I watched the trailer of Sushant Singh Rajput’s Raabta in mute, while at a meeting.
Don't judge. Move on.
Even without the sound, and through stolen glances at the mobile phone on my lap, it looked like a 'Bollywoodised' Magadheera.
For those who don't know SS Rajamouli BB (Before Baahubali), Magadheera is a 2009 blockbuster with epic sets, rebirth and gory fights.
The makers of Magadheera have filed a case, alleging that Raabta is a rip off. I wasn't surprised. Here's why you shouldn't be too.
Disclaimer: IF the movie turns out to be a rip off of Magadheera, spoilers right ahead.
From Raja and Rani to Hot Male and Pataka
The trailer begins with reference to a raja rani’s prem kahani (he he he) that apparently hasn't ended yet. We realise a little into the trailer that there's another guy, sufficiently long nosed to look like a villain.
Magadheera too offers a similar tale of janam-janam ka pyaar, an unending party which is pooped on by an equally long nosed, bearded villain, who wears a helmet with horns in his previous avatar.
Obviously, the ancient love story is adhuri (incomplete). Because unless there's a happies endings, picture abhi baaki hai mere dost!
Chopper Chopper Everywhere
This may sound a bit weird, but in Magadheera too, the villain has a helicopter fetish. In two very vital scenes in the movie, he lands up in a helicopter to foil the lovey-dovey plans of the hero-heroine. Raabta's trailer too features the villain in and out of a helicopter in a couple of scenes, VERY reminiscent of the Telugu original.
One Man Army Against an Army
Magadheera featured a truly kick-ass fight that lasted almost fifteen minutes. The hero, played by Chiranjeevi's son Ram Charan Teja, fights off a horde of a hundred men (shaitaan ki fauj!!!!!). The choreography is brilliant, and it grips you till the end. There is a very similar fight sequence in Raabta's trailer, where Sushant Singh Rajput gets into a melee with villains with funny hairdos. (side note: speaking of hairdos...it's a direct rip off from Cloud Atlas, a monumental, breathtaking, visually delightful flop, that features the same actors playing similar roles across thousands of years and rebirths.)
The Needy Needy Villain Who Got It First
The villain 'remembers' the past first. It is only much later that the hero and heroine get their memories jogged, or jigged or rigged, or whatever. Both movies share this plot detail. Honestly, Raabta's villain, and the overall production look better than that of Magadheera. But it's hard to beat the drama that Rajamouli can conjure through a couple of simple ECU's and a dialogue screamed into the air at the right time.
For example, the makers of Magadheera right now be like..'Mere Story Ko Kisne Churayaaaaa!'
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