Raja Natwarlal Review

One-line Review: 'Raja Natwarlal' fools around with his seen before tactics

Positive points: "Guru-Chela" relationship of Paresh Rawal and Emraan Hashmi, Perfect-timing dialogue

Negative Points: Faulty script, Dumb characterization of villain

Plot: In the city of Mumbai Raja (Emraan Hashmi) earns his living by conducting small cons with his partner Raghav (Deepak Tijori) during the day time, while his night is spend in tossing money on his bar dancer girlfriend Ziya (Humaima Malick).

The moment when Raja comes up with his "bada haath" (big theft) idea, he has to pay for it as he loses his best friend Raghav in the mishap. Thereafter, he sets himself on a mission of destroying Cape Town based gangster Varda Yadav (Kay Kay Menon) who had plotted for Raghav's murder. But to con a mastermind like Varda requires lot of patience and planning, therefore he seeks the help of an experienced scampster Yogi (Paresh Rawal).

Yogi and his team help Raja to become "Raja Natwarlal"- a big-time burglar. Their con is set on Varda's Cricket obsession, where they will fraud him by selling a cricket team which doesn't at all exists.

Direction and other technical aspects: Director Kunal Deshmukh and Emraan Hashmi are back together with an amalgamation of cricket and film. But 'Raja Natwarlal' is far more different as it is a revenge-saga at the backdrop of cricket, while his earlier film 'Jannat'(2008) was based on man's greed to achieve lavishness through inapt means in cricket.

Based on conman's life 'Raja Natwarlal' was supposed to be filled with unexpected twist and turns, but the boring screenplay by Parveez Shaikh has spoilt the excitement. If he would have taken the efforts of thinking as a conman instead of a scriptwriter, it would have helped 'Raja Natwarlal' to take off well.

What makes 'Raja Natwarlal' earn some points are its dialogues penned by Sanjay Masoom. "Kheenche hue kaan se mila hua gyaan humesha yaad rehta hai" and many such dialogues leave their impact even after the film.

Performances: Emraan Hashmi as Raja is an apt choice to play the conman. He impresses with his street smart talks and serial kissing. Paresh Rawal as experienced crook Yogi has played has done justice to his character. The "guru-chela" relationship between Paresh and Emraan is a treat to watch.

Kay Kay Menon as Varda Yadav did not succeed in projecting cruelty on-screen which his character demanded. In some scenes he makes us wonder how a billionaire mafia can be so dumb. Humaima Malick is perfect in her sultry bar dancer avatar, but she over-does while being the caring girlfriend. Deepak Tijori as a supporting friend and middle-aged family man Raghav has played his part well.

Music: Renowned Tamil music composer Yuvan Shankar Raja has composed all the six soundtrack of 'Raja Natwarlal'. Film starts with a dhinkchak tapori song "Dukki Tikki". Followed by "Tere Hoke Rahengay (Reprise)" and "Namak Paare" filmed on the bar dancing sequences of Humaima. "Kabhi Ruhani Kabhi Rumani" and "Tere Ho Rahengay" are the absolute romantic tracks. The end is marked with "Flip Your Collar Back".

Final Verdict: 'Raja Natwarlal' is an average film with seen before con tactics. Based on revenge plot at the backdrop of Cricket the film had a potential of becoming an entertaining film. It's only the last fifteen minutes of a quick flashback that holds the attention; otherwise it is a slow running flick because it has got nothing new to offer.