PremiumRautu Ka Raaz review - Nawazuddun Siddiqui’s film has the hype but doesn’t live up to it
Rautu Ka Raaz is a movie that takes time to develop but has too many unnecessary elements to them.
Last Updated: 06.34 PM, Jun 28, 2024
Story:
15 years after peace, there’s a murder in the village of Rautu, Uttarakhand. Deepak Negi (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) has been assigned the case and he has to look beyond the usual suspects.
Review:
Rautu Ka Raaz sets the suspense almost as soon as it begins. Of course, it is with our lead Nawazuddin Siddiqui, who is seen in the role of Deepak Negi.
Almost as soon as he enters the scene, Rajesh Kumar does too, but only through his voice. Nonetheless, you know that the rest of the film is going to be about their chemistry while working on the case together.
Although Nawaz tries with his accent and he even catches on, it doesn't seem to work naturally with him. Thankfully, it goes to normal as the film progresses.
There's a lot of references, like the murder taking place a day after Dusshera (hinting at the revenge story). The representation of the scene though, could be better.
Another is when a blind boy knows exactly what's happening in his surroundings, and leaves Negi inspired with it. This seems to be a subtle hint at how the investigation is going on according to procedure over sensibilities.
Like in the trailer, the incident is introduced through gossip. This scene works well because that is how news reaches in such remote villages. However, while it is authentic, the realism is still missing, at least at the beginning of the film. The Deepak Negi conversation, though, appeared forced because it did not go as a conversation.
At last, Rajesh Kumar finally enters as sub-inspector Naresh Dimri. His conversation and accent works. This actor even expresses with his eyes, which make for his great introduction to the film.
Narayani Shastri has little role to play in the movie. Despite it, she performs really well in her scenes.
Samridhi Chandola does her role and accent well. She has limited dialogues but they work with her. As a cop, she has her own side story but that too is limited.
You instantly know that something is fishy the minute Negi is forced to move up the investigation. That becomes an important moment by the time the ending arrives.
Atul Tiwari's Manoj Kesari raises suspicion almost within moments of entering. He does particularly nothing but all conversations lead to him.
Atul brings out the actor in him with the movie from his very first scene. You can notice his subtle duality with the scenes.
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Negi's personal life is explored but only in bits, in the middle of the case. While it raises the suspense, the timing is abrupt.
The investigation of the murder case appears rushed too, till it comes to Kesari. The eye exchange between Negi and Kesari works well.
While some scenes work, others are abrupt. The fact that the exact scene from the beginning is repeated in the middle of the film, with similar dialogues, do not make any sense and in fact affect the flow of the film.
It takes time but the movie finally gets on track near the interval.
While the camera captures the beauty of Uttarakhand, there are moments when things seem off. The camera appears shaky, probably because of the scene, but it does not help the viewing experience.
Nawazuddin's quirks work, but are not always required in the scene. Nonetheless, there are a few moments where it is a breather from the serious storyline.
The link with Negi's personal life ends up playing in loop. However, very little is unveiled each time, in order to understand the actual link.
While the hype of the film is huge, the ending is disappointing. Negi is no super cop per say, and the link to his past is barely said in a way that you can understand it. Add that to the story going from a cop suspense to emotional ride.
Verdict:
If you were looking for a cop suspense-thriller, Rautu Ka Raaz is not for you. The movie takes a lot of time to develop. It has the hype and after a point, every actor performs well, but the issue is with the storyline. It keeps going astray and does not deliver on what is promised.