User reviews

I think people downrating it comparing it to Raazi are misguided. The overall story is much more complex than Raazi. I do think that it could have done with more deft execution but I didn't find it as slow as websites are saying. Reviews by media houses are pathologically biased because the movie is based on a nationalistic theme. Its definitely not a bore and is pretty intense especially in the second half. It's not overtly jingoistic and maintains a good realistic tone. Infact, the conclusion is much better than Raazi. I felt that the story with Mouni Roy could have been done away with. The true surprise is Jackie Shroff. He's a complete show stealer. Overall its a solid 8 from me.

Nature of the film is diffrent than others its a good film good direction and cinematography John Abraham's performance is damn good.except the laging of first half the film gives a superb second half and a mindich blowing climax.in the secind half lots of twists and turns there overall good film worth to watch

Romeo Akbar Walter is a thriller movie directed by Robbie Grewal and stars John Abraham, Jackie Shroff, Mouni Roy, Sikandar Kher, Raghubir Yadav, Rajesh Shringpure and Alka Amin.

There have been lots of negative and probably biased reviews by the critics but the movie of not perfect but a great thriller. The best part of the movie is the climax and the meaningful dialogues.

John Abraham has been doing such movies quite recently and did his this job with utmost perfection and honesty. Jackie Shroff is already a legend and knows how to do his job with perfection and played his character like Mozart playing piano. Mouni Roy was surprisingly good. Alka Amin and Raghubir yadav are another bunch of talent and were great in their respective characters. Sikandar Kher and Shadaab Khan came onscreen after a long time and were good.

Although the movie is slightly predictable but the way it's executed should be appreciated. The screenplay is tight although romantic angle could've been avoided. Background music is good.

If you are planning to watch the movie kindly ignore the negative reviews and watch this good if not great movie.

Raazi was praised because an Indian 'woman' spy 'marries' a 'Pakistani' and reporting to India. Nothing else. Oh, a woman could do this. She did that. Oh, how courageous. It's more of a woman-centered film than a patriotic film. That's where Romeo Akbar Walter aka RAW differs.

RAW is very simple and cliche from the beginning scene. There is nothing interesting nor anything different in the film. It will take a lot of patience to sit through the film unless cliche is OK. It isn't boring at any point though nor is it over the top in any scene. But the last 20 minutes and the last 10 minutes are worth the entire film. The climax is beautiful and painful at the same time. It so much reminded me the pain of the character(s) in the film '1971' starring Manoj Bajpai (which probably is the best film on 'Indians in Pakistani soil')

Do give this a watch. It's worth it (and if you haven't watched '1971', oh please do watch that too - a well written film).

Movie is a decent one time watch with few good surprises and the ending though bit predictable, is very beautifully executed. John is almost good in his role, only problem with him was he wasnt able to showcase all emotions properly, one such example of such role would be of Leonardo decaprio in The Departed, he would actually show his real self once he is alone and audience will get familiar with him. Here john remains a silent person throughout the movie which sort of looked like a shortcoming on his character part. Rest cast was ok. Surprises were good but still it lacked the sharpness possessed by Raazi. Overall again it can be said, its a decent one time watch, because Bollywood makes great peaces of crap and this flick surely is among good attempts towards better cinema. one time only

I'm astonished at two things. 1) This well made, riveting espionage thriller. 2) How low can the paid media and biased reviewers can stoop down to negatively project the movie for no reason. There is nothing political or jingoistic about this movie but the right amount of patriotism, good story-telling, cinematography, direction and awesome twist! this movie is based on true events/inspired by the story of the RAW agent Ravindra Kaushik (aka Black Tiger) but not exactly his story. However, this is tribute to all those unsung heroes who sacrifice everything in order to protect the Motherland from inside the enemy territories. John Abraham did well, Jackie Shroff was pretty good, Sikander Kher was good and the others performed decent too. The movie could use better editing and handling of some loopholes but it's still a realistic and pretty good watch. Somehow I liked it even more than Raazi. So don't listen to the negative reviews and watch it yourself. Some people are giving it low ratings purposely because perhaps they still can't digest the truth about 1971 Bangladesh liberation war/Indo-Pak war.

First thing first, RAW - Romeo Akbar Walter is a slow burner and demands your patience for a good amount of the first hour. And once you blend in, it's a highly engaging and interesting spy drama.

Based in 1971, RAW - Romeo Akbar Walter is about a banker Rehmat Ali aka Romeo, who is chosen by the RAW chief (Jackie Shroff) to be an Indian spy in Pakistan.

Romeo takes the identity of Akbar Malik and migrates to Pakistan. The rest of the movie is about how Akbar helped India during the period that led to the 1971 war and his journey to becoming Walter.

The first half, in particular, is quite dawdling and takes its own time for the setup and build up. For the first hour, you might feel that nothing's really happening and many scenes may seem unnecesary, but by the end of the film, it all makes sense. The writing is good. The screenplay is uneven.

Sonu Nigam's Vande Mataram song is good.

John Abraham has performed well. Playing a spy.

RAW would have been a great film if not for its extremely slow pace in the first half and a run time which is almost two and a half hour,, but The last act makes a film.

You can have flaws, problems, but wow them in the end, and you've got a hit." Romeo Akbar Walter falls in that category..!

Good movie could have been a little faster and therefore used the spare time for further character and plot development.

Forgiving plotholes, the film has good storyline and decent twists. Sikander Kher looks most realistic with his Pakistani accent. I wish other actors did that too.

However, narration is too slow for most part and the tension doesn't quite build up like in the similar spy movie Raazi.

It's a fantastic movie with great screenplay it's not typical bollywood it's par with Hollywood real drama it's slow but it's super script which need to be understand with every scene which are above average human understanding limits which is why its intelligence people movie

We have had some patriotic films in recent time, some of them were thrillers, some were inspiring and some were patriotic juggernauts. RAW doesn't really fit in any of these categories because it has it's own separate league. RAW is an attempt to give a grand Salute to some untold and unknown hardcore patriots who gave up thier entire life, sacrificed all they have for the nation but never got deserving recognisation. Although as a film it lacks the Quality, that Patriotism feel doesn't let it end on a disappointing note.

Romeo Akbar Walter is a tale of Romeo Ali (John Abraham) who had a dream to work for the nation just like his father but his mother doesn't allow him. After Becoming a Banker and living a regular life, he was chosen by RAW Chief (Jackie Shroff) to work as an Undercover RAW Agent. Later, he gets caught by Pakistan Government and how he manages to find his way on his own all these Interesting chapters are put in with perfect balance in this narrative. At some moments film looks so bad but later we get answers of all the queries but still that Useless Love Interest chapter irritates. RAW is thriller with less commercial elements which needs to be told without any other filmy elements but sadly Makers didn't realise that. Music, Love Interest, Family Drama and some other things are added uselessly.

Director with a straight forward vision could have made it a much a better film but fails. John Abraham finally gets a perfect role to explore an actor in him, except him nobody from the cast impresses. Overall, RAW can be watched once to know some unknown and untold stories of National Heroes who never got the fame and recognisation. Some may call it a dull film, some may call it a useless attempt but as a Citizen of India we all must realise that this stories like these needs to be told, otherwise we get useless Masala scrips every friday.

RATING- 6/10*

As I was going the reviews of John Abraham's RAW (Romeo Akbar Walter) which were harsh and some even compared it to Meghna Gulzar directed and Alia Bhatt starrer Raazi, I was notexpecting much from the spy-thriller. But I was wrong ...

We get to see the real heroes only through some newspaper articles or media who fought for their country, sacrificed their family and could not even return back to their motherland. RAW (Romeo Akbar Walter) speaks the true events of making of a spy and the hardship and struggle these war machines go through.

Directed by Robbie Grewal (Samay, Mera Pehla Pehla Pyaar and Aloo Chaat), RAW is partly based on the life of Indian spy, Ravindra Kaushik, who was also called "Black Tiger" due to his dedication towards serving India. The film starts off with slowly and in first hour, the story moves at a snail pace. The momentum picks up later and the plot makes it interesting with eye-popping scenes. The second half is where the actual drama unfolds and the climax makes it even a better watch. Few scenes will catch your attention - John Abraham trying to put in a microphone in the telephone of Isaq Afridi before he arrives at his office, the interrogation scene of John Abraham by Pakistani force, the last talk between John Abraham and Jackie Shroff followed by a good twist. The tactics used for spying - chit kept in an fruit, passing information to beggar through a piece of paper or even the lighter used were some of the good work.

Romeo Akbar Walter does suffer from inconsistent screenplay, loose editing and weak music. The plot was well-planned but the execution was slow. Nevertheless the background score that builds tension along with fine cinematography works well. There was no scope of music in this kind of film and the chemistry between Mouni Roy and John Abraham was just about okay.

Coming to the performances, John Abraham does better than his previous films - Rocky Handsome, Parmanu and Satyameve Jayate but still can improve. Jackie Shroff does well and so does Mouni Roy.

On the whole, I found RAW to be interesting which was different from what I have seen before 3/5

Yup, John carries it all the way, but doesnt put up a show. The good part of this movie is it doesnt try to be something it is not. No posing or exceptional stunts by John. Does what he does as a trained operative under circumstance. Plot pacing is fine, some angles seem unnecessary. The female lead appears to be there just for.......the sake of being there. Ddnt add much value. The end did appear a bit exaggerated. All said and done, core action and thrills, worth a watch.

My Rating : 7/10

Puts 'Raazi' to shame - though both are equally good and share similar traits of 'undercover' protagonists on a mission.

Has a nice slow-burn feel to it - the movie is simplistic yet engaging and not over-the-top.

Overall, if you're a fan of nationalistic/thriller films 'Romeo Akbar Walter' does it's job well and is well-executed. Thumbs up!

When I saw Raazi, I really loved it. Probably for the first time a movie showcased an agent in such a way that people could actually sympathize with them, as until then the movies showcased them as kind of killing machines who don't blink an eye before murdering/torturing anyone. RAW also falls into same zone, but because of some brilliant twists, ends up being better. Raazi too had twists but somehow the twists in RAW manage to shock you more. Also the culmination to the story in RAW was much more gratifying than in Raazi. Somehow I was irritated by Alia Bhatt crying "Mujhe ghar jaana hai" in the climax scene of Raazi. John Abraham's character gave bigger sacrifice in RAW and still turned out to be much stronger in the end. When you will watch the movie you will definitely understand what I mean to say. It is this aspect of this movie which actually takes it ahead of Raazi in the end in my opinion. Many people have rated it low because Raazi released earlier and RAW was similar to Raazi. So, the novelty in RAW can't be felt while watching RAW after watching Raazi. However, as a standalone movie, it is fantastic and in case you still compare it with Raazi, this movie comes out better because of much better climax and superb twists. It's a must watch for thriller lovers.

Brief Synopsis: Set in the backdrop of the 1971 Bangladesh war, RAW tells the story of Romeo (John Abraham), a bank cashier who is hired by RAW to infiltrate into Pakistan and pass on covert information to them. What happens when the cover of the blue eyed boy of RAW is blown? Is he disowned by his own people? Is he just treated as a pawn in the bigger scheme of things? Does he become a liability to his own government, someone who is easily dispensable? This forms the rest of the plot.

Review: John Abraham as the master of disguise (Romeo, Akbar and Walter) gets into the character with ease, displaying various emotions like fear when he is first recruited by RAW; angst, when he is disowned by his own when his cover is blown & presence of mind when he is confronted with difficult situations while trying to spy on Paki officials with ease. Really the Ace in the pack of cards.

Sikandar Kher, as Col Khan from the ISI does a great job as a sadist who enjoys pulling out peoples nails as a part of the third degree torture while humming a sweet song. Jackie as the RAW chief Srikant Rai gives a restrained performance and is one of the strongest links which binds the film together.

Rest of the cast like Raghuvir Yadav, Suchitra Krishnamurthy, Mouni Roy have also done a decent job with their small but well etched out characters.

Why is the film not as gripping as Raazi?

Though a decent one time watch & despite dwelling in the same genre as Raazi which was an awesome film to say the least, RAW falters a bit with its lack of past paced action owing to the slow narrative inspite of a stellar cast. This is unfortunately what brings the film down by a notch when compared to Raazi which had all of the above.

There is a twist in the tale at the climax but it is so far-fetched that probably even the popping out of Jim Carrey's eyes in the film MASK would seem normal to most.

But to cut the makers some slack, RAW has its moments, though not enough to keep the audiences glued to their seats (I was yawning a bit in the first half due to the slow narrative). The length of the film should have been reduced by 15-20 mins.

Verdict: A one time watch, not bad yet not too gripping for a film in this genre. I would ideally give it 6.5 stars out of 10 ......but am tempted to add half a star more for the effort put in by the makers. Watch it in the theatres without raising the bar too high and you won't be disappointed.

Guys, a great watch I must say. I like the story and the direction, it will keep you on the edge with every scene. End is a twist

Movie starts slow, but picks up later. Too much is wasted in set-up. I found myself yawning in the start of the film. Film is not a crispier like Raazi.

The movie takes a sauce from the life of Ravindra Kaushik I guess.

I would suggest all of you after watching this movie, please read the actual HISTORY of 1971 war between Pakistan and Bangladesh. Then you will be able to understand what actually happened. Thank you.

Its a nice movie and good thriller. recommended based on india and pakistan war during 1971.

The first halfh is slow paced and lightly boring but the second half grips the movie..story is very good..acting is also very good..

Not sure about the other reviews but I think it was definitely a good script, good acting. Worth 8 stars.