Raees Movie Reviews

Nawazuddin Redeems This Flawed Saga Of Gangsterism…

Watch Raees for Shah Rukh Khan. Watch Raees for Nawazuddin Siddiqui. Watch Raees for Rahul Dholakia. But most of all, watch Raees for Raees.

Overall, Raees makes for an engaging cinematic experience that takes a departure from the recent films of Shah Rukh Khan. Although Raees does hark back to some of SRK’s early films, it is quite unique in its own right. The film is both raw and gritty and succeeds in transporting us back to the Gujarat of the 1980s.

A good story well narrated but stumbles at points when the director seemed to be under pressure to present Raees as larger than life. But the overall tone of the film is honest and in a way as gutsy as Raees himself, as it questions the logic behind the alcohol prohibition in the state.

Raees is a paisa-wasool entertainer for massy Bollywood fans!

The movie can feel a bit long, but if you’re going for a great Shah Rukh performance and some good ol’ popcorn-entertainment, it might just ‘raees’ to the occasion.

The filmmaker’s flourishes along with the actors’ rich performances could prove to be worth your ticket money. However, the film still walks a tight rope on morality. Add to that the political atmosphere where religion and economics are often mixed up, and you’ll begin to observe that the tight-rope walk is held on top of burning embers. Whether the rope-walker walks the rope or falls to be burnt really depends on the viewer. All we can tell you is it’s a, well, perplexing trick.

As a throwback to those thrilling gangster films from the 70s, many starring Amitabh Bachchan and scripted by Salim-Javed, Raees delivers ample bang for your buck.

Shah Rukh Khan Is On Top Of His Game, Nawazuddin Siddiqui Snaps At His Heels…Shah Rukh Khan shrugs off his defining starry mannerisms, embraces physical attributes and accessories designed to convey an air of to-hell-with-the-world insouciance

. While the story and ideas aren’t all new or refreshing, Raees’ big play comes from its nostalgic treatment. This is a film for SRK fans and those who’ve grown up on a staple fare of Hindi pot boilers. Heroes, action, dialogue, romance and music this one has the whole jingbang.

This underworld drama is so over-packed with material that either 148 minutes of this film will seem too long to you, which it is; or in fact, far too short to patiently absorb the story of the rise and fall of an Ahmedabadi bootlegger don — without the audience feeling slightly hung-over by a breathless narrative-overload.

A dogged cop wants to catch and disable Raees’ operations, but Raees outsmarts him every single time, until in a 70’s style end with guns and alcohol and politics… It’s a welcome turn for Shah Rukh into an action hero and a great platform for the ever cool Nawazuddin Siddiqui.

If you are a SRK fan, you definitely will enjoy it. If you are looking for variety from SRK, here is it.

Overall, Raees is a well made film that would appeal to the masses.

Give this film a shot. While it doesn’t make you pop the bubbly, it does have some fizz and sparkle to keep you satiated.

Shah Rukh Khan manages to break through in some scenes but this film belongs to Nawazuddin Siddiqui who is having the time of his life.

While SRK is a brand in himself, and a big one at that, it would have helped the film’s creative — not box office — cause to have the courage of its conviction and not turn Raees into the story of a whimpering, secular, sanskari gangster.

Far better films have been made on crime in the 80s. There is nothing special about Raees. But if you’re a Shah Rukh fan, go for it.

Surprisingly, RAEES (meaning rich) is not just a GARIB (poor/average) film it’s GARIB in its entertainment quotient as well.

As a movie, Raees is definitely a letdown especially for those who expect a Deewar-like dhamakedaar masala movie. Fans of Shah Rukh Khan might give the movie its huge initial but don’t expect the road ahead to be a smooth ride. And warning for all superstars – acting with Nawazuddin Siddiqui is injurious to your own dramatic talents – he can steal your glory right from under your nose.

To point out that the film is unoriginal is futile. Besides blaming the convoluted writing of the film, its forgettable songs at regular intervals hardly makes a strong case for it. Its fabulous dialogues are a handful in number and doesn’t have the punch, one may have hoped for.

…the problem is fundamental: the writing is shoddy and unoriginal. And by the time it wades into certain true events, it is left with too little time and meaning. Raees perhaps works only as an SRK showcase. But we’ve seen many of those already.

‘Raees’ is certainly a one time watch but don’t expect the unexpected at all. If you are seeking a plot with enough twists then you will be disappointed. It’s just the run-of-the-mill ‘chor-police’ chase, which you must have seen infinite times in the past. Strongly recommended for Shah Rukh Khan fans. P.S. ‘Raees’ is a slightly better film than ‘Dilwale’ and ‘Fan’.

Shah Rukh Khan is the star but you’ll cheer more for Nawazuddin Siddiqui…

Watch Raees only if you are a big Shah Rukh Khan fan. 

Raees will turn out to be a comfortable winner at the ticket windows. Despite a routine story, it has a lot of masala for the audience to keep them satisfied. Business in the first five-day weekend will be phenomenal. Single-screen cinemas will see surging crowds of the kind not seen too often these days.

Watch Raees for Nawaz and SRK. Their solo scenes are great but their interactions are delectable. Nawaz brings pleasant proportions of comic relief. The dialogs of Raees are going to stay with people for a long time. If you are a Bollywood masala fan, do not miss this.

“Raees” follows the 70s gangster film formula to the T, complete with the honest police officer who will stop at nothing to capture his nemesis, the perfunctory romance, and the final redemption that makes the audience root for the flawed hero.

Khan isn’t as bold here as he was in Fan, but this isn’t a greatest-hits package either, like his turn in Dear Zindagi. Perhaps realising that audiences would expect him to do Tony Montana, he gives them his version of Warren Beatty as Bugsy Siegel: ingenious, unflappable. Yet, because Khan holds so much in reserve, Raees remains a cipher. To borrow an old theatrical aphorism, he plays the king as if afraid someone else might play the ace.

If you are in the mood to watch an intense Shahrukh Khan doing some hard-core ‘dishoom-dishoom’ and mouthing dialogues like ‘Din Aur Raat Logon Ke Hotein Hai, Sheron Ka Zamaana Hota Hai’, then Raees might be your pick for this week. But don’t blame us if you end up loving Nawaz a little more than King Khan! JUST LIKE US!  

The movie’s philosophy is best summed up not in the line “Baniye ka dimaag aur miyan bhai ki daring”, but in the observation that where there are restrictions, there will be rebellion. Raees’s resistance is conventional, but the movie’s slyness and lack of moralising are off the books, like the liquor.