Raman Raghav 2.0

Raman Raghav 2.0

First look
Directed by Anurag Kashyap
Produced by
Written by
  • Anurag Kashyap
  • Vasan Bala
Starring
Music by Ram Sampath
Cinematography Jay Oza
Edited by Aarti Bajaj
Production
companies
Distributed by Reliance Entertainment
Release dates
  • 16 May 2016 (2016-05-16) (Cannes)
  • 24 June 2016 (2016-06-24) (India)
Running time
 127 minutes[1]
Country India
Language Hindi
Budget ₹35 million[2]
Box office ₹68 million[3]

Raman Raghav 2.0 is a 2016 Indian psychological thriller film directed by Anurag Kashyap. It is based on the life of notorious serial killer Raman Raghav who operated in Mumbai during the mid-1960s. Nawazuddin Siddiqui plays the role of Raman, a psychopathic serial killer, while Vicky Kaushal plays Raghav, a cop assigned to investigate the serial killings.[4] The film premiered at the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight to a positive critical reception, raising hopes of a good showing at the box office.[5][6] It was released on 24 June 2016.[7]

Cast

Production

Origin

The film is inspired by the notorious serial killer Raman Raghav, who operated in Mumbai during the late 1960s, but it essentially is not a film about him. He used a regular steel rod to reduce human faces to severed heads and broken skulls.[8] He was later captured by the Mumbai police and later confessed the crimes he had committed. Raghav confessed to have committed 41 murders.[8] He was sentenced to death by the Bombay High Court, but it was later changed to life imprisonment after his defense pleaded that he was "mentally incapable of making conscious decisions hence did not know that his acts were unlawful".[8]

Casting, further development and filming

After the release of Masaan (2015), Kashyap told its lead actor Vicky Kaushal to play the role of a cop for his film. He gave Kaushal two scenes and five days to prepare for the audition.[9] He also asked Kaushal to interpret the role in the way he wanted to. To prepare, Kaushal locked himself in a room for five days without phone, television or newspaper.[9] He gave the audition and was selected.[9] Nawazuddin Siddiqui was cast in the title role of the serial killer. Miss Earth India 2013, Sobhita Dhulipala made her acting debut with this film.[10]

Kashyap had wanted to make a film on the serial killer Raman Raghav, but the budget constraints did not allow him to make a period film set in the 1960s.[11] He said that Raman Raghav 2.0 is not a biopic: "This is actually inspired from him because that character is in the 1960s and this film is based in today’s times. It’s difficult because you’re starting to say something, you’re treading a very dangerous line and you have your own sense of responsibility ... If it would’ve been a biopic it would have been 10 times more difficult."[12]

Filming began in September 2015, and shooting was completed on 22 November 2015.[4][13] Raman Raghav 2.0 was shot in 20 days because of a shoestring budget.[14] Kashyap wrote smaller scenes: "Normal Hindi films have 70 scenes, my films have 220 scenes".[11] It helped in making the film look bigger as the locations kept changing. The title was decided before the script was ready.[11]

The crew employed guerrilla filmmaking technique to shoot in real locations of Mumbai.[15] While shooting, as a result of the unhygienic surroundings, Siddiqui fell seriously ill and was hospitalised for five days. His wife later said that Siddiqui was repeating his dialogues from the film, while being semi-conscious.[15] The diagnosis showed dengue initially.[13] However, it was proven wrong when he recovered quickly.[15] He resumed shooting for the film as soon as he was discharged.[13] Siddiqui called the shoot a "mentally draining" experience.[16]

Marketing

On 24 April 2016, Anurag Kashyap released two teaser poster's of the film through his official Twitter account.[17] The first look poster was revealed on April 25, 2016, which showed Siddiqui staring in front with his red eyes.[18] A second poster was released on May 1 which featured the half faces of both Kaushal and Siddiqui.[19] The first teaser of Raman Raghav 2.0 was released on 6 May 2016, with a runtime of 46 seconds.[20] It was followed by three other teasers which showed a glimpse of the serial killer.[21] The theatrical trailer of Raman Raghav 2.0 was released on 10 May 2016.[22]

Premiere

Raman Raghav 2.0 premiered at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, in the Directors' Fortnight section to positive response.[23][24] Nawazuddin Siddiqui received a standing ovation post the screening of the film.[25]

Deborah Young of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "The story could have turned into one huge cliché, and there are genre elements that are numbingly familiar, was it not for the exceptionally scary performance of Nawazuddin Siddiqui in the role of the villainous, demented serial killer Ramanna." Further noting the lack of character-depth of female characters, "Variety and depth of character are badly lacking on the female front, weakening the whole film."[26] Guy Lodge from Variety labelled Siddiqui's performance "[has] literally unblinking intensity". He further added, "Anurag Kashyap riffs on a grisly episode of Mumbai history in his luridly absorbing serial killer thriller."[27] Wendy Ide from Screen International reviewed: "It’s a propulsive and bloodthirsty thriller with a brash use of music and a jangling, adrenalised energy which rarely flags." Further noting, "What the film lacks is the sense of a Manhunter-style battle of wits."[1]

The film also premiered at the 2016 Sydney Film Festival.[28]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Ide, Wendy (16 May 2016). "'Raman Raghav 2.0': Review". Screen International. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  2. ↑ Ramakrishnan, Swetha (2 June 2016). "'Raman Raghav 2.0' to Lisa Haydon: Ten epic quotes by Anurag Kashyap on films and feminism". Firstpost. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  3. ↑ http://www.boxofficeindia.com/movie.php?movieid=3310
  4. 1 2 Iyer, Sanyukta (29 September 2015). "Vicky straightens up psycho Nawaz in Anurag Kashyap's psycho-thriller". The Times of India. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  5. ↑ "'Raman Raghav' lands a big punch at Cannes". ABP Live. 17 May 2016.
  6. ↑ "2016 Cannes Film Festival Unveils Directors' Fortnight Picks, Including New Films From Paul Schrader and Laura Poitras". Indiewire. 19 April 2016. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  7. ↑ "Anurag Kashyap's Raman Raghav to release in May". The Indian Express. 7 April 2016. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  8. 1 2 3 Kasotia, Yash (11 May 2016). "All You Need To Know About Raman Raghav, The Serial Killer Who Inspired Anurag Kashyap's Next". ScoopWhoop. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  9. 1 2 3 N, Patcy (16 May 2016). "'I badly want to do an action film'". Rediff.com. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  10. ↑ Ganguly, Nivedita (13 May 2016). "Sobhita's dream debut in 'Raman Raghav 2.0'". The Hindu. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  11. 1 2 3 Sharma, Sampada (16 May 2016). "How Anurag Kashyap Made Raman Raghav 2.0 With A Shoestring Budget Will Leave You Awestruck". ScoopWhoop. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  12. ↑ "Anurag Kashyap: No cuts to 'Raman Raghav 2.0' acceptable". Gulf News. 11 May 2016. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  13. 1 2 3 "Anurag Kashyap wraps up 'Raman Raghav 2.0'". Deccan Chronicle. 22 November 2015. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  14. ↑ Sharma, Isha (17 May 2016). "Anurag Kashyap Has Put In Herculean Efforts To Make Raman Raghav 2.0 In 20 Days!". Times Internet. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  15. 1 2 3 Chatterjee, Suprateek (12 May 2016). "INTERVIEW: Nawazuddin Siddiqui On The Method To His Madness In Anurag Kashyap's 'Raman Raghav 2.0'". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  16. ↑ "Raman Raghav 2.0 was mentally draining: Nawazuddin Siddiqui". The Indian Express. 9 May 2016. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  17. ↑ "Anurag Kashyap's Raman Raghav 2.0 teaser poster". The Hindu. 25 April 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  18. ↑ "Nawazuddin Siddiqui will send a chill up your spine in teaser posters of 'Raman Raghav 2.0'!". Daily News and Analysis. 25 April 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  19. ↑ "Raman Raghav 2.0: Bloody double treat". The Statesman. 2 May 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  20. ↑ Chandel, Rajani (6 May 2016). "Teaser of 'Raman Raghav 2.0' scares you out of your wits". The Times of India. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  21. ↑ Trivedi, Hiten J (9 May 2016). "EXCLUSIVE: Fourth teaser of 'Raman Raghav 2.0' will send chills down your spine". The Times of India. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  22. ↑ Sen, Raja (11 May 2016). "Raman Raghav 2.0 Trailer: Nawazuddin's back, and scarier than ever". Rediff.com. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  23. ↑ "'Raman Raghav 2.0' gets positive reviews at Cannes 2016". Daily News and Analysis. 17 May 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  24. ↑ "'Bloodthirsty thriller': Here's what international media said about 'Raman Raghav 2.0'". Firstpost. 18 May 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  25. ↑ Thakur, Charu (17 May 2016). "Cannes 2016: Nawazuddin Siddiqui gets a standing ovation for Raman Raghav 2.0". India Today. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  26. ↑ Young, Deborah (16 May 2016). "'Psycho Raman' ('Raman Raghav 2.0'): Cannes Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  27. ↑ Lodge, Guy (16 May 2016). "Cannes Film Review: 'Psycho Raman'". Variety. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  28. ↑ "Raman Raghav 2.0 to compete at Sydney Film Festival". The Hindu. 12 May 2016. Retrieved 19 May 2016.

External links

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