with this daring surma in his eyes and baniye ka dimaagh of his beautiful mind. Raees hooked me.
on my way i had flashbacks of the God father, Scarface (Obviously the Al Pacino effect) and All those old Hindi movies my mother and i used to watch on Thursday nights in our VCR, clap and whistle to all its surreal action that was totally unbelievable yet we bought them! then the moment came and Raees started narrating the story of a young boy who discovered he is shortsighted and largehearted.
Raees tells the story of the bootlegger in a small town in Gujarat who made his way to Don the area and Corleone his opponents in a treat to watch Dhingana . We have the good cup Majumdar who is played by the magnificent Nawazuddin siddiqui who takes it to his heart that he will get Raees no matter what. a very subtle relationship grows between both of them almost a love story which to me was refreshing and interesting reminding us of Tom and Jerry in a way, both hating each other and yet don't leave each other alone as He himself said in a brilliant scene.
The philosophy of belief, be it in whatever work one does or even in whatever faith one follows is the drive of this film. Raees believes after his mother's teachings that work no matter how small it is or big is important and Majumdar also believes that every work should be legal to be important, he also believes in doing his job the way it should be.
It is all about belief. faith which place is the heart. Raees has that heart, it is easy to hate a killer and feel happy when justice prevails and good wins over evil but that was not the case with Raees. at least to me. it wasn't empathy either, i just felt immense admiration and full understanding, may be a lil love to this character, not because Shah Rukh Khan sexily portrayed him, but Raees has this quality, u can't hate him! in my at the moment gangster mind i cheered when he fired those who wanted to kill him or took his revenge from his betraying enemies. twisted much? may be but i respected Raees. there i said it! sue me!
It is a dangerous thing to find in yourself a space to justify taking out souls or illegal business but i think somehow it opens the gates of humanity in our modern prejudiced souls. it reminds us that every saint has a past but every sinner has a future, Raees is too much human in that sense.
Pure art Shah Rukh Khan scenes, his facial turns, muscles bursts, emotional details. a volcano of his talent erupted especially with himself. i felt a certain fine line of light there, like a revelation between the giving actor and his greedy character. a larger than even his king size life portrait it is indeed.
His love story with Aasiya came naturally breed in the tune of the film, his relationship with his best friend sadiq (pun intended), people of his area, how he helped them when they needed there are some Robin Hood moments that really touched my heart.
Raees is not just a masala movie but i got so much intrigued with its message and philosophy. He was not victimizing himself, he took responsibility of his actions, a thread of honesty that dragged those looks in the cop's eyes in their last National Award kinda confrontation scene.
I normally go to Shah Rukh Khan movies with all my love, extremely open to his entertainment and ready to absorb whatever his magical presence in the film floods, may be a lil biased or a lot but i do believe that he has a deep well of potential that should be kept in artistic use. so glad lately this had been the case. i don't count film fates with BO numbers of course like the platonic Utopian vagabond poet that i am but i know some films live forever, Raees is one. Raees is a deep layered character that nobody in this world could've give it justice but Shah Rukh Khan the Theater actor who redefined himself in the most epic way. I kept looking for him in his face that i know by heart, in his voice even in his walk! but he was no where to be found! I forgot i was watching Shah Rukh Khan and that happened with me only with Fan.
Dear Shah Rukh, i won't say that cliche of welcome back because to me you never leave, in every character u play, i find you but as an avid cinema lover, Raees is dominating! that much skill you have to completely un-skin yourself of your persona, that was a cheer bliss to watch! tells much about an actor of your caliber and it is not surprising.
The action scenes superbly directed and got me at the edge of my seat especially that fight in the meat place and the rooftop chase i know how hard it is with a broken patella to even walk properly but there you are jumping all over and dancing Gharba! painfully impressive.
Two years of hard work from all Raees Team paid off, Gotta salute Rahul Dholakia for carrying such a heavy weight film with so much confidence and Excel.
The Camera was a second heroine in Raees, The magician KU Manmohan Shots delivered charming beauty to every frame. it was real, raw, intense like what it was capturing on celluloid.
Achieving the crucial balance between the school of realism and the commercial popular masses cinema, Raees reached another level of finesse. as an audience it was engaging. another feather in the cap of this film makers.
Mahira Khan is totally filling her role, sublime performance and handled her screen presence with Shah Rukh Khan exceptionally well! being a crazy fangirl like we all are i can imagine how much hard that was. she is a true discovery for me in Raees and it is a true loss they can't work together again! a unique innocence about her, Aasiya is the soul of Raees and Mahira got that.
I saw him in Raanjhana and knew since that he is going to reach heights with his impressive presence
He shined in his meaty role with the king of acting. His dilse pathang will Udi Udi jaye highest from now on, The splendid Mohamed Zeeshan Ayyoub. i am rooting for you!
Nawazuddin Siddique is a bang on! as usual mastering his craft and adding to the usual role of the cop his unusual take. enjoyed the chase between him and Raees, their scenes together are the veins of the film. that sweets scene was fabulous, His quiet menacing tone is alluring, He is a great actor, knows his elements and renovating with every film, a stellar performance with SRK. and there you have that in writing too sir.
Can't forget the enchanting music by Ram Sampath, the sequence in Laila is nothing but scintillating! saanson ke took my breath away and i donno why Udi Udi Jaye grew on me after watching the film!
The pace is quite good, not one dull moment, lil slow post interval but picked up fast.
the script is well written and respectfully researched. writers team take a bow for the top notch dialogues. Up to speed editing i must say, the film flowed with consistency and much ease.
It was a roller coaster of brilliance, too emotional at the end though. I never hold my tears, but this time i was sobbing like a baby. it took me a while to calm down, a lot of walking and gratefully a good bunch of calories burnt.
Raees is a full entertainer with all vivid ingredients of a superhit with blockbuster written all over it.
but it touched me deeply and made me think. It stayed with me. i think it is the ultimate success of any creative action if it reached a spot in the audience and stays there. i will carry Raees in my heart for a while.
I just wonder my dear Shah Rukh, how many hours of rinsing did it take you to get this one off your skin?
From the seat of a viewer who got Raeesified on the 25th of January 2017
Rate: 100 stars
