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Related Tags : Featured, Mahira Khan, Raees, Shah Rukh Khan
Trending Today: Raees' movie review: Shah Rukh Khan and Nawazuddin shine in this massy entertainer
Directed By: Rahul Dholakia
Produced By: Red Chillies Entertainment, Excel Entertainment
Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Mahira Khan
Duration: 2 hours 41 minutes
Bollywood Bubble Rating: 1/2
The very awaited Shah Rukh Khan-starrer action crime thriller Raees' hits the theatres today and Shah Rukh Khan in and as Raees' is the quintessential anti-hero we would love to see on screen. The story of the rise and fall of a powerful liquor baron in the dry state of Gujarat, coupled with action, drama, thrill and dance all clubbed in one is what makes this film a massy entertainer. But does the film live up to the expectation set by the trailer, dialogues and songs that we have seen in the past few weeks? Find all the answers in Raees' movie review.
Raees Alam (Shah Rukh Khan) is the liquor baron from Fatehpura, Gujarat. Two lines are all it took for a streetsmart school going kid to tread a path of illegal liquor business - Koi dhandha chhota nahi hota, aur koi dharam dhandhe se bada nahi hota' were the golden words of his Ammi jaan; and Baniye ka dimaag aur miyan bhai ki daring, dono hai iske paas' coming straight from his mentor. Raees is intelligent, smart, and is compassionate enough at heart. He is hated by the the police but immensely loved by his own people. His empire grows as he becomes number 1 in his business. He falls in love with Aasiya (Mahira Khan), gets married, has a child and meanwhile time changes. The politicians who were fed with his money all this while, betray him. The world crumbles as one day, Raees finds out he unknowingly went against his own principles. Rest is a story with too many layers to be summed up in words. But where will this path lead Raees to? Watch the film to know!
Raees' will be remembered as one of Shah Rukh Khan's finest performances. He has romanced earlier, sung and danced earlier, fought earlier. However, this time around, he plays a sinner you can't hate. Mahira Khan in her Bollywood debut is fairly okay. We missed the spark that is otherwise seen with the leading ladies that Shah Rukh Khan romances. Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub as Sadiq is excellent in his supporting role. Nawazuddin Siddiqui shines through as he underplays his character of a dutiful cop with equal conviction. KU Mohanan's cinematography comes as a crucial advancement to the story here, whereas Ram Sampath's music adds intensity to the dense moments.
If you are familiar with Rahul Dholakia's previous work, Raees' will please you but won't surprise you. The film and its characters have more layers than we can count. The film maintains a pace, but we wish the characters were established better. Nevertheless Raees' is a treat for SRK fans.
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Shah Rukh Khan's introductory scenes, in all of his films, define the film itself. Generally he walks out of a cloud of smoke, hair impeccably in place, that glorious smile on his face, arms outstretched, reminding you once again why he is the country's king of romance. In Raees, the man is first seen shirtless, whipping himself with a cluster of blades during a Muharram procession - back bloodied, messy hair, eyes brimming with fervour and passion. Raees (Shah Rukh Khan) is a self-made bootlegger in prohibition Gujarat who slowly rises to political power while playing cat-and-mouse with a policeman (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) obsessed with reigning him in. As he climbs up, Raees finds allies in powerful men, but like they say, the higher you rise, the lower is the fall.
Directed by Rahul Dholakia, the man behind the unforgettable Parzania, Raees is a slick commercial film with all the elements of a mass entertainer. Packed with action, plot twists, hummable music and dialoguebaazi, the film ticks all the boxes. But the film does not abandon sense or sensibilities while doing so. The script is tight and well-written, with short reliefs of dry humour thrown in. There are delectable Macbethian shades in Raees's character and in his relationship with his wife. The cinematography and editing is commendable. One must specifically mention the meat market sequence - which was also ably supported by the production design department - and the dance bar face off. The songs are not memorable and mostly unnecessary, but the theme score is definitely striking enough and does its job. The background score is a tad too much but the necessity is understandable given the seventies-style action film treatment of the film.
And why do I talk about sensibilities? Bollywood films rarely have protagonists, especially leading men, belonging to minority communities. It is refreshing to see a Shah Rukh Khan ditch his lovey-dovey Rahul vibe for a character more real, rooted and robust. Not to mention that Muslim-Hindu bonhomie is portrayed with such a delightful matter-of-factness, one realizes how distant politics is from people. There is a poignant moment when Raees realizes that he has been unknowingly instrumental in a string of bomb blasts in the country. He breaks down, overcome by guilt and horror, and passionately tries to distance himself and his religion from the terrorists. His wife (Mahira Khan), unlike other action hero films, is not a pin up. She is his source of support and encouragement, and even that final nudge of confidence he needs when he decided to run for the elections from prison, she being his representative outside. Raees might be the alpha outside, beating up men who call him "Battery" - a slang used for bespectacled wimps - but she is the one who rules the house, and is the only one who can call him by that cuss.
Raees is definitely one of Shah Rukh Khan's best performances. The man is angry but conniving, intelligent but foolish in love. There are many moments in the film that show the prowess and depth the man has as an actor. When Raees is about to murder his mentor, his eyes mirror that of Macbeth when he was about to stab King Duncan - afraid of the man he has become but aware of the fact that this is the only way ahead. Shah Rukh is powerful, bursting with charisma, energy and a sort of hungry heat to scorch every scene with a fine balance of craft and charm. Hence, you cannot blame a Nawazuddin Siddiqui for not standing any chance at all in front of Shah Rukh, absolutely eclipsed, even though he plays his part of the obsessive no-nonsense police officer with elan. Mahira Khan is delightful in her Hindi debut and Mohammad Zeeshan Ayyub makes for a fantastic support to Shah Rukh's Raees.
For all those who enjoy macho action films, this is how it's done. You don't have to be brazenly masochistic, lewd and sexist to feel manly enough to fight the bad guys.
hahaha😆😆 agreeOriginally posted by: angrybread
KRK- Palti maar 🤣 Kitni mushkil se type kiya hoga isne ye 😆😆
KRKVerified account @kamaalrkhanMoreI just Watched #Raees n definitely it's a very good film for single screen audience and average for multiplexes. It's much better than #Fan!
Shomini Sen | News18.com shominisen
First published: January 25, 2017, 9:13 AM IST | Updated: 4 hours agoIf it is Shah Rukh Khan, it has to be big. His new film Raees has been in the making for a while and has created news much before the film's trailer came out. Having braved injuries on sets, protests, political interference - the film is finally up for release.
Directed by Rahul Dholakia, the story is based in Gujarat in the late 1970s and 1980s. SRK plays bootlegger - a character loosely based on real-life gangster Abdul Latif. Nawazuddin Siddiqui plays a cop whose sole mission is to arrest Raees. The film also marks the debut of Pakistani actress Mahira Khan.
Heavy of theatrics and catchy dialogues, with soulful music by Ram Sampath, the film's trailer has been generating a lot of hype. Will the film also be able to create magic? Shomini Sen of News18.com is inside the theatre to find out.
9:01 AM: It's #Raees day! And we are watching it first day, first show. Stay tuned for the tweet review
9:03 AM: .@iamsrk plays a bootlegger.@Nawazuddin_S plays a cop. And it marks the debut of @TheMahiraKhan - it doesn't get bigger than this. #Raees
9:28 AM: There was a certain swag in the 1970s. #Raees manages to capture that well.
9:35 AM: Atul Kulkarni, Zeeshan Ayub, Narendra Jha, Jaideep Ahlawat- #Raees supporting cast is super! Such an impressive line up of actors.
9:43 AM: .@Nawazuddin_S does a MJ step! Best! #Raees
9:49 AM: Gujarat ki hawa mein vyapaar hai, meri saans to rok loge, hawa ko kaise rokoge? #Raees
10:29 AM: Raees Aslam is Robin Hood of sorts. #Raees
10:31 AM: .@iamsrk and @Nawazuddin_S both are electrifying on the screen. Their scenes together are the best.
10:44 AM: Swag. Lot of swag this film has. #Raees
10:56 AM: Din aur raat logon ke hote honge sahib, sheron ka zamana hota hai. #Raees
10:57 AM: Dhanda karte samay hindu musalman socha tha, jo ab soch raha hai? Sab apne log hai yaha par. #Raees
11:19 AM: Main dhanda karta hoon. Main Dharam ka dhanda nahi karta hoon. #Raees
11:21 AM: #Raees works because of a very engaging script. It's a thriller, vintage style. #Raees
11:29 AM: There is a lot style in the way #Raees has been narrated. And yet it doesn't over paper the strong story or the performances
11:31 AM: If @iamsrk is the star of the film, @Nawazuddin_S matches up to his star power with a class act as the righteous cop. #Raees
11:34 AM: The scenes between SRK and #Nawaz are electrifying. Each matching the other with fine performance. Such a delight to watch them #Raees
11:34 AM: .@TheMahiraKhan gets limited screen time but manages to deliver a solid performance. #Raees
11:35 AM: But above all #Raees is @iamsrk film throughout. He owns his character Raees Aslam.
11:36 AM: .@iamsrk in #Raees gives us back the SRK we all grew up idiolizing. Welcome back King Khan :)
11:37 AM: It's an out an out commercial film. I would have liked it to be shorter but that's a minor flaw. #Raees
11:38 AM: #Raees will remind you of old 70s Bollywood pot boilers. It's SRK served, vintage style.
11:40 AM: Watch #Raees. For its actors, for its solid script and above all for @iamsrk
11:41 AM: Thanks for being with us throughout the tweet review of #Raees. Stay tuned for tweet review of #Kaabil.
On my way to the press screening for Raees, I happened to cross the Paradise theatre, an old single screen in the suburb of Mahim. Next to its dusty facade was strung up a poster of the film, Shah Rukh Khan's face looming large over much of it, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, backed up by several other cops, smaller figures in the background.
The preview that had been organised for the press couldn't have been held at a more different venue than the Paradise: we were at Le Rve right in midst of Bandra's swish Hill Road; the theatre itself goes in for a pretty Baroque decor, with crowds of roses clashing with Victorian-style gaslight fixtures all making for a fairly surreal setting. But here too, a poster of Raees had Shah Rukh Khan looking larger-than-life positioned strategically by the gate, enticing audiences within.
Shah Rukh Khan with Mahira Khan in a poster for Raees'
This tale of two theatres indicates what Shah Rukh Khan has attempted in Raees: he's wooing the multiplex audiences who have always been fans of his suave, urbane persona, yes; at the same time, he's also reaching out to the single screen moviegoer with his most massy' film in recent years.
And make no mistake, Raees is the quintessential commercial entertainer. It is to the credit of its director Rahul Dholakia (Parzania, Lamhaa) and its leading men Shah Rukh Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui that Raees is also so much more.
Raees is set in the Gujarat of the 1970s and 80s, when Prohibition has been in effect for well over two decades. It narrates the story of Raees Alam (Shah Rukh Khan), in whom the famed entrepreneurial spirit of the Gujaratis takes a turn that runs contrary to the letter of the law.
We start off with Raees as a young child, who serves as a runner for a bootlegger. In school, he has trouble reading the board; he is given a pair of spectacles. The glasses give him his vision back, they also give him a violent aversion to being referred to as "battery".
Raees is affected by one particular incident " when he is upbraided by a policeman for warning an establishment selling illicit liquor of an impending raid, his mother steps in to save him. The cop ridicules Raees' mother for being a ragpicker, she tells him, "Koi dhanda chhota ya bada nahi hota, aur dhande se bada koi dharm nahin hota" a thought that impresses her son greatly. He decides that he will get into the liquor business himself, but not the cheap desi daru one " he is going to go the whole hog with imported spirits. For this, he signs up to be a runner for Jayraj Seth (Atul Kulkarni) " the first one to ever observe of Raees: "Baniye ka dimaag aur miyanbhai ki daring".
We see Raees grow into a young man, determined to set up his own business rather than serving as a lackey to anyone else. This is easier said than done, of course. And so the stage is set for Raees to outwit not just his contemporaries in the business, but also the law.
The law here shows up in a particularly challenging way in the person of Inspector Jaideep Majumdar (Nawazuddin Siddiqui), an honest, upright, unflappable (if eccentric) officer.
Shah Rukh Khan as Raees Aslam in a still from Rahul Dholakia, Excel Entertainment and Red Chillies Entertainments' Raees'
It is perhaps a sign of how vital this antagonistic but oddly respectful relationship between Raees and Majumdar is to the plot that Nawazuddin's entry scene' is filmed with as much style as Shah Rukh's himself. (He appears " to great effect " as a Michael Jackson impersonator!) Not even Mahirah Khan, who plays Raees' love interest and later, wife, is given the same kind of entrance.
By halfway point, we have Raees as the leading figure in the illegal liquor business in his part of Gujarat, firmly in Majumdar's sights, and having descended into a spiral of shocking violence that he hasn't anticipated committing.
A note on the violence itself: this is no stylised, sanitised action. It is brutal, bloody, and very physical. The violence reaches a crescendo with Sunny Leone's Laila Main Laila' song " an oddly operatic soundtrack to Raees' most violent act yet.
HOW IS IT THAT YOU ROOT FOR RAEES ALAM DESPITE HIS BEING THE BAD GUY'? WHY DO YOU WANT MAJUMDAR, THE GOOD COP, TO FAIL? WHILE SHAH RUKH KHAN'S PORTRAYAL NO DOUBT IS THE MAJOR REASON, IT ALSO HAS TO DO WITH HOW THE ROLE HAS BEEN WRITTEN BY RAHUL DHOLAKIA.
Raees is motivated primarily by the profit motive, he is not a sadist " although he isn't averse to using violence when the situation demands it. But he is also endearing, especially in the moments reserved for his wife and his closest friend (Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub). Even in his arrogance, he is appealing.
The second half builds on this other side of Raees Alam: the Robin Hood do-gooder sort, who earns the goodwill of the poor with his charitable deeds. The frenetic pace of the plot so far slows down a bit as we spend some time getting to know Raees, the man. By a twist of fate, this is also the time when Majumdar (Raees' old nemesis) is getting to know the gangster he's been on the tail of so far. The connection between the duo is depicted cinematically: when Raees wishes for some chai, it is Majumdar, far away, who reaches out for his cutting glass.
Raees' trajectory is very similar to that of Pablo Escobar (as seen in the Netflix series Narcos; or even in any of the other gangster flicks director Dholakia has said he was inspired by, such as Godfather and Scarface. Surprisingly, Raees' approach also reminded me of Abhishek Bachchan in Guru, delivering this monologue: Sarkari darwaze the yeh aap ke banaye hue. Ya to laat mar kar khulte the ya ji hazoori de ke. Maine dono kiya, jahan laat mar sakta tha laat maari, jahan bola salaam do maine bola salaam lo'). He comes from nothing, rises to dizzying heights, but discovers that it is when you reach the top that you must face the biggest hurdles.
Raees realises this when he is let down by his collaborators in the government; he now decides to wrest the power he does not have yet " political, and contests elections. You can't help but know that his rise cannot go unchallenged. Soon enough, his troubles are beyond his powers to fix " be it in terms of money, muscle or wit.
ALL THE WHILE, RAEES IS HURTLING TOWARDS SOME DANGEROUS END.
Before we reach the end though, there are plenty of twists and turns " betrayal, defeat and widespread death.
There is a circularity to the story and dialogues as Raees races towards its finis. It also gives a chance for Shah Rukh Khan to deliver what is by far the most crowd-pleasing dialogue of them all: "Dhanda mera dharm hai, par main dharm ka dhanda nahi karta."
What a fine, fine performance this is by Shah Rukh Khan " possibly a career best. And what a fine, fine film this is by Rahul Dholakia. Its triumph is that it brings the best of Bollywood' " the sheer entertainment and glamour and scale of it " to a gripping story. What it's attempting is most evident in a scene where Raees (Shah Rukh) is juxtaposed against an image of Amitabh Bachchan in his angry young man' avatar on a movie screen. That one quick clip speaks volumes. Which brings us to the cinematography of KU Mohanan, without which, Raees would not be such a visually rich experience.
Raees trailer:
Param Sundari review and box office https://x.com/umairsandu/status/1960372607494115457?s=46 t=gmo_g396jwmtO4eUOAuljw
https://www.indiaforums.com/article/vash-level-2-review-a-rare-sequel-that-unsettles-in-the-best-way-and-lingers-long-after_226452...
https://www.indiaforums.com/article/metro-in-dino-review-its-a-musical-love-letter-to-the-lost-the-lonely-and-the-longing_224199
https://x.com/rohitjswl01/status/1948679466781196702
https://x.com/filmibeat/status/1943020983352463721
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