By Murtaza Ali Khan
Raabta, directed by Dinesh
Vijan, stars Sushant Singh Rajput, Kriti Sanon and Jim Sarbh are in the lead
roles. The romantic thriller that’s co-produced by Bhushan Kumar, Homi
Adajania, and Vijan himself. Raabta is the latest chapter in Bollywood’s long tradition
of reincarnation tales such as Milan (1967), Mehbooba (1976), Karz (1980), Karan
Arjun (1995), and Om Shanti Om (2007). Raabta features a cameo appearance from
the Nation Award-winning actor Rajkummar Rao who plays the part of a 324-year-old
soothsayer.
Raabta has been in news for
months now, long before its trailer was released, with reports of a burgeoning
affair between Sushant Singh Rajput and Kriti Sanon doing rounds in the gossip
columns. Raabta got engulfed in a major controversy following the launch of its
trailer with the makers of the Telugu film Magadheera pressing plagiarism
charges against the film. However, the charges were later withdrawn after an
out-of-court settlement was reached between the two parties. Raabta features an item number performed by Deepika
Padukone who has previously worked in Adajania’s films like Cocktail and
Finding Fanny.
Raabta can best be described
as a bizarre cinematic mishmash. And that’s mainly because the movie has both
commercial and experimental elements. But that’s quite expected with the likes
of Adajania and Vijan on board. Raabta is an ambitious venture and no wonder
the project was marred by production delays. Let’s first look at the movie’s
plus points. The movie’s production value appears to be reasonably high and
deservedly so. The Budapest scenes are well shot and go really well with the
movie’s modern feel. Also, the editing is quite neat, ensuring that the two
stories—both the present day as well as the reincarnation one—are well tied
together.
The first half of Raabta has
all the makings of a solid rom-com. Yes, it makes for an alluring boy meets
girl story. The guy is a flirtatious Punjabi banker (though, we never really get
to see him at work) working in Budapest, Hungary. And we have a pretty but
rather reserved girl of Indian origin running a confectionary shop in Budapest.
They meet and it is love at first sight. Well, almost! The girl keeps having
these weird dreams but is unable to ravel the mystery behind them. She, however,
begins to feel better once she starts seeing him.
Remember, these are modern
Indians living in a European country. So they sleep together even before
getting committed to one another. We soon find out that the girl already has a boyfriend.
But the guy is determined and he succeeds in winning her over. Wait, before you
start guessing what’s coming next. Rest
assured, there are no parent issues here. After all, this is not the ‘90s and
the days of DDLJ are long gone. This is more like a rehash of the Tamasha and
Befikre.
But unlike those two films
we have a reincarnation angle here. As you would have guessed it by now, the
two were lovers in their previous lives (centuries ago) as well but someone
prevented them from consummating their love and so they are reborn to unite
once again. But there is a twist in the tale. For the villain from their
earlier lives too has returned. And, he is stronger than ever. The movie’s
second half takes us back in time as we get to witness what had actually happened
centuries ago to these three individuals.
The flashback scenes look
lavish and succeed in giving a nice period touch. They seem somewhat by inspired
by the Baahubali saga. But the problem here is with conviction. Most viewers would
find it a bit difficult to digest. The contrast between the two tales is quite stark
and although the editing does a good job of weaving them together one wonders
how much of it would get accepted. Instead of the clichéd reincarnation angle,
this could very well have been two parallel stories, more like Love Aaj Aur
Kal.
Sushant Singh Rajput is a
talented actor and here he seems to have a done a Ranveer Singh better than Ranveer
Singh himself. In the period scenes he exudes a different intensity all
together, playing the part of a ferocious warrior transfixed by a woman’s earthy
beauty. As for Kriti Sanon, she looks prettier than ever and may remind some of
a young Raveena Tandon. One of the strong points of Raabta is Jim Sarbh’s
performance (remember the cranky terrorist in Neerja?). He is an actor to watch
out for. While Raabta has its moments it doesn’t really offer anything that we
haven’t already seen. Also, beyond a point, it gets too difficult to
digest.
Rating: 5/10
A version of this review was first published in Wittyfeed.
Readers, please feel free to share your opinion by leaving your comments. As always your valuable thoughts are highly appreciated!
Readers, please feel free to share your opinion by leaving your comments. As always your valuable thoughts are highly appreciated!
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