Punit Balan Studios, Samit Kakkad Films and Sons Of Soil Media Pvt. Ltd.’s Raanti (Marathi; A) is an action film.
There is a jetty in Patalpur village, of which Waman (Sanjay Khapre) and Parshu (Jaywant Wadkar) are the uncrowned kings. Waman refuses to let Shiv Rudra (Nagesh Bhosle) offload a shipment of cocaine at the Patalpur jetty in spite of Waman and Parshu being offered money. Seizing the opportunity, Waman and Parshu’s employee, Sada Rane (Sanjay Narvekar), joins hands with Shiv Rudra and kills Waman. Sada Rane also takes control of the jetty. Waman’s widow, Parvati (Chhaya Kadam), leaves Patalpur along with her little son, Vishnu and settles in Bombay. Twenty-five years later, Parshu and his now grown-up son, Bala (Santosh Juvekar), want to seek revenge for the murder of Waman. But instead, Sada Rane kills Parshu and cuts Bala’s leg. Bala meets the now grown-up Vishnu (Sharad Kelkar) and brings him to Patalpur. Vishnu kills Sada Rane’s son and makes Bala replace Sada Rane as the new don. He then returns to Bombay. Soon, a misunderstanding leads to the souring of relations between Vishnu and Bala.
Maithili (Shanvi Srivastava), the daughter of Prabhakar, who is the sworn enemy of Shiv Rudra, comes to India and is about to be kidnapped by Shiv Rudra’s men but is saved by Vishnu. Maithili gets to know the true story about Vishnu from Sanjay (Sushant Shelar). Here, Shiv Rudra’s son, Dheeraj (Hitesh Bhojraj), swears revenge against Vishnu for threatening his father. Dheeraj and Sada Rane join forces. Maithili is kidnapped and taken away to Patalpur. Vishnu’s mother clears the misunderstanding between Vishnu and Bala. Vishnu reaches Patalpur. What happens finally? Is Vishnu a criminal or a Good Samaritan?
Hrishikesh Koli has written a story which concentrates on action. It is about good versus evil but it lacks novelty. His screenplay gets confusing at times. Although it is fast-paced, the drama never really makes the audience get cent per cent involved or engrossed because of lack of freshness. Hrishikesh Koli’s dialogues are good.
Sharad Kelkar acts very well in the role of Vishnu. Santosh Juvekar is nice as Bala. Sanjay Narvekar does his villainy effectively. Shanvi Srivastava is alright as Maithili. Chhaya Kadam lends decent support as Vishnu’s mother, Parvati. Nagesh Bhosle has his moments as Shiv Rudra. Hitesh Bhojraj makes his mark in the role of Shiv Rudra’s son, Dheeraj. Sanjay Khapre is okay as Waman. Jaywant Wadkar is alright as Parshu. Sushant Shelar is so-so as Sanjay. Akshaya Gurav lends ordinary support as Maya. Madhav Deochake is adequate in the role of Bala’s younger brother, Bhushan. Kailash Waghmare and Nyannah Mukey are alright. Others pass muster.
Samit Kakkad’s direction is okay but there’s nothing which makes the narration thrilling. Ajit Parab’s music is fair. Mangesh Kangane’s lyrics are alright. Sujit Kumar’s choreography is okay. Amar Mohile’s background music is pretty impactful. Sethu Sriram’s camerawork is decent. Aejaz-Gulab’s action and stunt scenes afford thrill. Prashant Rane’s art direction is of a fair standard. Aashish Mhatre’s editing should’ve been sharper.
On the whole, Raanti is an average fare.
Released on 22-11-’24 at Plaza (daily 1 show) and other cinemas of Bombay thru AA Films. Publicity & opening:dull.