Raabta movie review: Cocktail of past and present that doesn't taste good

RATING: 2.5

MOVIE: Raabta

CAST: Sushant Singh Rajput, Kriti Sanon, Jim Sarbh

DIRECTOR: Dinesh Vijan

GENRE: Romantic thriller

Let's start with the meaning of the word 'Raabta' – it means connection. The connection that the audience will not feel while watching the Dinesh Vijan-directed film, which stars Sushant Singh Rajput, Kriti Sanon and Jim Sarbh.

Also read: Raabta review by audience | critics and celebs 

PLOT

Raabta is about star crossed lovers and it shows how one love story gets repeated in your next birth. Sushant aka Shiv and Kriti aka Saira find a strong connection as soon as they meet since the two were actually lovers in the past life. But there's a twist when the villain of the movie – Zak/Zakir Merchant (Jim Sarbh) enters the story.

The first half shows Shiv, who is said to be a lady killer, fall for Saira at first sight. After a few cheesy romantic moments, comes the third wheel – Zak, the business tycoon. His mysterious smile and intense eyes alert Shiv, but attract Saira. Everything is going well – a bit of drama and romantic scenes – but then comes the Game of Thrones kind of past. 

All these three characters have met in past too, where Saira was Zak's love interest, but the enemy Shiv somehow seduces her away from Zak. So the villain rises in the present to take back his love. We know the story sounds confusing while you are reading it here, but trust us, it's much more so when you watch it on screen.

PERFORMANCES

The hard work that Sushant, Kriti and Jim have put into their characters can be seen on the screen. From Sushant's looks to his warrior avatar, he has done justice to his character. Kriti too has proved her acting talent with this film. However, Jim came as a bit of a disappointment with his accent. However, this is only his second film, and he came out better than many other newcomers in Bollywood.

There was, however, one actor who was unrecognisable. And he did a wonderful job. Rajkummar Rao played a 302-year-old man, and he simply nailed it.

POSITIVES

The makers have shot the movie in beautiful foreign locations, and the cinematography is quite commendable. The scenes from the past have been shot very well. All the actors have done a brilliant job. Deepika Padukone's presence in that one song added colour to the movie. The sound track of Raabta reaches the soul.

NEGATIVES

The execution of the script disappoints a lot. The director seems to have got confused himself while making the film that juggled between the past and the present. They could have shown both the phases a bit more as it felt like the actors were in a hurry to finish one scene and jump to another. The story seemed incomplete and imbalanced.

VERDICT

The twist comes in the interval, and then you expect that the movie is going to be mind blowing. But then, it gets tangled between the past and the present, and fails to balance both sides of the story. Though the actors performed well, they have not been able to save the movie. Remember the Hollywood movie, The Fault In Our Stars — well, the title is apt for this movie in a literal sense.

Watch the trailer of Raabta before going for the movie: