Raees Movie Review

Released on 25 January 2017, during India’s Republic Day weekend, Raees received positive reviews for its performances, production design, cinematography, and visual effects. It was a box office success, becoming the sixth highest-grossing Hindi film of 2017. Despite being the most pirated Hindi film of that year, it saw a resurgence in popularity on Netflix in 2023. The film’s soundtrack has garnered over 1.6 billion streams on YouTube. Raees received five nominations at the 63rd Filmfare Awards, including Best Actor for Shah Rukh Khan.

Story

The film begins in the 1960s, indicated by a newspaper headline.

Raees, a sharp-minded boy from Fatehpur, Gujarat, a dry state, becomes involved in the illegal liquor trade at a young age. He adopts his mother’s philosophy: no occupation is low and no religion is greater than any occupation, using it as a mechanism of self-deception. With his best friend Sadiq, Raees starts working for a local gangster, Jairaj, who favors him for his innovative smuggling ideas. As Raees’s power and influence grow, he parts ways with Jairaj and, with the help of crime boss Musabhai, starts his own business. He gains immense popularity in his community by providing liquor and employment, earning political support from both the Chief Minister and opposition leader Pashabhai.

Meanwhile, honest and powerful police officer ACP J.A. Majmudar is transferred to Fatehpur and begins a major crackdown on alcohol dealers, focusing on Raees. Despite this, Raees manages to outsmart Majmudar, leading to hostile relations and a failed assassination attempt by Jairaj, whom Raees then kills in retaliation. Raees marries his neighbor Aasiya, and they have a son.

At their baby shower, Raees convinces the CM to transfer Majmudar to the Police Control Room and takes on a new real estate project. With Majmudar gone, everything seems to be going well. However, Majmudar continues to monitor Raees through phone taps and planted moles.

Raees publicly assaults Pashabhai over a disagreement, and the CM temporarily jails him as a PR stunt. While Raees is locked up, the CM and Pasha ally for the upcoming local elections. Feeling betrayed, Raees decides to run in the elections, using his popularity to win.

Seeing Raees as a threat, the CM recalls Majmudar to Fatehpur and declares Raees’s real estate project illegal. Raees incurs huge debt to his community, who had invested in the project. Communal rioting in the state imposes a curfew, jeopardizing his liquor business.

Desperate and broke, Raees turns to Musabhai, who offers money for smuggling gold by sea. However, serial bombings occur across India, and Raees realizes Musa used the gold to smuggle RDX. The police launch a massive crackdown, and all of Raees’s associates are caught or killed. Grieving, Raees kills Musabhai and his men for using him to kill innocents. He then surrenders to Majmudar, aware he will be kill. After a final conversation, Majmudar shoots Raees. As he falls, Raees recalls his life and his mother’s teachings. Majmudar drives away, contemplating Raees’s last words.

Main Casts

Production

Filming began in April 2015, with scenes shot in Mumbai, where sets were redesign to depict Ahmedabad slums. The final schedule took place in Gujarat in January 2016. Despite protests, filming in Bhuj proceeded without disruptions between January and February 2016. However, there was a clearance issue with the Archaeological Survey of India regarding a shoot at the medieval mosque and tomb complex, Sarkhej Roza, in Ahmedabad.