Raqeeb (2007) User Reviews

Misguiding the audience

[imabhichubby · 4/10 · 17 June 2007]

One thing I don't get is why Indian directors tend to throw off the audiences particularly in suspense movies by showing scenes which otherwise either "break the truth" of the story or are absolutely unnecessary. For example, in Raqeeb there are a couple of scenes which after seeing the movie you realize were actually wrong in context of the story and were put in to misguide the audience. The first scene is when they show Siddharth chatting with Sophie and "setting" her up against Remo. In the end we find out that Siddharth knew Sophie and they plotted Remo's murder. That being the case, why would the director show Siddharth telling Sophie (on behalf of Remo) that he's a different kind of man, that he's gay..etc. Doesn't make sense. The "setting up" would've happened behind doors. The second scene designed to throw off audiences is when Sophie goes to Siddharth's party and pulls him aside to tell him why she was tensed. Again Siddharth and Sophie were partners in crime and they knew what was happening. The scene was designed to have audiences think Siddharth was innocent. Also, in the movie they show that Sophie makes up a story where here parents died in the crash caused by Remo's mother. Totally unnecessary, just complicating the plot and adds no value to what Sophie and Siddharth were trying to achieve.

Overall, the plot is OK. Can watch on video or DVD. But I just wish that Indian directors mature soon enough.

Lots of unrealistic twist

[manoj-ransing · 3/10 · 18 August 2007]

What can you say (or write) about the movie which starts with the leading actress oozing from the swimming pool, with the minimum clothes allowed Bollywood movies? Yup, thats what Raqeeb is all about, and thats what exactly Tanushree Dutta continues to do in rest of the movie. So if you are looking for that this is the movie you will like.

But not most people will like it. The movie is supposed to be a thriller, but in that way its a hyper thriller. The twists happened in the regular interval, and when you think there is nothing more, more twists happen. In all lot of twists happen. Three main actors and one leading actress, all are good at one time and bad at other times. The main problem is there are lots of turns and twists. Songs are not great. Actors are immatures. Nothing much to see.

A too much twisted and turned story + body of Tanushree Dutta + not so great actors = Raqeeb.

Confused and overambitious

[anirban-iimc · 4/10 · 29 July 2007]

The movie sets out to be a gripping thriller with numerous unpredictable yet well carried out twists but ends up a hash of everything filmy. To be fair, the movie does get around to catching your attention for a while in the second half. However, the director finds himself in the twilight zone unable to decide between making it a 'wild things' or a 9:00 pm TV Soap. The final half hour or so seems more like a free for all with perhaps everyone from the actors (most of them of the ham variety), to the spot boys contributing dementedly to the script. The twists are not in sync with the first half of the movie and are as believable as Tanushree Dutta's histrionics. If Sidharth (Sharman Joshi) was always hand in glove with Tanushree, then why would he speak to her over the phone in the beginning and do the whole act of introducing his friend as a gay. For such an expert planner, why would Sidharth and Tanushree just go off for a Bahamas vacation immediately after the murder. If the plan was just to shoot Mr Khanna, then why did Tanushree have to entice, trap, sleep with and set up poor guy Jimmy Shergill. Any hired killer would have done it without a hassle. How did the money suddenly disappear from the ICICI account.And yeah, did they really have to bring in a tormented mother angle to the proceedings, why couldn't Sharman Joshi be just plain vanilla evil. These and many more remain either unanswered or imminently avoidable or both. If only someone had paid a little more attention to details in the movie, this one could well have been one of the better ones to come out of Bollywood. A pity.

A garbage thriller

[Chrysanthepop · 8 August 2007]

This movie pretends to be a gripping thriller with loads of wannabe-unpredictable and non-smart twists. Because Jimmy Shergill was in it and I liked most of his work, I thought this one would be worth my time but I was wrong and why the hell did he choose to play this remains a mystery to me. Anurag Singh's direction is amateurish and the screenplay is suited for the B-grade thrillers. I would like to ask Rahul Khanna that if he's only going to appear in about two Hindi films every 5 years, why pick the rotten apples from the trashcan? No doubt that the actor has talent, now only if he picked the right films. None of the performances are up to mark. This is the first Tanushree Dutta film, I've seen and she's quite a bad actress. Shergill is wasted and Joshi is bad. The twists and turns are so stupid and very predictable. The director actually thought he was making something smart! Maybe he should have his brain checked.

Rival to the viewers

[springsunnywinter · 2/10 · 21 June 2007]

A poor thriller that was extremely slow although it was 2 hours that should of been cut down to about 1.5 hour. The suspense in the first half was so predictable that you didn't even have to be of average intelligence to know who is bad and who is good. The story was OK about a guy Remo who is shy and his friend Siddharth constantly pesters him to socialise so that he can meet a few girls and fall in love. The direction was weak thanks to Anurag Singh (Sarcasm) and with rubbish casting, each actor was worse than the other. Rahul Khanna's only good film was Elaan and that was because of John Abraham & Arjun Rampal. The twists & turns in the second half slightly got rid of the boredom but it did not make the film any better. The music was interesting made by one of my favourite music composers Pritam; the best song is Dushmana during the opening credits but what is the use of good songs in a bad film, that too, if you have someone like Tanushree Dutta who dances with two left feet?

A bad thriller

[silvan-desouza · 1/10 · 16 January 2010]

What is wrong with Jimmy and Sharman? Well maybe they want to do something different but end up signing any crap b grade thriller After the release of LIFE IN A METRO Sharman came back with a negative role in RAQEEB

The film's problem is that it tries too hard to be a thriller but ends up being a bad one It starts off well and some twists are good but the script is bad and so is the execution The climax is bad

Direction is awful Music is okay

Sharman Joshi surprises with a powerful performance in a negative role which is different from his comic roles Jimmy Shergill's role of an obsessive lover is done to death and he is good but his role is sidelined suddenly Rahul Khanna is average Tanushree is awful and her dubbing by someone else is awful rest are okay

Raqeeb for Rahul Khanna

[cybersupam · 3/10 · 9 October 2007]

I just watched this due to I heard that Rahul Khanna plays the role of a security engineer in the movie. Nothing other reason(s) I can say for watching this movie. Well the movie is considered as a slow suspense thriller but it has many downfall plots and screenplays that blocked the movie from winning the audiences' hearts. There is a big question mark for Tanushree Dutt why she accepted this role when offered to her? After a smash hit of Aashiq Banaya Apne she doesn't seem to continue her sense of choosing roles. Jimmy Shergill did his role just as the script demands but still not satisfying enough. And the same goes to Sharman Joshi. Again, Rahul Khanna suits enough with his role in the movie but how long will he continue the one-sided role again and again, with the same body language he did before in Elaan. The director Anurag Singh has the director's sense but he should be little effective in making movies.

Lovers too many !

[Queen_of_pentacles · 7/10 · 29 May 2007]

The title says, rivals in love ! what exactly does that mean ? No doubt, Tanushree Dutta, a one time Miss India, is sexy, bewitching, dramatic, smart, waxing eloquent on the philosophy of love and life etc. etc. , but three men in love with the same woman ? isn't that a bit too much to handle ?

But our heroine Sophie,seems to manage it with considerable ease, as she is an expert at her seductive games, and like money and diamonds, so she has to really strike a balance, as to the richest man, and also the one, who would satiate her passion. As far as the casting is concerned, Rahul Khanna, and Tanushree are well chosen, so also Sharman, who plays Siddhartha. but it's Shergil, who seems a little out of place, with the get up that's given to him, as well as his character, which is a confused one. He and Tanushree make an odd pair, where as Sharman fits the bill with his exotic dances, and young age. However, he tends to ham many a times, when he shouts his heart out, over the supposedly traumatic childhood , and the long term hatred nourished for his father, who disowned him, and unnecessarily for Remo, who was just a child at the time of the tragedy.

While you wonder, who is the real love of the shady heroine, the plot line gives you a jolt, by bringing Siddharth into the picture, and ideally, the movie could have ended there itself, saving the viewers, a lot of inconvenience, to see Remo alive again, Sunny helping to arrest the real culprit, Siddhartha emerging with that killing rod, Sophie's action making Remo aware of the danger, and both the villainous characters dying their gruesome deaths, as per the demand of the poetic justice ! Haven't we seen these kind of one-up situations plenty of times ? On other counts, Rahul Khanna gives a very mature and sensitive performance. It's creditable, that unlike Amitabh Bacchan, who leaves no stone unturned, to hype and boost Abhishek, his son, both Akshaye Khanna, and now Rahul, try to stand on their own merits. why the industry is not using more of this talented actor, is beyond understanding. Tanushree looks good, and has an average, yet one of her better performances to her credit. others are o.k. what is outstanding of this movie, is the dialogs, which are penned down quite matter of factly, and also delivered sensibly. Cinematography is pleasant, and music scores are tolerable. but why were those hurting blue lights were used in some of the scenes ?

If only they wouldn't have dragged this movie, in order to stretch the imagination to the maximum, like in one of those Hollywood flicks, Wild Things, or even Humraaz, of Bobby Deol, i would have rated this one at 8 out of ten. still, it's not avoidable either, for it's twists and turns, and especially for the male viewers, Tanushree sizzles !

excellent film

[xtreame_103 · 10/10 · 27 September 2009]

what is with all the hate towards this film ? i think this is film is a really excellent piece . this movie from the beginning has kept my interest up and the twist and turns made it even better. all the actors did a great job . Raul khanna did a great job . tunashree dutta did an excellent job . and sharman joshi and jimmy shergil did great jobs as well . there's not much going for music but dushmana is the best song in the movie. this movie reminded me a lil bit of Fida and Race . overall this is a great movie . the plot and twist are great . tunashree dutta looks beautiful [[ i don't know why people think shes ugly ]] . Raul khanna is great as so was he in elaan .. and great to see sharman joshi in a negitive role

Wow create romantic suspense

[ravinderk1222 · 10/10 · 5 September 2019]

This movie kept me entertained, you can never guess which way the story will turn and it wasn't chaotic. There was a realistic choice of sophisticated and fun man. Movie shows how greed can change anyone. I always question the reviews, when a small film does great there's no credit, but big films due to actors, costumes and music distracts the real story. Then people blame Bollywood.

Mind-blowing suspense movie with some flaws

[shaileshmkawale · 9/10 · 23 January 2021]

This movie is probably the best suspense thriller in bollywood with some conditions apply. If you watch the movie for the first time, you can't guess the the suspense. It is a very fast paced movie. It has a long story but runtime is only 2 hrs.

Pros: 1. Amazing suspense, a lot of twists till the end 2. Dialogues are praiseworthy and match the scenes. They add shock value to the upcoming twist. 3. Comedy by vivek shauq and Sharman Joshi 4. Every twist is explained properly when the suspense is revealed 5. Songs are nice

Cons: 1. There are 2-3 scenes that are added to make the suspense difficult to guess but they seem very illogical when the suspense is revealed. Those scenes should have been written well. One more character should have been added to those scenes 2. Some more flaws can be found in Tanushree Dutta's character (but they can be forgiven as they are not related to the actual suspense) 3. The performances are good but the actors are not crowd pullers