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Raabta Movie Review A Confused Film Which Doesn't Establish A Balance Between Its Crossover Love Stories

Sushant Singh Rajput comes across as over confident on-screen, while Kriti Sanon fails to make her presence felt among the other two actors - Jim Sarbh & Singh!

Rating: 2/5 Stars (Two stars)

Star Cast: Sushant Singh Rajput, Kriti Sanon, Jim Sarbh, Rajkummar Rao, Varun Sharma and Nidhi Subbaiah

Director: Dinesh Vijan

What's Good: Sushant Singh Rajput and Kriti Sanon's chemistry is quite good for a first time pairing. The music works well for this film.

What's Bad: The cliched script leaves you bored. Also, the 300 inspired past scenes don't make much sense.

Loo Break: 2-3 would be good unless you're an any movie chalta hai' fanatic or a die-hard romantic.

Watch or Not?: Raabta unfortunately doesn't let us enjoy neither the present nor the past completely. It is a passable film.

User Rating:

Shiv (Sushant Singh Rajput) is the quintessential Delhi guy in a foreign country. (Remember Dharam from Befikre?). He is cocky, desperate bloke who meets Saira (Kriti Sanon) in Budapest and falls for her instantly. This happens when he is on a date with someone else and sees Saira in a patisserie. Wow! Doesn't that say quite a lot about his character.

Saira starts to reciprocate to Shiv's foolish antics soon and falls in love with him.

Then, of course, enters the third wheel to the story, Zak/Zakir Merchant (Jim Sarbh). A liquor baron who is obsessed with Saira and doesn't handle her rejection well. He is too rich to think about concepts like consent and hence kidnaps her to take her to a secluded island.

Soon, Saira starts thinking about how her bond with Shiv seems beyond the transcends of time and decades.

Then there are dreams and prophecies that take us to the past of these three characters. When the warrior falls in love with the brave princess, does their fate betray them? What is the connection between these three and what future beholds is left to see.

Raabta Review: Script Analysis

Personally, I feel that we are now way past a stage in Bollywood, to rely on scripts dealing with punar janam' unless, there's something really unseen in it.

Raabta comes across as a mishmash of a contemporary love story that suddenly changes to an unlikely twist of Game Of Thrones. While the makers try hard to change the whole angle of Rajamouli's Magadheera, it doesn't really get any better.

All three lead characters seem too archaic. While Saira gets a sad background of losing her parents in a car crash, nothing is established out of it. Shiv's character of a lady killer is unacceptable in terms of real-life but aren't they always celebrated on-screen as the macho men'? High time we change that!

Two stranger, meeting in a foreign country and instantly hitting it off reminds us of one of the most loved romantic films of all time, Before Sunrise, sadly the romance here, doesn't come close at all.

At best made for a younger crowd, who would enjoy the Tu' exchange between Shiv and Saira and awww' at their romantic moments because the mature audiences are certainly going to find this a futile mess.

Raabta Review: Star Performance

Sushant Singh Rajput comes across as over confident on-screen. While his character calls for that sort of a cockiness, he seems to go a notch overboard. There is a hint of overacting to most of his scenes. P.S: His six packs are totally awesome!

Kriti Sanon looks pretty but in terms of acting is quite average. She fails to make her presence felt among the other two actors.

Jim Sarbh has incredible intense looks but his poorly written character doesn't allow him to make his best. He creepily sings Ek Ladki Bheegi Bhaagi Si in between and that seems quite unforgettable a moment.

Rajkummar Rao is wasted in a role that has more make-up than impact.

Varun Sharma and Nidhi Subbaiah do a decent job as the supporting cast.

Deepika Padukone's song although unnecessary will appeal to many.

Raabta Review: Direction, Music

Raabta being Dinesh Vijan's directoial debut has been promoted extensively. The film has traces of resemblance to his previous productions like Cocktail, in terms of modern day relationship portrayal. While Vijan may think of himself to be a visionary director, the transition from present to past in this reincarnation story is not a seamless one.

The war scenes are highly inspired from Hollywood and I particularly wasn't impressed with his choice of costumes for it. It looked like a Roman back story with Hindi cinema cliches.

I particularly feel that the first half second half likability will be completely subjective since many may prefer the frothy romance over the warrior story and vice-versa.

Game Of Thrones fans will not be happy with the Dothraki' inspired Murakis in this film. They never learn the difference between copying and inspiration do they?

Background score works well and so does the music.

The cringeworthy climax seems like a poor rip off from Titanic.

At 2 hrs 38 minutes, it is a tiring film without any depth whatsoever.

Raabta Review: The Last Word

Raabta is a confused film that never establishes a firm balance between its crossover love stories. Give this one a miss! A 2/5 it is.

Raabta' film review: too much fantasy

The first half of the film is as old as the hills, the second is a bit confusing

Published: 15:31 June 8, 2017

Manjusha Radhakrishnan, Senior Reporter

It's a given that love stories that are born out of the dubious concept of re-incarnation need a suspension in belief.

But what makes Raabta stand out is that its protagonist, Sushant Singh Rajput, is in on the joke.

He plays Shiv, a charming bloke who is an ace at flirting with women. The Punjabi lad, who thinks he's a gift to women, meets Saira in Budapest and falls in love instantly. He's on a date, but that doesn't stop him from checking out another woman (an incredibly pretty Sanon) in a patisserie. Such inappropriate behaviour may signal creepy, toxic guy in real life, but in a Hindi film all's fair in love and lust.

Watch: The review of #Bollywood romantic thriller Raabta starring Sushant Singh Rajput, #KritiSanon and Jim Sarbh by Manjusha Radhakrishnan, senior reporter Gulf News tabloid.

Saira basks in all that attention and reciprocates it in full measure. The first half of the film is as old as the hills, but what makes it work is the crackling chemistry between the lead pair.

Rajput is perfectly cast as Shiv, who can make the cheesiest pickup lines look like great literature, and Sanon is a perfect foil. Both are pleasing to the eye and play off each other's lines well in a scenic European setting. Their amiable whirlwind romance and their physical attraction is sweetly explored in director Dinesh Vijan's film.

So far, so good. But it's the entry of the proverbial villain, played by Jim Sarbh, as an eccentric, wealthy liquor baron, that knocks you out cold. This actor, who played one of the hijackers in Neerja, is a rich cad who travels everywhere in his own helicopter. His character as a liquor magnate is so pretentious that it gives you a nasty hangover. Suddenly, this sweet romance morphs into a thriller about a crazy, obsessive lover who has never been introduced to the word consent when it comes to acting on his crush. Like a surly child denied a toy, he doesn't take to rejection well. So he does the next best thing take Saira prisoner against her will and whisk her off to his mansion on an island.

His character is blindingly archaic and Sarbh doesn't have the heft to make it convincing.

It's the 21st century, but his brutish, entitled behaviour may remind you of a stale Mills & Boons romance fiction.

Saira, who is grappling with a near fatal car accident that claimed her parents' life, is convinced that Shiv and she have a bond that transcends time. Unfortunately, the film doesn't explore her troubled, traumatic past, but goes on a re-incarnation tangent. The second half is dominated by a fierce, brutish warrior who falls in love with a brave princess. The medieval arc sticks out like a sore thumb. It's almost like seeing Game Of Thrones being inserted into the iconic, tender romance Before Sunrise.

It's the contemporary parts of the film that are relatively enjoyable. While you may wonder how a rich, eccentric man is allowed to roam free in Europe kidnapping women, the film doesn't bow down to logic. The climax which sees the lovers save the day is unintentionally funny, but the last scene puts a smile on your face. All that drama also makes you wonder how an unhinged man is allowed to flourish without any fear of authorities.

Raabta is at fantasy adventure flight risk.

Film: Raabta

Language: Hindi

Director: Dinesh Vijan

Rating: PG15

Cast: Sushant Singh Rajput, Kriti Sanon, Jim Sarbh and Rajkumar Rao