Film | My Name is Raga: Biopic or parody?

Guwahati, February 10, 2019:

Yet another political drama is about to hit the silver screens in India, but at this point in time, who cares? After the politically charged ‘The Accidental Prime Minister’ failed to wow either audiences or critics, the trailer for another parody-like movie called 'My Name is Raga' has emerged that has quickly entered mainstream discussions. You may assume that it is being talked about because it looks promising, right? Well, actually, it is quite the opposite.

Rupesh Paul, known for delivering such gems as ‘Kamasutra 3D’ (2015), ‘What the f” (2013) and ‘My Mother’s Laptop’ (2008) has entered the political discussion with a trailer for the much-dreaded ‘My Name is Raga’, which has been quickly slammed amateurish direction and corny dialogues.

“’My Name is Raga’ does not intend to glorify Rahul Gandhi or to demystify him. Anyone who has fearlessly confronted defeat and failure can relate to this story.” Yet, despite this admission, the teaser shows the young Rahul Gandhi playing with his grandmother and melodrama with his family.

The trailer shows a borderline-retarded Rahul Gandhi as he goes through the journey of childhood. The trailer also shows him playing with an ‘Ann doll’ (the possessed doll from the Hollywood horror franchise ‘Conjuring’). This is truly bizarre, as the eerie similarity of the doll shown in the movie to the haunted doll perhaps shows the level of the horrific demons haunting the apparently traumatized movie-version of Gandhi.

Then, a caricaturish Manmohan Singh is introduced akin to the Anupam Kher-rendition of the former Prime Minister who inducts Gandhi into the Congress party. The overtly-partisan film depicts Gandhi as an overgrown man-child and can be seen as propaganda by the BJP to tarnish the Congress President’s reputation.