Raman Raghav 2.0 (Hindi, 2016)

There are certain negative characters that you cannot hate as they are enacted by some wonderful performers. Nawazuddin Siddiqui is certainly not good looking (like say an Arvind Swamy in Thani Oruvan) and by his relentless killing he proves that he is not a man of logic at all. Yet he makes sure that you cannot take your eyes off him as though you are under his spell looking for the minutest twitch or display of emotion that would reveal his next course of action. It is very interesting to note that something similar happened in Badlapur too!

It is no wonder that the ‘Sister’ chapter is the most engrossing among the lot primarily due to Nawaz getting someone equal in terms of ability – Amruta Subhash (of Killa fame) who plays his long-forgotten sister. The unpredictability in the sequence is what epitomizes the Anurag Kashyap brand of cinema that we crave. The dynamics of this entire sequence with Amruta’s husband & child playing apt foils are so good that you are at the edge of your seat as Amruta utters the dialogue, अभी करना है?

Sobhita Dhulipala who plays the role of Smrutika Naidu is efficient as the independent woman. Vipin Sharma (who plays Raghav’s dad) scores even in a cameo role while the two policemen who function along with ACP Raghav are also adequate.

The film has a sensational background score and catchy songs that are used at the right places. Ram Sampath’s score that has Western and Indian sounds is certainly a huge support for such a dark film. Jay Oza’s camerawork for a film that is predominantly set in the night is brilliant. The way the chases are filmed across the lanes of old Bombay, the imposing shots of the slums landscape and of course the repeated shots of aeroplanes are few of the highlights that come to mind.

The wacky explanation to the multiple aeroplane shots in the film given by Nawaz again reiterates what Anurag & Vasan Bala do best! The film brings out the twisted thinking of Anurag & Vasan as they show the love and perhaps even lust from Ramanna towards Raghav openly (perhaps too openly). Similarly, there is an excellent reference to Vasanta Balan’s Tamizh film Angadi Theru when talk about working in a textile showroom comes up. On one level the film can also be called as Anurag’s ode to Sriram Raghavan’s films.

The film diverges a few times with the tracks of the father, the Nigerian drug dealer and the lady’s Telugu family seemingly unconnected to the main thread. This leads to some murmurs of Anurag’s self-indulgence rearing its head.

Vicky Kaushal who excelled in Masaan and even Bombay Velvet is unable to match up to Nawaz’s extremely high standards. While he is able to score occasionally, he struggles to bring out the necessary emotions on a regular basis. Perhaps the deleted scene needed to be included in the film to help. The characterization of Sobhita Dhulipala too is confounding as she is found to be very bold even with her parents but remains content in an abusive relationship.