Movie Review : Revolver Rani (2014)

[amazon_link id=”B00KSF7D5M” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ][/amazon_link]Rating : Average (2.5/5)
Genre : Drama
Year : 2014
Running time : 2 hours 12 minutes
Director : Sai Kabir
Cast : Kangana Ranaut, Vir Das, Zakir Hussain, Piyush Mishra

I had high expectations from this film. It had Kangana Ranaut, a bevy of talented actors, and a strong female lead character. This should have been one of those quirky cult films which you remember long after its release. Well, quirky it is, but all its quirky bits fit together so awkwardly that the film does not rise above mediocrity, if that.

Ranaut plays Alka Singh, a trigger-happy political candidate from the Chambal area. Her political prowess is largely due to the guidance of her wily uncle, Bali Mama (Piyush Mishra), who wishes to realize his own dreams of wealth and power through his niece. Alka’s political ambitions get sidetracked when she falls for wannabe-Bollywood-hero Rohan Mehra (Das). She declares that her political career will take second place to her home life; she wants to be a wife and mother first. This enrages Bali who sees this as the death knell to his ambitions, especially when the opposition party is gaining strength. Her declarations of wanting a homely life also put Rohan in a fix, since he is seducing Alka only to further his career.

Alka Singh’s character is eccentric and foolhardy, impulsive and trusting. Kangana, with her wiry frame and wildly curling hair imbues Alka with a ferocious energy. Her vernacular accent and her artificially darkened skin color (which looked fake, btw) give us the impression that Alka is a small-town girl who has risen to power. That power, unfortunately, has gone to her head. Piyush Mishra is fantastic as the shrewd Bali Mama. Zakir Hussain, another fine actor, treads a fine line between comedy and brutishness as Udaybhan Tomar, Alka’s political nemesis. Vir Das plays fickle toy boy Rohan with ease. The rest of the cast is just as impeccable.

Revolver Rani is part satire, part spoof. It makes pointed jabs at petty politics, the apathetic government, social conditions and Bollywood. The satire is cloaked in dark humor, but some scenes do get pretty brutish. The film’s plot is unpredictable, but does get quite bizarre. Even though Alka is boorish and stupid in her own right, I still felt for her predicament, so Ranaut succeeded there. Unfortunately, the film is so clunkily put together, that it is hard to really like it.

This was not an uninteresting film, but oh, it could have been so much better.

Kidwise : This film is not for a younger audience. There is a fair amount of violence, and brutality against women, as well as situations of a sexual nature.