This film is said to have been made on an obscure ( obscure at least to me , though probably well known to local people ) Don from the Indian state of Gujarat named Abdul Latif , though the film makers have denied this .
Gujarat has prohibition implemented in it's territory , a legacy of being the birth place of Gandhi who was totally against alcohol . But the people of the state drink heartily , and this has led to the state becoming a place where illegal liquor selling is a business in itself .
Raees ( Shah Rukh Khan ) grows up helping an illegal liquor supplier , and later moves to another seller named Jayaraj ( Atul Kulkarni ) who uses his skills to move illegal liquor from one place to another . But when Raees tries to start his own business along with his friend Sadiq ( Mohammad Zeeshan Ayub ) , Jayaraj does not take it kindly . After some convoluted happenings involving a some real violence , Raees gets to become independent of Jayaraj . But the fortuitous manner in which he is saved from getting ruined by a bigger Don named Musa is not impressive .
Later Raaes gets a chance to show his own ingenuity . When he is fooled by a couple of politicians , Raees forms his own political party and outwits them . A particularly persistent police officer named Majmudar ( Nawazuddin Siddiqui ) however decides to target Raaes and a contest of wits develops among the two .
Some of the dialogues of the film from the mouth of the two protagonists ( Raees and Majmudar ) are good , and remind of older action/crime films when dialogues from both the hero and villain ruled supreme . Raees rises higher and higher in Gujarat's criminal hierarchy while this is happening .
In the end however , crime does not pay . Raees is fooled into becoming a much bigger criminal than he thought and his career comes to an end . So he is not invincible and the aura that has been built around him in the film does not live upto it's hype . The 'baniye ka dimaag' ( brains of a sharp shopkeeper ) that he is supposed to have does not work when it is needed most .
The attempt towards the end to prove how fair minded he was sounds fake . If the film is based on a real life Don , then did he really decide not to escape to a foreign country when given the chance just because he was feeling guilty ? And was the real Don so clean that he kept himself away from terrorism ? Not believable . The attempt to prove how secular he was also sounds fake too .
Songs and photography are decent , and Shah Rukh Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui act decently too . But Mahira Khan is not good as Raees' wife , though she is extremely fair in colour . Sunny Leone is more enticing in her dance however . The film itself cannot be called a memorable film .
Verdict---okay .
Two and a half stars out of five .
Gujarat has prohibition implemented in it's territory , a legacy of being the birth place of Gandhi who was totally against alcohol . But the people of the state drink heartily , and this has led to the state becoming a place where illegal liquor selling is a business in itself .
Raees ( Shah Rukh Khan ) grows up helping an illegal liquor supplier , and later moves to another seller named Jayaraj ( Atul Kulkarni ) who uses his skills to move illegal liquor from one place to another . But when Raees tries to start his own business along with his friend Sadiq ( Mohammad Zeeshan Ayub ) , Jayaraj does not take it kindly . After some convoluted happenings involving a some real violence , Raees gets to become independent of Jayaraj . But the fortuitous manner in which he is saved from getting ruined by a bigger Don named Musa is not impressive .
Later Raaes gets a chance to show his own ingenuity . When he is fooled by a couple of politicians , Raees forms his own political party and outwits them . A particularly persistent police officer named Majmudar ( Nawazuddin Siddiqui ) however decides to target Raaes and a contest of wits develops among the two .
Some of the dialogues of the film from the mouth of the two protagonists ( Raees and Majmudar ) are good , and remind of older action/crime films when dialogues from both the hero and villain ruled supreme . Raees rises higher and higher in Gujarat's criminal hierarchy while this is happening .
In the end however , crime does not pay . Raees is fooled into becoming a much bigger criminal than he thought and his career comes to an end . So he is not invincible and the aura that has been built around him in the film does not live upto it's hype . The 'baniye ka dimaag' ( brains of a sharp shopkeeper ) that he is supposed to have does not work when it is needed most .
The attempt towards the end to prove how fair minded he was sounds fake . If the film is based on a real life Don , then did he really decide not to escape to a foreign country when given the chance just because he was feeling guilty ? And was the real Don so clean that he kept himself away from terrorism ? Not believable . The attempt to prove how secular he was also sounds fake too .
Songs and photography are decent , and Shah Rukh Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui act decently too . But Mahira Khan is not good as Raees' wife , though she is extremely fair in colour . Sunny Leone is more enticing in her dance however . The film itself cannot be called a memorable film .
Verdict---okay .
Two and a half stars out of five .
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