Raees has indeed taken a long time in the making and coming out to us. Did that increase our anticipation? Yes. Did it take away from the excitement? No. In the world of short attention span and "Moving On" Raees and Rahul Dholakia have managed to keep our attention, love and excitement for over a year now. And boy does it deliver on so many levels. It has songs, dance, romance, action, tears, clap worthy dialogues, everything. Add to it the right amount of logic, reality and lesser melodrama, Raees entertains at the right places, giving a worthy ride for the audience. I have clapped, cheered and cried all 3 times. But the movie has given me something much more than just entertainment. Social Media is raving about the entertainment and the masala factor of the movie, so I will not talk about it.
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Raees has been the first film in many years which I have watched more than 3 times now. And that is not just because I am a SRK fan. It has struck some chord inside me. I came out of the theater in a daze every single time. With the feeling in my heart, "Aur ek baar dekhna toh banta hai."
Here is why you should watch Raees more than once :
Raees is an experience that washes over you, taking you along with it. You flow with it, tightly gripped and enthralled. Rahul Dholakia's characterizations and the thought behind the nuances in the story line are what kept me coming back again.
Nawazuddin Siddiqui's Majmudar is a darling. He is the only character in the film who has no qualms about taking one straight side. All the other characters may skip from good to bad, depending on their intentions. But the ruthless goodness of Majmudar, brings chills. To say that Nawazuddin has owned the character will be an understatement. He is phenomenal as usual.
But it's the characterization and execution of Raees Alam, is what stayed with me. A lot of thought has gone into making the human elements come out from behind the larger than life persona and swag of Raees. Shah Rukh Khan holds you firmly by the collar and takes you behind the kohled eyes, right to his heart. His performance is by far one of his best.
The pinnacle scene is no doubt the one in the police van between Shah Rukh Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui, which leads to the gripping end. But apart from that there were some small scenes that touched me like none other.
One of the best scenes by far is when Raees breaks down crying. The crying scene is so unlike SRK the star. We have seen him crying in so many different roles. But this scene is extremely human and real. No melodrama. I actually felt uncomfortable, as if I was prying on a very private moment of a human being.
The other scene was when you can see the life go out of his eyes at the end, before he falls. I will not talk much about it as it will give out spoilers. But that is a scene which will grip you bad.
I can go on and on about many such scenes but again, spoilers.
What I Took Back From Raees :
I was initially very skeptical about the glamorizing of a dark character by someone who himself has millions in following. Also SRK's penchant for making any character likable was a solid risk for this. But it did not glamourize crime for me at all. If anything, I will think more than twice before making any decision for the fear of making a deal with the devil.
The character of Raees has been very interesting. He is somehow stuck into the 8 year old's philosophies of looking at the world of good and bad. His intentions are always good. But he is human enough to fall prey to the evils of ego, anger, self preservation and fear. He is human enough to make the deal with the devil when all seems lost. It takes him a huge bolt to come to the realization of his actions, and where he went wrong in the mathematics of life and choices.
The journey is about him coming to terms with the fact that a good deed does not negate the bad. Both add up. And both have their own consequences and rewards. He reaps the rewards of the good most of his life. But then at a point the bad catches up. And there is no escape from that. In trying to get away from that, we often look up for desperate measures, even making a deal with the devil on the way. And that deal is always a "Ghaate ki deal".
There is always an unethical shortcut to your destination. One can cash in and reach great heights with the cunning, daring and lower qualms about ethics. But in that scenario, there is always somebody who is more evil, with lesser qualms, waiting to cut you off.
And when the piper comes collecting, you have no choice but to submit to the consequences. Raees is about owning up to the consequences, once the mind is clear about where he stands in the bigger picture of good and bad. Raees is about this strength. Raees is about making human mistakes, but Raees is also about owning up and making amends in the right way for the mistakes.
In a world where we are busy looking for shortcuts and easy success, Raees comes as a huge learning experience. The makers may or may not have intended it this way, but I definitely take this back home with me.
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