Raja Natwarlal (2014)

review of raja natwarlal I have always liked Kunal Deshmukh as an director.His works include jannat,jannat 2,tum mile and now raja natwarlal.There has,nt been a lot of good con films in the past.Raja natwarlal begins on a slow note with Emraan Hashmi and Deepak Tijori conning a few people.The first half of the film is enjoyable though lacks a sense of humour.The second half introduces Paresh Rawal as con man too.They plan a con on a business tycoon,Vardha Yadav who killed Deepak Tijori.The performances are great.Emraan Hashmi stands tall as usual.Paresh Rawal is great in his part.The rest of the cast play their parts well.The screeplay was good although a few loopholes here and there.The climax is one of the best climaxes i have ever seen.After all said,A good con film after a long time.REcommended

In the 100 years of Bollywood history, there has been heroes who have been given certain titles which its found very common in movies they have acted, eg titles such as The Action Hero, The Chocolate Boy, Angry Young Man, King of Romance etc.In the last 10 years or so since coming into Bollywood cinema from his first release in 2003, it has been noticed or observed that one will expect Emraan Hashmi into kissing scenes. With over 30 movies in which Emraan Hashmi has acted so far, with the exception barring his part in Shanghai majority of these have kissing scenes. No wonder he has come to known as the Serial Kisser of Bollywood. Some of these movies include Murder(Mallika Sherawat), Tumsa Nahin Dekha(Dia Mirza), Zeher(Udita Goswami and Shamita Shetty), Aashiq Banaya Apne(Tanushree Dutta), Gangster(Kangana Ranaut and Udita Goswami), The Train(Sayali Bhagat and Geeta Basra), Jannat(Sonali Chauhan), Tum Mile(Soha Ali Khan), Crook(Shella Allen), Murder 2(Jacqueline Fernandez), The Dirty Picture(Vidya Balan), Jannat 2(Esha Gupta), Raaz 3(Bipasha Basu and Esha Gupta), Rush(Neha Dupia and Sagarika Ghatge), Ek Thi Daayan(Huma Qureshi), Ghanchakkar(Vidya Balan)and of course his latest offering in Raja Natwarlal(Humaima Mallick). Unfortunately this trend has become more common in the movies recently with other main actors joining the club. And some movies have gone as far as bedroom scenes and more. I wonder what's next for Bollywood (the complete act)!As to this movie,its basically shows how a street smart con man making it big time with the assistance of the experienced con artist Paresh Rawal who was excellent above all the rest of the cast. The movie has romance,passion, twist and surprises. Enjoyed the scenery of Cape Town, South Africa and specially the view along the coast with the Table Mountain as background although I felt it was not necessary to go abroad as I am sure India has a lot better location to offer. Of course the scenery in and around Dharamsala was wonderful. So Emraan 'baas Kar' and I am sure he can come up with better than the kissing and bedroom acts.

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.

Kunal Deshmukh and Emraan Hashmi combo is back after their successful association in Jannat & Jannat 2.This time Kunal chooses a subject of a con man Raja (Emraan Hashmi) who after doing small con jobs with the help of his mentor Raghav (Deepak Tijori) wants to do a big con job so that he can fulfill his dream of marrying the bar dancer Ziya (Humaima Malik). The con job goes wrong and Raghav is killed by businessman cum mafia don Vardha Yadav's (Kay Kay Menon) men. Raja sets out to take revenge from Vardha Yadav by coning him with the help of famous con artist Yogi (Paresh Rawal) and sell him a fake cricket team worth One Fifty crores. The rest of the movie covers how Raja and Yogi execute their con act… Story by Parvez Sheikh is promising but where the movie loses its grip is with Parvez's screenplay with too many sub plots of hit man, corrupt police and the love angle which actually poses a hindrance in the narration and slows down the pace with its songs which look out of place especially the first half. The screenplay also has too many loopholes; some con acts look too convenient to be true. It is the climax which is impressive and brings the sub plots together. But it could have been better paced. The script had all the makings of a good con movie but falls short as most part of the movie the screenplay looks scattered and lacks cohesiveness.Dialogues by Sanjay Masoom complement the genre and narration well with subtle humor and are realistic.Emraan Hashmi has improved tremendously especially after "Shanghai" he does complete justice to his character Raja. It is Paresh Rawal who steals the limelight with his fantastic portrayal of Yogi; it is always a delight to watch such a brilliant actor perform. Kay Kay Menon is back with his impressive portrayal of the cunning and shrewd Vardha Yadav, he gives face to a true villain of Bollywood who is menacing as well as unpredictable, a true delight. Humaima Mallik's debut act is nothing to write home about but she somehow does a decent job. Deepak Tijori makes a comeback with Raghav and he creates an impact with his brief role. Rest of the cast also does a good job.Music by Yuvaan Shankar Raja is average and does not create too much of an impact. Cinematography by Raaj Chakravarti is good but nothing out of the world.Kunal Deshmukh tries to balance between being realistic and fictional, but fails a bit on the realistic front and goes a bit overboard with cinematic liberties becoming too fictional. Nevertheless Kunal's attempt is good and better than many movies which released in the recent past. Do not expect a "Special 26" and you won't be disappointed. I will go with Two & A Half Star….