Rann

While making the iconic film series of "Sarkar", the filmmaker Ram Gopal Verma gave the audience another good movie called "Rann". This multi starrer film was so underappreciated and underrated that it is difficult to find its theatrical poster as well.

The film Rann was released in the year 2010. The star cast included many big names. There was a high expectation from this film. However neither the critics nor the audience appreciated this film enough. Rather it will be appropriate to say that this film tanked at the box office. Recently I watched this film on the OTT platform. After watching this film I realised that it is one of the underrated gems of Indian cinema.

Rann discusses a very different topic. It is around the news channels and their internal rivalry. It was very appropriate for the time when it had released. Late 90s and early 2000s were the times where most of the channels were trying to seek 24/7 airing time. There was a rise on launching of news media channels. Many famous media personalities were switching from one network to another. Hence Rann movie at that time was extremely relevant.

I would not talk about the plot of the film. However I will talk about some of the most important aspects that where touched upon in this film. For a very long time the audience believed that whatever is printed in the newspaper as well as whatever is spoken on the TV was absolutely true (me and my family included). This film has completely challenged this belief. It shows that how the news are influenced by various factors including political connections and business sponsors. Another important aspect deals with the involvement of political figures in the journalism. The movie openly shows that the the pillar of democracy which is journalism goes hand in hand with politics. It shows that politicians have direct involvement in releasing of many news articles as well as the news stories. The film also shows that how the rivalry exist in the news channels. It shows brilliantly that how one news network tries to poach another journalist who belongs to a different news network.

As someone who used to read newspapers as well as follow news channels it was baffling to me to see the possibility of fabrication of the stories behind the scenes. After watching this film I started to question everything that was written in the printed media and shown on the news channels. I started to believe that the news stories that come forward have nothing to do with the really events that have occurred. The stories that reach the general audience have been modified and fabricated to show the falls information and to conceal the truth.

Rann definitely is a thought provoking movie. In today's world where the misinformation and disinformation are on rise I believe this film still had a significant impact. It is more relevant today than it was in that time. Being the audience and consumer of the news it is important to understand the possibility of the fabrication of stories that take place in the background. Rann is a film that was a brilliant film according to me when it was released. Yet I would say that it remains relevant even today.