Razakar - Silent Genocide of Hyderabad Review

What can we expect from a movie made in five languages (Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, Tamil and Malayalam), featuring actors from both the North and the South, and based on the bloody communal and religious incidents that occurred in Hyderabad State during the year following India's independence? Especially considering it was taken to court before being approved by the CBFC? One would anticipate a significant film crafted with the utmost care, wouldn't they? However, Razakar only flatters to deceive.

Razakar - Silent Genocide Of Hyderabad tells the story of what happened in Hyderabad before September 17, 1948. While the rest of India celebrated freedom, Hyderabad was still controlled by the Nizam for another year. The people of the State suffered under the seventh Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan's rule and the ruthless Razakars led by Kasim Rizvi, a close advisor to the Nizam.

The movie is a microcosm of the period, depicting the atrocities and the eventual rebellion of the suffering multitudes. It shows how the Telugu people struggled to keep their religion and identity after India became independent, and highlights the brave actions of all those who fought against the Nizam and the Razakars.

The plot, as outlined above, has much to convey if approached with empathy, honesty, realism and historical accuracy. However, it is not clear if that is the movie's goal. The entire narrative is painted in black and white: the Razakars and the Nizam portrayed as wholly evil, and the local heroes and heroines who resisted them depicted as entirely good. Furthermore, it depicts the Razakars as lacking any semblance of human empathy, depicting them solely as perpetrators of over-taxation, violence against dissenters, forced conversion to Islam, stripping people of their dignity, raping women, and repeating these atrocities. It's 2 hours and 46 minutes of gore without any subtlety - beheadings, choppings of breasts, choppings of limbs, shootings of humans as if they were zombies, dumping live men in wells, burning people alive, hanging hundreds of people onto one tree... on and on, it never ends.

Also the hexagenarian Nizam is shown with his harem of young girls in their twenties, and the Razakars are shown to consummate every girl who attains puberty.

The story also loses its beauty and art because many commercial elements such cheesy action and dance sequences take over. The movie attempts a Rajamouli-esque treatment to history but fails miserably because fantasy does not equal history, and also because the filmmakers have done a lazy job of it. Even disregarding the artistic aspects of the film, you cannot help but question how many unverified and uncorroborated narratives make their way into it. An example is the implication that Nehru was indifferent to the events in Hyderabad for a year, and Patel had moved to annex Hyderabad without informing Nehru. Another is that the Hyderabad locals would have dethroned the Nizam whether the Indian Army came to rescue them or not. The movie also doesn't mention the important part played by the Communists in fighting the Razakars. The Communists were hugely instrumental in encouraging the people to rebel, but the movie focuses mainly on the conflicts between Hindus and Muslims.

Raj Arjun has done a great job as Kasim Rizvi, and so has Makrand Deshpande as the Nizam. Tej Sapru and Thalaivasal Vijay, portraying Sardar Patel and K M Munshi respectively, have also acted well. The movie relies heavily on these four actors. The rest of the cast tends to overact. I'm sure they are all good actors - perhaps they were instructed to act that way to heighten the jingoism.

Kushender Ramesh Reddy's cinematography is good, with every frame beautifully shot. However, sometimes the beauty and the perfection of the shots bring flaws to the surface, which we'll discuss soon. As for the the music, it's generally filled with melancholy, and the heroic beats that can be deafening to the point where you might even dislike the background music. The songs however pass muster.

There are plenty of visual flaws. Sapru doesn't resemble Patel, neither does Vijay resemble Munshi. Patel was completely bald, but Sapru has been shaved to appear bald, and this is visible in the close-up scenes, where it is clear that he has been shaved with a zero-level trimmer. His facial features also don't match those of Patel. Vijay's physique and face don't match those of Munshi either. Perhaps the makers didn't pay attention to these two characters. However, Makrand does resemble the Nizam - maybe intentionally.

Also, the vehicles, such as trucks and jeeps, modified to resemble those from the 1940s or 1950s, reveal their modern origins upon closer inspection - you will notice that they are modern vehicles with a makeover.

To conclude, Razakar is a "lights, camera, propaganda" fare for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, and seems a planned follow-up to and amplification of propaganda films like Fighter, Article 370, Gandhi Godse: Ek Yudh and Swatantra Veer Savarkar. And the movie has been heavily influenced by the styles of The Kashmir Files and The Kerala Story. Unless you want to hear at least one side of the story of that admittedly sordid slice of Indian history, you would do best to avoid this.