Raman Raghav 2.0

Raman Raghav 2.0
File:Raman Raghav 2.png First look
Directed by	Anurag Kashyap
Produced by	Anurag Kashyap Vikas Bahl Vikramaditya Motwane Madhu Mantena
Written by	Anurag Kashyap Vasan Bala
Starring	Nawazuddin Siddiqui Vicky Kaushal
Music by	Ram Sampath
Cinematography	Jay Oza
Edited by	Aarti Bajaj
Production companies	Phantom Films
Distributed by	Reliance Entertainment
Release dates	16 May 2016 (2016-05-16) (Cannes) 24 June 2016 (2016-06-24) (India)
Running time	127 minutes
Country	India
Language	Hindi

Raman Raghav 2.0 is a 2016 Indian thriller film directed by Anurag Kashyap. It is based on the notorious serial killer Raman Raghav who operated in Mumbai during the mid-1960s. The title character is played by Nawazuddin Siddiqui, while Vicky Kaushal plays the role of a cop in the film. Anurag Kashyap announced via Twitter that the film is set to release on June 24, 2016. On April 19, 2016, it was announced that the film would be premiere at the 2016 Cannes Directors' Fortnight. The film premiered at the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight to a rousing reception, raising hopes of a good show at the box office.

Cast

• Nawazuddin Siddiqui as Ramanna
• Vicky Kaushal as Raghavan
• Vipin Sharma
• Amruta Subhash
• Sobhita Dhulipala
• Ashok Lokhande

Production

Origin

The film is based on the notorious serial killer Raman Raghav, who operated in Mumbai during the late 1960s. He used a regular steel rod to reduce human faces to severed heads and broken skulls. He was later captured by the Mumbai police and later confessed the crimes he had committed. Raghav confessed to have committed 41 murders. 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."

Casting, further development and filming

After the release of Masaan (2015), Kashyap told it's 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. He also asked Kaushal to interpret the role in the way he wanted to. To prepare for the role, Kaushal locked himself in a room for five days without phone, television or newspaper. He later gave the audition, and was selected. 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.

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. He said that the film 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." The filming began in September 2015, and the shooting was completed on 22 November 2015. Raman Raghav 2.0 was shot in twenty days because of a shoestring budget. Kashyap wrote smaller scenes to make the film look big: "Normal Hindi films have 70 scenes, my films have 220 scenes". It helped in making the film look bigger as the locations kept changing. The title of the film was decided before the script was ready.

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

Marketing

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

Premiere

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

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." 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." 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."

The film also premiered at the 2016 Sydney Film Festival.

External links

• Raman Raghav 2.0 at IMDb
• Raman Raghav 2.0 at Rotten Tomatoes