Raabta movie review: Dysfunctional tale of reincarnation

Director: Dinesh Vijan

Cast: Sushant Singh Rajput, Kriti Sanon, Jim Sarbh, Rajkummar Rao

Who wants to believe in the previous life and reincarnate to reunite to your lost love? In 2017, it sounds so silly to even make a film with this tried and tested formula. Dinesh Vijan, who marks his directorial debut has come up with the cheesiest and most clichéd love story that doubles up as a yawn fest. With a runtime of 154-minutes, you might end up scratching your head.

Shiv (Sushant Singh Rajput), an Amritsari boy moves to Budapest for his job as a banker along with his friend Radha (Varun Sharma). He meets Saira (Kriti Sanon) who owns a bakery shop and falls for her. The two start dating and enters the villain as expected Zak (Jim Sarbh). Zak claims to be Saira's lover from her previous life and then starts the journey of revelation. Who gets the girl in the end is pretty obvious!

Now the point is, what thing new does Raabta have to offer, answer being literally nothing. Wonder what Dinesh Vijan must be thinking while sitting with his writers Siddharth and Garima. Madhumati (1958), Hamesha (1997), Om Shanti Om (2007), Karz (1980), Karan Arjun (1995) - reincarnation has been the primary plot of these films and most of them are love stories. Why would someone debut with such a film with a premise as overdone as this, is beyond the reviewer. A huge marketing strategy to promote the film is the only tool which probably gives Raabta a decent opening.

Barring Sushant and Kriti’s fans, it is impossible for anyone else to even bear five minutes of the film. The first half is plagued by too much time invested into establishing the romance between the leads, making a jarring jump post the ‘revelation’. It is probably Maddock Films’ worst film yet, having made the likes of Cocktail, Love Aaj Kal, Go Goa Gone, Finding Fanny, Badlapur and the very recent gem Hindi Medium, in the past. However, Raabta is even worse than Agent Vinod which Dinesh Vijan is regretful of.

In one of the press interactions, Dinesh mentioned that he has been working on his debut script since many years and feels that it is fresh. Well, you surely need a reality check. The journey from Amristar to Budapest and then to a kingdom of dynasty (from the previous life) where Rajkummar Rao is seen in a heavy prosthetic-laden appearance, is to no avail. Raabta is not a film; it is an old wine in a new bottle which is not even tasty.

The tagline of the film tells us that everything is connected and yes it is so connected in the film that everyone feels that they are related to their previous lives. It is funny to see that the character of the female protagonist is sketched in such a manner that whoever boy she meets, she feels connected! Whoa! Be it her current boyfriend (portrayed by a model looking nut), or Shiv or Zak.

No doubt, Sushant and Kriti look good together (courtesy their off screen true love) but after a certain point of time their chemistry turns repetitive. The two are good with their expressions but the show runner is absolutely Jim Sarbh who looks ferocious in both the acts (villain of the kingdom and Zak). His man bun with shabby beard is sexy while in the contemporary world, he looks hotter in cuffed suits.

Rajkummar Rao is good but in a role that anyone could have pulled off, including Dinesh himself. Anyway, Varun Sharma is usually funny throughout the film as always but the funnier part is the moment when he turns to a violet killer in the climax. Wearing a black slit gown, Deepika Padukone looks sultry in her dance moves but again what is the relevance of the song even? Just a promotional gimmick, nothing else.

Raabta is (not a story) of three individuals who are trapped in the mindless game of reincarnation. The film is surely a big miss this weekend. AVOID!