Raman Raghav 2.0

This movie is above Bollywood standard. Anurag kashyap,Just Because of this guy,I was sure this movie can not be just ordinary.

Siddiqui is at his best. Vicky also did his job very well. Hope we get to see this guy getting more movies. Other actors also performed well.

The whole movie has been crafted so beautifully. Screenplay,direction,Script everything are in sync. Music is also very good.Transition between scenes could have been improved.but still it is far better than typical Bollywood movies

Hope we get to see these type of movies in Bollywood's as much as possible.

Anurag Kashyap has always been the one who experiments a lot with his movies. Watching his movies, you hate what is happening but love the movie at the same time. Raman Raghav was also a roller coaster ride.

This movie is like a book with different chapters dealing with different situations and characters. It displays emotions like never seen before. Each scene says something, nothing is redundant or useless.

No one in the movie performed below my satisfaction level. All the new actors gave amazing support to the main characters, who were Raman and Raghav. Nawazuddin Siddiqui has achieved a special place in my heart now. He is doing wonders. It looks like he understood exactly the thought process of the cinematographer, the essence of the story and the dream of the director.

But most of all, I like the way it ended. It is really an example of unconventional cinema.

Even though when I went to watch the movie, the theater was almost empty, whatever 15-20 people that were present knew exactly what they signed up for and its theme and tone. Those who are complaining that the movie was too dark or gory, next time you should probably watch the trailer before going to watch the movie. This movie was one of the most powerful by Bollywood in 5-10 years. It was jam packed with Powerful dialogues, excellent background score and mind blowing acting and direction. I am a big fan of Anurag Kashyap movies and I will put this at the top. It was as dark as Requiem for a Dream if not more. If someone doesn't like this movie, I know he/she is eager to watch Sultan or F&F 8 because you deserve that kind of movies only.

One is a corrupt drug addicted cop Raghav(played by Vicky Kaushal). The other is a homeless and jobless man Raman(played by the excellent actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui) who has spent a longtime as a wanderer.

These two eventually collide and that is the real climax of this film. You should should know that Raman Raghav was notorious serial killer who operated in Mumbai during the late 1960s. He was caught by a massive manhunt operation. He was given a life sentence and subsequently died in 1995 due to kidney failure at Sassoon Hospital.

Do not confuse Raman Raghav with another serial called The Patthar Maar(literally means a man who kills by dropping as stone on a person's head). This serial killer operated in the years 1985-1987 was thought to have been caught, escaped, and was never heard of again. A movie was made, The Stoneman Murders (2009), loosely based on the Patthar Maar killer, starring the versatile actor Kay Kay Menon and directed by veteran director Manish Gupta.

Back to the film. The film starts in a disco joint, where Raghav is having fun with his girlfriend and is highly intoxicated on alcohol and drugs. Afterwards Raghav leaves with his girl in his car to their next stop which is supposed to be the guy who supplies Raghav with his addiction.

We then witness a murder. Raghav's drug supplier is killed. We don't know who has committed the deed. It will be revealed towards the end of the film. Next day a consort of policemen arrive at the murder scene to begin the investigation. Next, we see Raman sitting outside a police station, waiting for an opportunity to confess to a string murders that he has committed. One of the detectives listening to the interrogation is Raghav. As soon as Raman sets his eyes on Raghav, he knows his destiny.

The interrogaters think that Raman is lying to get media publicity, and so thrash him soundly and lock him up in an abandoned area. However he soon escapes later on, when some loafers hear his cries and release him by breaking the lock of his cell. After he leaves, the film really starts...

This film has intense scenes of violence that I feel that no one under the age of 18 should see. Also it shows how Western culture have corrupted the morals of people in India. We see Raghav having depraved sex with a woman who deeply loves him and wants to take care of him. She also wants to marry him and have a child. However Raghav is so drug addicted and has such lack of morals that he often threatens or beats her.

We begin to see eventually that Raghav is no better then Raman, and in a few instances we see that Raman is actually seeking redemption for his crimes. See the film to find out what happens next...

This film directed by the acclaimed director Anurag Singh Kashyap who has won the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters) in 2013.

More films you may like: Hatya(1988), 100 Days (1991 film), Tarkieb(2000), Rahasya (2015) and Talvar (2015).

Thank you for taking the time to read this review. May you live long and prosper.

Raman Raghav 2.0 is absolutely brilliant. Nawazuddin Siddiqui brings out his A-game as a creepy and scary psychopath. Both the leads, Nawaz as the unhinged serial killer and Vicky Kaushal as a drug addicted misogynist cop aren't likable and aren't supposed to be. There is no character you can root for but the film manages with great effect for you to root for the story to play out.

This film has incredibly tense scenes crafted fantastically. It feels often like a horror film creating an uneasy feeling of dread as to what will happen. Most of the grotesque violence happens off screen which leaves most of the gory details to our imagination.

The use of seemingly inappropriate music at times works very well. The camera work, editing and screenplay is fantastic. This is one of the best Indian thrillers made. By far my favourite film of 2016.

9/10