There have been number of films in the recent past that have boasted of being set in noir genre. Sadly, none of them have actually turned out to be truly noir and sunk in a big way.
'Raqeeb' doesn't!
Truly noir in its narration, it takes audience through an exciting ride from the very first frame of the film and leaves you at a point towards the second half of the film when you feel that the story has culminated. But no, that's not the case as the noir narrative gets over after being 30 minutes into the second half and the thriller/horror genre takes over.
This is where one feels like giving director Anurag Singh a pat on the back for trying out different genres in his very first film. While the noir genre remains intact throughout as Sharman Joshi narrates the tale of a poisonous temptress [Tanushree Dutta], there are some comic and romantic moments through that only help the film not become too heavy.
In addition, there are those 'Raj Kanwar inspired' dramatic moments which turn out to be the high points of the film. Watch out for the interval point that brings the three key protagonists Rahul Khanna, Tanushree Dutta and Jimmy Sheirgill face to face, well almost, and you would know why!
The film only takes a turn for the better from this moment on as the pace catches up in the narrative. You have been introduced in the very beginning that Tanushree's character is not the one to be believed and hence there is absolutely no surprise (as intended by the director) when she plots the killing of her billionaire husband Rahul along with the help of her lover, played by Jimmy Sheirgill.
The murder does happen, she plays her move yet again to have Jimmy behind the bars (no one is surprised even at this moment) but there is one link, as agreed by even the character that Sharman plays, which is missing. As an audience you start wondering that how come the narrative is moving way too fast, what was so special about the entire setting if everything was required to be so much visible and on-your-face and what is it that is not meeting the eye!
This is where the narrative takes a different (and an unexpected) twist as you start getting a hint about the game of deceit that was being played in front of your eye all this while. What appeared like Tanushree's world all the time seemed to be inhabited with more than a decade old skeletons tumbling out of the closets at an alarming pace.
The suspense surprises and one starts relating to the little moments that Anurag Singh had embedded in the screenplay from the very beginning of the film. Hence while he fooled audience into considering themselves as too smart to be picking up the bigger hints, he kept the smaller ones close to his chest, hence adding on the shock value. To support this, you are treated to nuances like Rahul Khanna remembering about his past, his wonder-computer that converts a voice into an alphabet, his hacking capabilities, the car accident, Jimmy's eavesdropping on Tanushree's making out with her beau and last but not the least the an entire murder plan and the players involved.
What doesn't work though is the hurried climax that could have been churned out in a better way. Agreed that the fast moving second half is the plus point of the film but why the need to have blow-one-blow-two in the mandatory 'maar-dhaad' sequence in the climax and suddenly the rolling of end titles along with a mandatory promotional number start rolling.
Things are fine till the moment the protagonists get together in a church with the wit-soaked dialogues adding on the drama. But from this moment on there appears to be a compromise from the production perspective as a wrap-up happens way too fast. Moreover meeting of two of the four key protagonists who remain al
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