The theme of adultery, betrayal and suspense continues to be a trend in Indian Cinema and Raqeeb falls into the same slot.
Remo (Rahul Khanna) is a business tycoon who is too busy with his occupation to even consider going on dates with young ladies. Siddharth (Sharman Joshi) is a good friend and legal advisor. On the other hand, he is a total flirt and tries to convince Rahul to go out.
Under some altered circumstances, Remo meets Sofie (Tanushree Dutta) and is mesmerized. However, they soon encounter a bump in this whirlwind romantic ride. Determined to win Sofie over, Remo convinces Tanushree and eventually they are a happily married couple.
Although, if that is the case then what on earth is the story in Raqeeb? That’s the question that many raise after hearing the story thus far. However, the romantic victory of Remo’s is not the focus of Raqeeb. Sofie has a secret–a dark secret and a hidden agenda. To uncover these secrets, you must watch Raqeeb!
Once again, a more than decent piece of cinema suffers due to the lack of big names. The makers make a decent attempt at keeping the audiences awake and interested throughout the duration of the movie, though multiple twists and turns.
However, the screenplay needs adjustement at various portions. Raqeeb contains many gaps throughout and the audiences are required to fill these gaps with their own interpretations. This is a flaw in both the script and screenplay as it is very vital that all aspects of the story are explained in a suspense thriller. Keeping the audience guessing about the real villain and hero is enough suspense, rather than making them interpret facts about the characters that have been left out. This confuses the viewer multiple times throughout the film.
Rahul Khanna rarely makes appearances in films and Raqeeb is a must-watch for his performance. The guy appears in one movie every few years and does a marvellous job in each of his projects. He looks the character and delivers dialogues with ease. The only improvement he needs to make is in terms of lip-singing.
Tanushree Dutta attempts to make a shift from her sex symbol image to the image of a serious actor. She performs confidently, however, it’s unfortunate that her own voice was not featured. She has a great voice that would have been fit for the role. Instead, the makers decided to dub it with another artist’s voice previously featured in various Bhatt movies. A true loss. She also needs to hit the gym desperately and hire a new hair/make-up stylist!
Sharman Joshi once again performs extremely well and proves himself as more than just a comic face. From strength to strength, this actor continues to grow! With Raqeeb he explores a brand new type of role in his career.
Jimmy Shergill doesn’t receive much scope but performs rather confidently. However, at portions he overacts. His looks still remain appalling (see Delhii Heights). Although in the promotional video of the movie he looks back to normal and he is looking more than dashing!
Overall, Raqeeb is a very decent movie that perhaps hasn’t received its due respect and acknowledgment. A sure recommendation for all lovers of suspense thrillers. The movie keeps you on your toes guessing till the very last minute making the ride all the more enjoyable and exciting.
