Raees: Movie Review
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Crime / ‘Gangsta’ drama has been one of the most experimented ‘film’ genres throughout the world. Some film-makers prefer to focus on bio-pics on popular individual figures, others like to draw excerpts from real life incidents recreating them with fictitious characters. While Hollywood is known for its all time classics The Godfather, Scare Face, Angels with Dirty Faces, Indian cinema is also has its fair share viz. Nayakan, Shiva, Satya, Company, Sarkar, Vaastav, Black Friday, Once Upon a Time in Mumbai, Gangs of Wasseypur, Shootout at Lokhandwala, etc.
Rahul Dholakia’s ‘Raees’ is loosely inspired by life of Abdul Latif, Gujarat based underworld don, quite popular and active during the late 80s, early 90s. The trailer of the film had already managed to create lot of buzz, since Shah Rukh Khan after a long time was to be seen in a badass avatar in the film.
The film begins in Fatehpura, a fictitious city in Gujarat. Raees Alam (SRK) and Sadiq (Mohammad Zeeshan Ayub) are close aides of Jayaraj Seth (Atul Kulkarni), a bootlegger who runs a monopoly of supplying liquor illegally within the dry state. Raees is ambitious and wants to run his own business, but waits for the right opportunity. While he finally manages to fulfill his dream, little does he realize that he shall be drawn to the world of crime, where there is no looking back. How he encounters various kind of people some supporting him, while others offering resistance through this roller-coaster ride of his journey is what the film is all about.
The first half of the narrative is pretty fast paced. Every frame keeps you glued to the screen. There is a slight dip in the second half, which again is covered up towards the climax. The only problem that crops up is that the film keeps switching between ‘realistic’ and ‘commercial‘aspects. While Rahul Dholakia and team have taken lot of effort has been taken to maintain the authenticity of locations, retro-istic feel, culture and tradition etc. the character of Shah Rukh seems to be developed on the lines of a typical Salim Javed angry young man of the 70s. Although having a strong screen presence as the protagonist, you feel like watching a masala pot boiler.
Editing by Deepa Bhatia is sharp, but a 5-10 minute reduction could have been possible. Cinematography by K.U. Mohanan is top notch, especially the action sequences which are aesthetically shot. Music by Ram Sampath is apt and covers all genre viz. romantic, folk, dance and a tapori styles. All songs except ‘Zalima’ flow as part of the narrative. Dialogues are power-packed and quite catchy.
Performance wise, all supporting actors do a great job, Atul Kulkarni, Sheeba Chadha, Narendra Jha and Jaideep Ahlawat and leave a mark. Mohammad Zeeshan Ayub is brilliant as Raaees’s close friend, Mahira does well in parts, but somewhere the chemistry with Shah Rukh, which was integral, does not show completely.
Shah Rukh Khan excels in a role tailor made for him. After a long time it’s refreshing to see him playing an intense, grey character with ease. However, minus the slightly stretched romantic portions, and a little restrain on dialogue-baazi, Raees could have easily been his career best indeed. His character deserved to be more a little more rustic and ruthless.
Above all, it’s Nawazuddin Siddiqui as ACP Majmudar who rules a roost. Right from his entry, Nawaz nails it every-time he appears on screen. His realistic dialogue delivery, comic timing and body language are just perfect. The confidence he oozes during confrontation scenes with Shah Rukh Khan is just epic. The additional role of the narrator only adds further value to his contribution to the film.
On the whole, Raees is a quite engaging, highly entertaining film with immense potential to become a Wasseypur or perhaps even a Nayakan, but falls a bit short.
Nevertheless, it’s definitely worth a watch for the performances, the overall treatment and the message it conveys in the end.
Rating ***1/2
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