Raja Natwarlal Review: Good Performances in a Monotonous script!
Thumbs Up: Climax and the twist.
Thumbs Down: Bouts of boredom in some scenes, predictability.
Yawns: Quite a few
Raja is on route to being the Natwarlal of New India. The con man, who has a heart of gold, sets out to avenge the death of his brother-like con-friend, Raghav. And his idea of revenge is looting the kingpin, Mr. Vardha, who heads the resources. Sounds like some clichéd storyline lifted from any desi Bolly flick, doesn’t it?
With a very predictable storyline and decent performances, Raja Natwarlal is a film which now opens the doors to many con minds, who would try to pull off such big tricks up their sleeves and reinvent the whole fraudulent maneuvers.
If Special 26 was the story of Mithilesh Kumar Srivastava, the conman who made fool out of people like in a snap of his finger, then Raja Natwarlal, is the story of newage Mithilesh. Remembered as Natwarlal, Mithilesh Kumar seems to be an institution where people learn deception and fraud from. He is an epitome for the ruse-manicas and being trick-savvy is the only thing he is remembered for.
Emraan Hashmi, steps into the shoes of Raja, who was aspiring to be a Natwarlal in his own right, but his partner’s death, led him to save his life and bamboozle the man who was responsible for Raghav’s (Deepak Tijori) death. The man Raja sets eyes upon to con turns out to be very powerful and resourceful Mr. Vardha Yadav, played efficiently by Kay Kay Menon. Raja runs to seek help from Yogi, who is a man holding expertise in cheating people but is retired now. Played by Paresh Rawal, Yogi is retired but he has too many tricks up his sleeve.
What seemed like a set plan and classy prototype in the story, was in actuality just too much crisp and according to the plan. In Bollywood, whenever they try to pull off such trickery on the silver screen, they present to the viewers a fullproof plan that twisted and spoilt ultimately. But there is a twist in this con flick too. The makers though introduced a new twist toward the end, but then predictability is something they all seemed to overlook. Then again, the attempt even counts!
Star Performances:
Emraan Hashmi is capable of so much more and it can be my high expectations from the star that made his performance a tad bit not up to the mark. We have seen Emraan pull off much better and difficult roles with ultimate ease before. But Raja fails to leave a lasting impression. Even saying that, it is not to be mistaken that the star didn’t do what was given to him well. And yes for the Emraan Hashmi-the serial kisser fans, he did not fail to impress on that front.
An actor like Kay Kay Menon delivering performances with ultimate ease is what he does best. Vardha Yadav was cakewalk for a powerful actor like Kay Kay. Delivering just to the T, Kay Kay gave a decent performance. Not his best though, but certainly not his worst too. It lags somewhere in between.
With Paresh Rawal as the man who heads all and his brain knows full-well how to do the math and present a perfect plan, he did make us see what good actors can do to a film. His acting potential is a bounty and this was just a teaser of his expertise. Swiftly stepping into the character, Paresh did manage to put the audiences at ease.
Debutante Humaima Malik, is all pretty and arm-candy with a little work to do in the film. But she is breezy and attempted to be a break from the plot. By breaks I full well mean, singing a song, romancing Emraan Hashmi and doing a little girlfriend drama. This Malik from across the border is neither melodramatic nor wooden-faced and fits into the decent performance frame.
Technicalities:
Kunal Deshmukh’s helming was quite nice, but then again, we have seen him do so much much better. His prowess in terms of Jannat, Tum Mile, Kalyug and Zeher, we have witnessed and appreciated full well. But with Raja Natwarlal there seems something missing. With a few flaws in the script, very very predictable storyline, and an estimated twist, it all gave the story away. With such a talented cast, it seemed a waste of talent when you weigh it in accordance to the story.
On the music front, we did miss Pritam’s and Deshmukh’s duo, but Tamil composer Yuvan Shankar Raja has fared well too. Apart of a “Namak Paare” song, the man in terms of “Tere Hooke Rahengey” has given a good track.
Watch or Not:
It will not be one of those films that you will have to watch! No compulsion as such. You may or may not watch this one. If you do decide to watch, then be prepared for some monotony. And if you come to terms of skipping this one, there is no serious cinematic loss you face! A lot of hardwork goes into making a film, and performances on part of the actors, but sometimes there goes something missing and the film doesn’t manage to keep up to the set level. And Raja Natwarlal is much into that space.
