Rating-**/*****Rajjo is a 2013 Indian romantic musical produced by Four Pillars Entertainment and directed by Sahitya Akademi Award winning writer Vishwas Patil. It stars Kangana Ranaut and Paras Arora in the lead roles and its supporting cast includes Prakash Raj, Mahesh Manjrekar and Jaya Prada. The film released in theatres on 15 November 2013.
Contents
1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Development
3.1 Pre-Production and Production
4 Crew
5 Critical reception
6 Box office
7 References
8 External links
Plot
A romantic musical, Rajjo is the journey of a Nautch girl in the most extraordinary circumstances. It tells the love story of Rajjo (Kangana Ranaut) and Chandu (Paras Arora) set against the backdrop of the dying Kothas of Mumbai that nurtured the traditional art of singing and dancing for centuries.[4]
The story’s central characters are Rajjo, a Muslim girl and Chandu, a young Brahmin boy. When Chandu helps his team win a cricket match, the team decides to celebrate the victory by visiting the Kothas of Nagpada. This is where Chandu meets Rajjo who mesmerizes him with her elegant Mujra dance and it is love at first sight for him.[5]
Chandu belongs to a family of music lovers; he is a very good harmonium player, his mother is a Bhajan singer. Rajjo is trained under Kothewali Amma; she is naughty, sweet and quite attractive. Music is the common thread between them, as is the strong attraction that draws Rajjo and Chandu together and seals their love. Simultaneously the Nagpada area goes under the clutches of re-development and all the dancers and singers are under the shadow of this potential danger. Amidst these circumstances, Rajjo and Chandu have to deal with Begum (Mahesh Manjrekar) who runs the Kotha and Hande Bhau (Prakash Raj), a corporator with powerful political connections who has his eye on Rajjo.[6]
Cast
Kangana Ranaut as Rajjo
Paras Arora as Chandu
Mahesh Manjrekar as Begum
Prakash Raj as Hande Bhau
Jaya Prada as Jankidevi
Sharad Shelar
Development
Pre-Production and Production
The lead star of the film Kangana Ranaut did extensive research in order to prepare for her role in the film.[citation needed] She visited Kothas and met with women there to understand their body language and mindset.
The makers of the film reportedly spent Rs. 5 crore to recreate the ambiance of Mumbai’s red light area, Kamathipura, for their film. It took two months for around 700 workers to construct the set under the guidance of art director Muneesh Sappel.
The music of the film was recorded in London’s Abbey Road Studios by composer Uttam Singh.
Crew
Banner - Four Pillars Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.
Distribution - WAVE CINEMA Ponty Chadha Release.
Director- Vishwas Patil
Producer- M. H. Shah & U. A. Karande
Cinematographer - Binod Pradhan
Music & Background Score- Uttam Singh
Editor- Rajesh Rao
Production Designer- Muneesh Sappel
Executive Producer - Priyadarshini
Original Story- Jayant Pawar
Screenplay - Vishwas Patil
Lyrics - Sameer Anjaan, Dev Kohli
Action Director- Salam Ansari
Choreographer- Ganesh Acharya
Dialogue- Atul Tiwari & Vishwas Patil
Sound Design - Vikram Biswas
Costume Designer - Reza Shariffi
Art Director
Critical reception
The film was met with negative reviews from most critics.
Box office
It collected a lifetime total of 2 crores.