Raja Natwarlal

Raja Natwarlal is unmitigatedly acceptable. The film serves as one of the better con films compared to other bollywood projects belonging to the same genre in recent times. The story expounds the life of a small-time con artist who after confronting unexpected circumstances sets out on a mission to avenge the death of his closest ally.

The first half of the film is quotidian, just like any other heist film. It is the second half where the plot actually gets intriguing and engaging. The film doesn't seem to tire its viewers as it possesses a tolerable run time of 140 minutes. Besides this, an amazingly drawn out conclusion similar to that of Christopher Nolan's 'The Prestige' fills you with absolute contentment.

The casting department is worthy of admiration for gathering such a group of commendable performers. Emraan Hashmi, once again in a similar lead role, is rapturous. Humaima Malik's enticing good looks poised with conventional acting skills unquestionably make an impression. Paresh Rawal is brilliant while playing Emraan's mentor in the film. Kay Kay Menon, while playing the major negative role is elegant. Deepak Tijori in a short but crucial supporting role is garden-variety.

Film's direction is laudable indeed. Kunal Deshmukh has definitely managed to be conspicuous especially towards the end. Screenplay by Parveez Sheikh is neat. Dialogues by Sanjay Masoom are witty. Cinematography and Editing departments have undeniably managed to make a hit. Music by Yuvan Shankar Raja is fresh and alluring.

Summing everything up, the movie is decent. Neither the best nor the worst. However, it is way better than all those masala flicks which get undeserving responses from the audiences. Emraan Hashmi buffs will definitely embrace this one.

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.

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.

I was not expecting much from this movie. May be that is why it surpassed my expectation. Their are some cons in this movie, but it has got some pretty good twists in it and will make you watch till the end. Love story part is not up to the mark. It is just a cliché. It even will make you laugh at several occasions. But that was obvious. The songs are really good. 'Tere Hoke Rahenge' is quite brilliant. The entire movie is visually very pleasing. You wont feel any lag at any point of time. This is definitely not a movie for the critics. I recommend this movie for everyone who intend to have just some fun time...!!!