Rudraksh is a 2004 Indian

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

-language

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

science fiction action film The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as ...

directed by

Mani Shankar Mani Shankar is an Indian film director known for his works in Hindi cinema. He directed works such as ''16 December'', one of the highest-grossing films of 2002, and '' Tango Charlie'', which was screened in several International Film Festiva ...

. cinematography by T. Surendra Reddy, starring

Sanjay Dutt Sanjay Balraj Dutt (born 29 July 1959) is an Indian actor, playback singer and film producer who works in Hindi cinema in addition to a few Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Punjabi films. Dutt has won several accolades and acted in over 160 films. ...

Suniel Shetty Suniel Shetty (born Sunil V. Shetty; 11 August 1961) is an Indian actor, film producer, television host, and entrepreneur, primarily known for his work in Hindi cinema, with appearances in Tamil films. Nicknamed as Anna, Shetty has appeared in ...

Bipasha Basu Bipasha Basu (born 7 January 1979) is an Indian actress. Primarily known for her work in Hindi films, she List of awards and nominations received by Bipasha Basu, has received a Filmfare Awards, Filmfare Award. In the 2000s and 2010s, she was ...

Isha Koppikar Isha Koppikar (born 19 September 1976) is an Indian actress, politician and Model (person), model who has acted mainly in Hindi cinema, Hindi films, but also in Tamil cinema, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu language, Telugu, and Marathi language, Marathi ...

and

Kabir Bedi Kabir Bedi (born 16 January 1946) is an Indian actor. His career has spanned three continents covering India, the United States and especially Italy among other Western countries in three media: film, television and theatre. He is noted for his ...

. The film has many references to the epic poem

Ramayana The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...

("The Path of Rāma"). The film released on 13 February 2004 to a negative response by critics and was declared a disaster at the box office.

Plot

Dr. Gayatri Singh is an Indian American paranormal researcher at the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...

, researching esoteric practices such as voodoo, spirit possession, magic, and healing powers. She seeks the hidden knowledge that goes into such practices, the knowledge that cannot be explained by science or logic. Her search for answers brings her and her team of scientists to India. She comes across Varun Bhushan, a man who is gifted with special intuitive and healing powers, which he claims to have developed through meditation. He is a blend of Indian philosophy and modern culture, a master at martial arts, and a devotee of

Hanuman Hanuman (; , ), also known as Maruti, Bajrangabali, and Anjaneya, is a deity in Hinduism, revered as a divine ''vanara'', and a devoted companion of the deity Rama. Central to the ''Ramayana'', Hanuman is celebrated for his unwavering devotio ...

. He worships and trains by day while working as a

bouncer A bouncer (also known as a door supervisor) is a type of security guard, employed at licensed or sanctioned venues such as bars, nightclubs, cabaret clubs, strip clubs and casinos. A bouncer's duties are to provide security, to check legal ag ...

at a club by night. Gayatri is immediately impressed by Varun's powers to take away pain and disease from people and cure them. He becomes the subject of her study. After a few experiments by Gayatri, Varun has an insight into the existence of a hidden dark power. He explains that the force is linked to

Ravana According to the Mahakavya, Hindu epic, ''Ramayana'', Ravana was a kingJustin W. Henry, ''Ravana's Kingdom: The Ramayana and Sri Lankan History from Below'', Oxford University Press, p.3 of the island of Lanka, in which he is the chief antag ...

's Rudraksha, which is hidden away from the world. This is not a normal Rudraksh; it carries in its seed the powers that can transmute humans into new species. The bearer of this Rudraksha will have supernatural powers beyond imagination. In the language of science, it is a 'multi-dimensional hologram' in the form of a seed. Meanwhile, Atul Kapoor mentally communicates with Varun, so they can share their abilities since neither of them can utilize the full power of the Rudraksha alone. Varun refuses, but Atul continues his attempts to join their powers and manipulate Varun. Gayatri finds a set of strange words that cause changes in people when spoken. She tests the effects of those sounds on a rat and notices strange mutations and changes in the functioning of the rat's body. Gayatri's research assistant Suzy hears those sounds directly, becomes possessed, and starts working for Atul. Suzy tries to kill Gayatri, but Varun overpowers her and saves her, after which Suzy dies while trying to escape. Varun and Gayatri thus set out to discover this Rudraksha, the reality of Bhuria, and find certain answers for Varun. Their perilous journey leaves through the most rugged terrains of the Himalayas to the mysterious ruins of the legendary King Ravana's palaces in Yala, Sri Lanka. He thus finds how Atul, a poor but wild and arrogant labor contractor in the excavation team of the Rudraksha, transformed into a powerful Rakshasha and possessor of supernatural powers, that the words spoken by the madman were an ancient verse, a Rakshasha mantra, and that the real aim of Atul is to use the Rudraksha and Rakshasha mantra for spreading evil and hatred in the world, thus effectively restoring the rule of rakshashas once more. Thus, once more, it becomes a battle of good vs. evil, where either must overcome the other. End of the day, the fear-maker monsters are always unliked.

Cast

as Varun Bhushan *

Sunil Shetty Suniel Shetty (born Sunil V. Shetty; 11 August 1961) is an Indian actor, film producer, television host, and entrepreneur, primarily known for his work in Hindi cinema, with appearances in Tamil cinema, Tamil films. Nicknamed as Anna, Shetty ha ...

as Atul Kapoor *

as Lalli, Bhuria's girlfriend and a contract killer. *

as Dr. Gayatri Singh *

as Pandit Ved Bhushan, a saint and Varun's father. *

Farhad Shahnawaz Farhad Shahnawaz (born 28 September 1980) is an Indian model, dancer and actor. He is known for playing the role of Rammy in '' Sanskaar - Dharohar Apnon Ki'', an Indian soap opera that aired on Colors TV. As a dancer, Farhad was the winner ...

as in Supporting Role *

Vinay Varma Vinay Varma is an Indian actor, script writer, and casting director who primarily works in Telugu and Hindi-language films. Career Vinay Varma, founder of Sutradhar, started out as an amateur theatre practitioner. He has been involved with ...

as Mantrik * Agnes Darenius as Suzy, Dr. Gayatri's research assistant *

Negar Khan Negar Khan (born 18 July 1984; also credited as Nigar Khan) is an Iranian-born Norwegian actress. She is best known for her Bollywood item songs and film work. Personal life Khan is fluent in the Persian, Azeri, Norwegian, English and Urdu ...

Virendra Saxena Virendra Saxena (born 23 November 1961) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi theatre, film, and television. He is an alumnus of the National School of Drama. Saxena is known for his character roles as well as his unique voice. He has acted i ...

as security guard

Reception

Critical response Rudraksh opened to a negative reception by critics. Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama rated the film 1.5/5, stating,"Rudraksh rests on Sanjay Dutt and Suniel Shetty's shoulders and both enact their parts with utmost sincerity. Dutt seems to be enjoying his work and it shows on screen. Shetty too is up to the mark. The get-ups of both Dutt and Shetty would also be appreciated. Bipasha Basu does an okay job, while Isha Koppikar leaves an impression in a negative role. Kabir Bedi is alright. Nigar Khan sizzles in the dance track. On the whole, Rudraksh proves the adage 'All that glitters is not gold' absolutely right. The film has gloss, no soul, which will take a toll on its overall business." On the critical aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 38%, and a rating of 2.7/10 by IMDb. The film stands among the lowest rated Bollywood films of all time. Box Office Rudraksh had a fairly decent opening day, collecting ₹1.10 crore on its first day, followed by ₹1.17 crore on its second day and ₹1.30 crore on its third day, taking its opening weekend collection to ₹3.57 crore. The film collected a total of ₹5.12 crore in its opening week, and ended up with a domestic lifetime collection of ₹5.97 crore, and was declared a as a "Disaster" by Box Office India.

Soundtrack

References

External links