The Raja Saab Review {2.0/5} & Review Rating
Star Cast: Prabhas, Sanjay Dutt, Boman Irani, Malavika Mohanan, Nidhhi Agerwal, Riddhi Kumar
Director: Maruthi
The RajaSaab Movie Review Synopsis:
THE RAJASAAB is the story of a man trying to find his grandfather. Raju (Prabhas) is an orphan who lives in a village with his grandmother Ganga Devi (Zarina Wahab). She is losing her memory, yet she clearly remembers her husband, Kanakaraju (Sanjay Dutt). He had left her when they were young to complete a mission and never returned. Ganga Devi wants to see her beloved husband one more time before she passes away. As luck would have it, Raju finds out that Kanakaraju was spotted near Charminar in Hyderabad. Raju immediately leaves for Hyderabad. Here, he bumps into Bessy (Nidhhi Agerwal) and falls for her. Meanwhile, he also comes across Bhairavi (Malavika Mohanan). Both of them, along with his village confidante, Geeta (Riddhi Kumar), develop a crush on him, adding to his troubles. Meanwhile, he's lured into a mysterious haveli in the forests of Naraspur. Here, Kanakaraju's spirit traps him and his buddies. What happens next forms the rest of the film.
The RajaSaab Movie Story Review:
Maruthi's story shows a lot of promise. But Maruthi's screenplay is complicated and messy. The Telugu dialogues are okay, while Rohan Shukla’s Hindi translation is nice.
Maruthi's direction is haphazard. To give credit where it's due, he has handled the grandeur nicely and also establishes an eerie atmosphere. The first half is just alright, but the flashback scenes of Kanakaraju are intriguing. The interval block is superb and it promises a dramatic second half.
However, the film goes downhill in the post-interval portions. The characters are stuck in the haunted mansion; besides horror, there’s also a psychological element. Both these aspects could have led to a great and novel ride. However, writer-director Maruthi fails to utilize them properly. In fact, the goings-on become tedious and the extended climax is unbearable. Moreover, the makers have added two romantic songs in the second half, when the characters are struggling to get out of the haveli. It breaks the tension. And that’s not all. Viewers will be shocked to know that a crucial scene, shown in the trailer, is missing from the narrative. Even in the first half, Geeta’s father is mentioned more than once, but is never shown. It again points to the fact that the character must have been edited out.
The Raja Saab Trailer 2.0 (Hindi) | Prabhas | Maruthi | Thaman S | TG Vishwa Prasad
The RajaSaab Movie Review Performances:
Prabhas brings his star-value to the film and tries his best to make the goings-on entertaining with his antics and charm. However, the poor writing lets him down. Sanjay Dutt does justice to the role of the antagonist. The way he uses his eyes to induce terror is something to watch out for. Malavika Mohanan is the best of the lot; she looks stunning and gives a first-rate performance. Her fight scene is unexpected and will be lapped up. Nidhhi Agerwal is presented beautifully and is decent. Riddhi Kumar gets the least screen time out of all three, but she’s fair. Zarina Wahab delivers a genuine performance. Boman Irani (Dr Padmabhushan) leaves a mark. VTV Ganesh, Satya, Prabhas Sreenu and Saptagiri try their best to make viewers laugh and they succeed only in very select scenes.
The RajaSaab movie music and other technical aspects:
Thaman S' music is nothing special. 'Nache Nache' stands out individually and is well-picturized. But in the film, it's forced into the narrative. 'Rebel Saab' serves as a nice entry song. The rest of the tracks are forgettable. Thaman S' background score is way better and is quite catchy.
Karthik Palani's cinematography is grand. Rajeeva's production design is terrific. The mansion is sprawling, eerie and yet looks authentic. Swetha Thanay's costumes are stylish. Deccan Dreams' VFX is overall satisfactory. However, it turns tacky during the scenes featuring the scary feline creature. Ram-Laxman and King Solomon's action is entertaining. Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao's editing could have been crisper as the film is quite lengthy.
The RajaSaab Movie Review Conclusion:
On the whole, THE RAJASAAB starts off with an interesting premise and boasts of a striking interval point, but the second half becomes unbearable thanks to the messy and stretched writing and poor direction. As a result, the film is likely to find it tough to sustain interest in the Hindi market.
