection with the movie upfront.

Over all director did a partially good job and he succeeded in making the current generation to understand the hardships that went through during the Razakar period.

Music by Bheems though loud in certain scenes, it complimented most of the scenes. Could have been better for his caliber. The camera by Kushendar Ramesh Reddy is good. Production values are decent.

What’s hot?

Second half

Story Point, The attempt to tell what happened in history is good.

Characters played by Teja and Bobby Simha, Raj Arjun.

What’s not?

• Same format scenes in the first half.
• Lag issues in the Second half.
• Overdose of violence in the first half.

Verdict: Director chose an ambitious story to narrate to the audience and he partially got succeeded in it. He should be certainly appreciated for attempting to tell history. Barring the execution problem, people who are interested to know what happened during Nizam’s rule can give a shot.

Telugubulletin.com Rating: 2.25/5