Subhash K Jha revisits Raqeeb and we hear from star Tanushree Dutta as they look back at the 2007 film.
Raqeeb is so busy trying to shock us with its high-voltage wantonness, it forgets to pause for refuelling its creative motors. The narrative moves at a breakneck speed, creating a highly charged sexually-defiant version of Abbas-Mustan’s Humraaz about the benevolent husband, the adulterous wife, and her amoral lover. Jimmy Shergil sports theatrical rhetorics, and flowing henna-coloured hair that really doesn’t suit him.
There are three heroes, one heroine, two item songs, three romantic songs, three attempted murders, and a couple of funerals. There’s also a rather vulgar item song by starlet Sherlyn Chopra.
The film’s only main female lead, Tanushree Dutta, impresses the naïve millionaire Rahul Khanna, claiming to enjoy Shakespeare. Sure, we believe you. As much as we believe in the fast-paced film’s perverse quadrangle, featuring three besotted men and one girl. Tanushree does have potential… if only she would stop doing such inconsistent roles.
Director Anurag Singh cuts his material with the relish of a chef carving turkey for a Thanksgiving dinner. Alas, there isn’t much to be thankful for in Raqeeb. Unless you’re looking at the scenic locations where the songs are shot – the pristine-blue waters and pure-white sands.
Recalling the experience, Tanushree Dutta says, “I’ve grown so much, through all these years, as a person, as a public figure and individual, and as a woman navigating life through a fairly good run in Bollywood. Above all my growth as an artiste and creative person has seen phenomenal evolution Not every progress is visible to the eye but when I see myself on screen in these past projects I’m filled with nostalgia about how far I’ve come in life!! Raqeeb was a challenging film to shoot. Very little budget, long shooting hours, and being the only female lead with a multi-star cast, I worked very hard on that film, often clocking in 16- 18 hour shooting work days and barely any time to rest or eat while filming. But it all paid off in the end, the film and myself in it both looked good and the movie connected with our viewers. It has a fantastic repeat value amongst TV and theatre cine viewers. It comes on major TV channels almost every month and I often get fan mails saying how much they loved me in the film. Some of my movies are just timeless and Raqeeb is one of them.”
