Raees – Frugal

14

Starring Shahrukh Khan in and as Raees. Raees born to a poor mother, in a place called Fatehpura and has grown up seeing hardships.

Takes up bootlegging at a very young age in the alcohol prohibited state of Gujarat. Grows up doing bootlegging for the local smuggler Jairaj (Atul Kulkarni).
Touted to have the ‘Baniye ka dimag and miyabhai ki daring’. Eventually outgrows Jairaj and starts on his own. Plays a Robinhood for the locals, earning in smuggling but lending a helping hand to everyone around. So as expected he has the support of his town inhabitants and with the local police and the politicians with him, nothing can go wrong.

But then, in comes police officer Majmudar (Nawazuddin Siddiqui), very sincere and a sharp IPS. He is used to getting transferred all the time because of his approach and ways – honest and uncompromising. On his posting at Fatehpura he is at loggerheads with the bootleggers – Raees, Jairaj and others.
In the survival of the fittest, Raees eliminates his rivals and takes control of the bootlegging business. But Inspector Majmudar is after him all the while.

Raees eventually grows into a full fledged smuggler. He gets played by politicians and other dons and becomes a murderer and then a politician himself and eventually a terrorist. Though most of it is not his choice but to survive, you need to do what the business needs you to do. (Ganda hai par dhandha hai)
Finally what goes around comes around.
Raees’s love interest is a girl in the neighborhood- Aashia (Mahira Khan). She provides for an opportunity to play love songs and show a little softer side of Raees. His childhood best friend Sadiq (Zeeshan Ayub) is the side kick and also provides for some comic relief.

The story telling is a little slow and the story line very thin. The plot is very predictable and you hope to see a twist or a different story. The direction is just Ok. The screenplay is mediocre. Its shot in a village in Gujarat – Sidhpur which gives the surrounding a very authentic look. Too many songs and ill timed. But yes dialogues in the movie are great and are already a hit.

But glorifying petty criminals is just not done. Very disappointing, so what if it’s just a story? Movies in India have far-reaching consequences and the makers should have thought that before showing a smuggler with a golden heart.

Shahrukh is good in the movie. He completely loses himself in Raees. Intense and well done. The star power is full fledged on display. Slow-Mo scenes and hard hitting dialogues.
Wish an actor like Shahrukh Khan was exploited to potential and not just rely on his star power to compensate for the lack of story and direction.
Mahira Khan looks beautiful. Has amazing screen presence and looks very comfortable on screen. With that persona and confidence no doubt she is a superstar in Pakistan.
Zeeshan Ayub has done well too. Immensely talented and has good chunk of a role.
Nawazuddin is brilliant too, as expected. But he too seems to be getting a little predictable now. Needs to keep re-inventing himself.
Special mention for the Laila song. Sunny looks ravishing and dances like a dream, the theater is full of whistles and claps in the song.
Most of the other songs are forgettable.

A must see for Shahrukh Khan fans.
For others – good if you get to see it, no regrets if you miss it….!!!