Rann
U/A; drama
Dir: Ram Gopal Varma
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Riteish Deshmukh, Gul Panag, Paresh Rawal
**

What's it about: Ram Gopal Varma and Amitabh Bachchan went on a tirade declaring that Rann would give you a peephole look into the cable-clogged running of a news channel.
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With the filmmaker and his actors visiting news channels and guest editing shows we were excited that Rann might really go Deep Throat on us.



However, this yarn about a media baron (Bachchan) falling into the predictable nexus of his son (Sudeep) and a shady politician (Paresh Rawal) propped up by another rival (Mohnish Behl) to give a long-winded monologue on the importance of being earnest doesn't really garner the expected TRPs.

Among the peripheral characters there's an honest reporter (Riteish) who goes from becoming a pawn to a king as the plot proceeds.u00a0

What's hot: Rann has its moments, though they are few and far between. Bachchan's expressions and his eyes do a better job than the hackneyed lines he is meant to rote. He excels in the scene where his world comes tumbling down after realising his own kin has let him down.
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Despite his holier- than-thou attitude and larger-than-life frame, his vulnerability and sense of loss come alive with his body language. Riteish gives his character the required depth. Even though he might not be the strongest link in the story, there is a certain sincerity in his approach.

Watch him shred Paresh Rawal to bits in the scene where he interrogates rather than interviews the politician for the first time. Rajpal Yadav is par excellence in his role as the sensation-seeking 'sansani' reporter.