Every Sharukh Khan release is an event in itself, RAAES is no different. Most of the characters the Khan had been portraying in the recent past have been disappointing to his fans
even the much admired Jahingar Khan of Hello Zindagi was not of much satisfaction due to the limited screen time. And now Raees is something his fans had been waiting and praying that it would tip the balance of fortune towards their much loved star
And yes
.from the word go, we know a masterpiece is unfolding on the screen. Though the story is not new..a rise and fall of a righteous don has been done to death in Bollywood from times immemorial, but what sets Raees apart is Sharukh Khan, his performance and the amazing screenplay.
Jaideep Majumdar (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) reminiscences his tryst with bootlegger Raees (Sharukh Khan) way back in the 90's. Raees story unfolds right from his childhood where he is touchy about his short sight (has to wear glasses) and people calling him "battery" due to this impairment. His Ammi (Sheeba Chaddha) is his greatest influence and her words "business is bigger than religion as long as it does not harm anyone" remains in his mind and starts working for a local don (Atul Kulkarni).
Raees once when he is old enough decides to start his own business and miffs the don and joins hands with a Mumbai don Moosa who funds Raees's bootlegging business.
Raees falls in love and gets married to Aasiya (Mahira Khan) and soon becomes a father. His rise disturbs the local don who tries killing Raees and fails and ends up getting killed by him.
Jaideep Majumdar, a honest police officer is hot on the trail of Raees and uses every method at his disposal to bring Raees down, but he is unsuccessful as Raees has the support of both the ruling and the opposition party.
But soon, Raees's ego makes him a commit one fatal error which turns things in favor of Majumdar
..
Sharukh is back to doing what he does best, hogging the screen time and also giving one of his career's best performances, his ire when called Battery, or when he is weeping away to glory in his wife's arms after a major setback or his astounding performance in the climax undoubtedly proves the crown is still his.
Mahira Khan performs well in what little screen time she has, as the only person who gets away after making fun of Raees's short sight. Wish she had more screen time.
Nawazuddin Siddiqui is wow as Jaideep Majumdar, the scenes involving him intimidating his superiors, or the several faceoffs with Raees showcase his talent.
Sunny Leone brings the house down with the peppy item LAILA and her tumka's are well synchronized to the beats
K U Mohanan's Cinematography captures rustic Gujrat at its best, the filters highlighting the era in which the film is based
Deepa Bhatia's editing ensures the movie does not drag and uses the scissors the right way in making the film crispy and entertaining.
Rahul Dholakia's direction is top notch and it is not a mean task handling two live wires Sharukh and Nawazuddin together, but he has managed to extract the best possible scenes involving both of them. He has also managed to recreate the 70-90's era with just the right touches
Watch it if you are a hardcore Sharukh khan and also if you have a major crush on Sunny Leone and also if you have been missing the wonderful action sequences of the 80's.
