Rajkumar review: Illogical script, bad performances undermine this melodrama

Citing financial reasons, the makers of the Marathi film Rajkumar have uploaded the entire film on YouTube where viewers can pay if they so wish.

The film, which has been written and directed by Samarth Raj Ediga, begins with two cops travelling to a house in a remote area. They have been tasked with guarding the house, which is empty except for two people who are lying on the floor. Then, abruptly, we move to an undisclosed village where a couple is on the verge of a breakup. Rajkumar (Bhausaheb Shinde) and Rani (Gayatri Jadhav) are deeply in love but spend most of their time arguing about silly issues. Rajkumar also has two best friends who are always with him through thick and thin. When Rani dares Rajkumar to come to her house to propose to her only for the latter to get beaten black and blue by her father (Pravin Tarde), their relationship sours. 

What begins as a love story set in the backdrop of a small village turns into a complete mess after a huge twist is revealed before the interval. After that, the film stops making any sense at all. It's not like the first half was interesting or particularly smart, but at least it had at least two or three genuinely funny moments.

Samarth Ediga's screenplay bounces from one scene to the next at the flimsiest of pretexts. The lion's share of blame also goes to the terrible editing. The film is stuffed with scenes and characters that make no sense at all. Rani's father is vehemently opposed to their marriage, but why? Why does he detest Rajkumar? We don't get any satisfactory answers to these perfectly valid questions. Side characters also behave randomly such as Rani's brother who, for some reason, mimicks Nana Patekar all day long and Rajkumar's aimless friends. 

After the twist, the film enters melodrama mode with a subplot of the mother-son relationship coming to the fore. However, this fails to tug at your heartstrings mainly because of the amateurish way it has been shot and inserted into the script. 

Rajkumar is haunted by sub-par performances and poorly written characters, especially Rani and her father. It's sad to see a capable actor like Pravin Tarde being completely wasted. The only saving grace in this two-hour-long bore-fest is Bhausaheb Shinde.  He is the only actor who emerges gracefully out of the ungainly mess that is Rajkumar.

In short, one can call Rajkumar a two-hour showreel of plot-less, joyless sillinesses.

Watch the film here.