Ashdoc's movie review---Raees

by ashdoc Thu Jan 26, 2017 12:46 pm

This film is said to have been made on an obscure ( obscure at least to me , though probably well known to local people ) Don from the Indian state of Gujarat named Abdul Latif , though the film makers have denied this .

Gujarat has prohibition implemented in it's territory , a legacy of being the birth place of Gandhi who was totally against alcohol . But the people of the state drink heartily , and this has led to the state becoming a place where illegal liquor selling is a business in itself .

Raees ( Shah Rukh Khan ) grows up helping an illegal liquor supplier , and later moves to another seller named Jayaraj ( Atul Kulkarni ) who uses his skills to move illegal liquor from one place to another . But when Raees tries to start his own business along with his friend Sadiq ( Mohammad Zeeshan Ayub ) , Jayaraj does not take it kindly . After some convoluted happenings involving a some real violence , Raees gets to become independent of Jayaraj . But the fortuitous manner in which he is saved from getting ruined by a bigger Don named Musa is not impressive .

Later Raaes gets a chance to show his own ingenuity . When he is fooled by a couple of politicians , Raees forms his own political party and outwits them . A particularly persistent police officer named Majmudar ( Nawazuddin Siddiqui ) however decides to target Raaes and a contest of wits between among the two .

Some of the dialogues of the film from the mouth of the two protagonists ( Raees and Majmudar ) are good , and remind of older action/crime films when dialogues from both the hero and villain ruled supreme . Raees rises higher and higher in Gujarat's criminal hierarchy while this is happening .

In the end however , crime does not pay . Raees is fooled into becoming a much bigger criminal than he thought and his career comes to an end . So he is not invincible and the aura that has been built around him in the film does not live upto it's hype . The 'baniye ka dimaag' ( brains of a sharp shopkeeper ) that he is supposed to have does not work when it is needed most .

The attempt towards the end to prove how fair minded he was sounds fake . If the film is based on a real life Don , then did he really decide not to escape to a foreign country when given the chance just because he was feeling guilty ? And was the real Don so clean that he kept himself away from terrorism ? Not believable . The attempt to prove how secular he was also sounds fake too .

Songs and photography are decent , and Shah Rukh Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui act decently too . But Mahira Khan is not good as Raees' wife , though she is extremely fair in colour . Sunny Leone is more enticing in her dance however . The film itself cannot be called a memorable film .

Verdict---okay .

Two and a half stars out of five .

by Guest Fri Jan 27, 2017 9:51 pm

liked the movie. good screenplay and dialogs, no useless dragging, and good characterizations, and overall good performances. some stories reminded of stuff seen growing up. nice to see SRK's leaner athletic body after watching super buffed aamir and salman khan in their recent movies. not to mention his and nawaz's acting.

Ashdoc's movie review---Raees

Ashdoc's movie review---Raees

Re: Ashdoc's movie review---Raees