Mumbai: More than a decade after the success of the political drama Raajneeti, filmmaker Prakash Jha has confirmed that the much talked about sequel is finally taking shape. The director recently revealed that he has started working on Raajneeti 2 and the project is currently in the pre production stage.
In a recent interview with SCREEN, Jha told that the sequel will be in the same creative spirit as the 2010 film. Similar to the original tale, the new chapter will also be inspired by Indian epics and mythological stories. The filmmaker clarified that most of the aspects like characters, situations and dramatic conflict will once more be inspired by these eternal sources.
Jha said that mythology continues to offer powerful storytelling possibilities. He confirmed that several aspects of the upcoming sequel have been inspired by such epic tales.
Mythological inspirations continue to shape the story
The director also disclosed the way he had previously worked on another idea based on Mahabharata, especially the mighty figure of Draupadi. The project was named Panchali, but it has not been progressed. Jha said that the subject had long interested him and that some previous work had been done on the subject.
It is also interesting to note that the director had given a clue of the sequel last year in a gathering marking 15 years of Raajneeti. By that time, he said he had always had the idea of a second part and was working on it, but casting and shooting arrangements were not yet finalized.
Looking back at the impact of Raajneeti
Raajneeti was a compelling political thriller that was released in 2010 and had a contemporary interpretation of themes based on the Mahabharata. It was directed by Ekta Kapur and featured Ranbir Kapoor alongside an outstanding cast of actors including Nana Patekar, Ajay Devgn, Katrina Kaif, Arjun Rampal, Manoj Bajpayee, Sarah Thompson and Naseeruddin Shah in the movie.
The movie touched on power politics, family feuds and political desires, and was likened to the mythological figures of Arjuna, Lord Krishna and Draupadi. It went on to become a major commercial success and remains one of the most memorable political dramas in Hindi cinema.
Ranbir Kapoor’s upcoming projects
Meanwhile, Ranbir Kapoor has an exciting lineup ahead. The actor will soon be seen portraying Lord Rama in filmmaker Nitesh Tiwari’s ambitious film Ramayana, which also stars Sai Pallavi and Yash.
Apart from that, he will appear in Love and War directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, sharing screen space with Alia Bhatt and Vicky Kaushal.
As Raajneeti 2 is officially in development, those who were a fan of the original cannot wait to see how Prakash Jha builds out on the world of politics with a lot of charge that initially attracted audiences over a decade ago.
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