Raja Natwarlal

Raja Natwarlal is third film of director and actor's pair.This movie is about a con man Raja(Emaraan Hashmi) who wants to take revenge from Varda Yadav(Kay Kay Menon) with the help of Yogi(Paresh Rawal).

Movie starts with Raja(Emraan Hashmi) who con people on the station bridge with his brother Raghav(Deepak Tijori).Raja planned to rob one man with rupees 80 lacks.Raghav told him to stop being insatiable.But Raja forced him to do this.After robbery they came to know that those money belonged to Varda Yadav(Kay Kay Menon).So,he told his men to kill them but they only found Raghav and killed him.When Raja came to know this and he decided to take revenge with Varda Yadav.He went to Yogi(Paresh Rawal) for the help.Yogi took test of Raja to check whether he is ready for the big con or not.Raja passed and so they put a trap for Varda Yadav.Will they succeed?

Positive : + Paresh Rawal

+ Music

+ Climax

Negative : - Humaima Malik

• Screenplay

• Cinematography

Overall : If you're a big fan of Emraan Hashmi then surely you'll love

this movie.A good choice for this weekend.

Basic story...A small-time con man assembles a team to help him avenge the death of his partner-in-crime at the hands of a powerful gangster.

This is the same base story that was used in happy New Year that was released in the same year. I am surprised I had not heard of this movie considering it had Paresh Rawal and Kay Kay Menon In there. I am not a huge fan of Emraan Hashmi but this came up on Netflix and since there wasn't anything else to watch I thought I'd watch it. Went in with having no hopes but boy was it engaging. The songs are not needed. Cut those out you've got a solid 2 hr film. Recommend watch.

RAJA NATWARLAL: "A movie that had good potential fails to make a solid impression!" [2.5/5]

Emraan Hashmi returns to the BIG screen after last year's GHANCHAKKAR. Before I begin reviewing I must say that he likes signing in for the movies that are promising and has potential to deliver something new and different.This one too is & it's worth appreciating. But the problem lies in how the movie is handled.

Anyways, the story is about Raja, who is a small time conman who gets his partner killed in an attempt to break into the big league. Then to avenge this death he seeks out a bigger retired conman to help him. Together they hatch a plan to steal the rich guy's money so that Raja can marry his bar dancer sweetheart and avenge the death in one swoop.

The story at its core is OK and the little clever touches of con games are funny and entertaining at times. However, neither the characters nor their motivations are strong enough for us to root for either the conman or the rich cricket crazy dude getting conned. You are indifferent to their fates and that is totally dangerous in a movie which depends on your liking the con guy to make the story work. To make matters worse there is the romantic angle which just doesn't work and which pulls the narrative down in its best parts with some soppy songs and unnecessary kisses.

The star cast is great- Emraan as Raja, Paresh Rawal as the master con and Kay Kay Menon as the rich guy are all great actors and their chemistry makes the movie extremely watchable in parts. They manage to create a good feeling of tension in a few crucial scenes. New actress , Pakistani import Humaima Malik is too thin to register on screen and the only way you can tell she is there is when there is some spangly costume floating about on the screen. I was nice to see Deepak Tijori again on screen looking older and better without his old funny hairstyle.

Raja Natwarlal could have been infinitely smarter, funnier and way more taut given the story it was working with and the star cast. Instead what we get is patchy pieces of good action, silly songs and a storytelling session as we are tucked into bed(meant for some excessive runtime) Anyhow, watchable it is. [2.5/5]

Raja Natwarlal - the name didn't ride on any big hopes prior to its release. It marks the fourth collaboration of director Kunal Deshmukh and Emraan Hashmi and that too outside the Vishesh Films camp. A con- caper at its heart, Natwarlal entwines all the possible elements of a typical Hashmi potboiler - drama, revenge, twists and the customary lip locks.

The Plot. A street-smart thug named Raja(Hashmi) inadvertently crosses paths with a deadly Cape Town-based don, Vardha(Kay Kay Menon, deliciously menacing)when he, along with mentor Raghav(Deepak Tijori), steal away a hefty sum from his men. Raghav is killed by Vardha's men and Raja swears revenge.He takes the help of a rather cynical ex-con guru Yogi(Paresh Rawal)in devising a royal scam to rob the don off all his ill-acquired wealth. With an agenda that they would auction a fake cricket team to Vardha as the sport is ostensibly his only weakness, the stage is all set for the battle of wits!

Reportedly inspired from the 1973 Hollywood flick, Sting, Raja Natwarlal manages to keep you hooked with all its twists and turns. With an undercurrent of humor and crisply written dialogues, the narrative springs out good sequences , particularly when Raja and his motley of con-men stage a fake meeting of Vardha with the cricket board Chairman with a pest-control-in-progress tag outside the room. What doesn't work here is the love track between Raja and his girlfriend, Ziya(Humaima Mallik) and the monotonously choreographed dance-bar numbers. And every time, the action ticks off , it is soon ruptured by stupidly placed songs .Even the beautiful picturizations amidst the scenic locales of Cape Town and the music by new-find Yuvan Shankar seldom do the damage control. It would also require a suspension of disbelief for the discerning viewer to see how an overtly incredulous tycoon gets tricked in the name of a fake cricket league.

With a mediocre intensity this time, Emraan Hashmi pulls off the act efficiently. He imbues Raja with a steely resolve and manages to give an emotional depth to the character. The movie redeems much of its lost strength from accomplished stars like Paresh Rawal who is superb as the satirical con-coach and mouths hilarious two-liners and Kay Kay whose performance is near immaculate. It was rather disappointing to see the talented Mohd Zeesan Ayub(Raanjhana) wasted in a sliver of a role as the mute hit-man .Humaima, who proved her potential in Pakistani films, hardly impresses here and is reduced to an average glam queen.Sumeet Nijhawan(Maazii,Diskhiyaoon) is adequate as the wicked policeman.

Raja..isn't a great film, but at the same time doesn't disappoint you with its mischievous shades.

Con movies are rare in bollywood,good con movies are even rarer.It is a genre that is not attempted much in bollywood.The ones we had were disastrous ones like Cash,Tees Maar Khan etc.The only good ones I remember are Badmaash Company and Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl. So Raja Natwarlal comes as a pleasant surprise.

It goes without saying that there are plot holes and the songs could have been avoided but the director has kept the pace of the movie interesting and the climax is well directed and something you wouldn't expect. Emraan Hashmi and Paresh Rawal are superb and look every bit convincing as the endearing con-men. Kay Kay Menon's character is caricaturish but he makes good use of it. Watch out for him in the final scene. Humaima Malick needs to look good and she does that. Mohd. Zeeshan Ayub is good in his cameo.

Well I wouldn't call Raja Natwarlal the best film of the year,but it is certainly amongst the most entertaining ones.It is way better the trashy south remakes we get every week in the name of entertainment.