Prakash Jha is mostly noted for his socio-political films, which have often dealt with subjects like riots, police atrocities, and political kidnappings.

Jha’s latest venture ‘Rajneeti’ deals with similar issue of Indian democracy and politics.

Jha calls ‘Rajneeti’ his “most complete work”, and describes the film as the politics of mind and the changing relationships.

‘Rajneeti’ stars Katrina Kaif, Ranbir Kapoor, Arjun Rampal, Nana Patekar, and Manoj Bajpai.

Political films and their controversies
Most of the political films in Indian popular cinema have been critically acclaimed but have failed to do well at the box offices. Controversies have often dogged such political films.

Govind Nihalani’s Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa (1998) on the mother of a dead Naxalite; Bawandar (2000), about caste politics and the use of rape as a weapon against women; and Mani Ratnam’s A Peck on the Cheek (2002) on the Sri Lankan Tamil issue are few such films.

Gulzar’s Aandhi (1975) raised a storm because people alleged that it was based on the life of Indira Gandhi.

Similar controversy arose when Katrina Kaif’s role in ‘Rajneeti’ was rumoured to have been based on Sonia Gandhi. Countering such arguments, ’Rajneeti’ was eventually released with a ‘U/A’ certificate by Censor board.

Inspired by the epic tale of Mahabharata, ’Rajneeti’ tells the story of a political family and portrays clashing of ideologies and ruthless politics. It describes the wicked battle for power and the murkiness of Indian politics.

‘Rajneeti’ at the box office
Even though ‘Raajneeti’ is a mere political cinema peppered with Bollywood masala, it’s little different from the other stuff that the tinsel town dishes out.

Bollywood trade analyst Komal Nahta feels, “Raajneeti is made with the objective of entertaining and will be successful in doing so.”

He further adds, “Having saleable stars such as Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif and Ajay Devgn will help the film [Rajneeti], made on a budget of Rs 40 crore. Being a multi-starrer, Raajneeti will see a fantastic opening.”