Anticipation for Shah Rukh Khan’s “Raees” had been building up steadily ever since the release of the first teaser in July 2015, and exploded with the release of the official trailer late last year. SRK’s turn as a Gujarati gangster seemed to hearken back to the violent, gritty, and often absurd Bollywood crime dramas of yore, and promised to be a return to more crowd-pleasing fare for the superstar following 2016’s somewhat more subdued “Fan”. The film also got embroiled in its fair share of controversy, primarily due to the presence of Pakistani actor Mahira Khan (who plays the female lead).
The wait is finally over, and if the overwhelming praise for the film on Twitter is anything to go by, it may just have been worth it – if only for the performances of the leads. The Rahul Dholakia directed film released today, on the same day as Hrithik Roshan vehicle “Kaabil”, and while the latter film has also garnered a strong reception, there’s little doubt which superstar is coming out on top in this fight – at least on Twitter.
Take a look:
Critics enjoyed the nostalgia trip, as well as the performances:
#Raees is a full 70s 80s ka Bachchan wala mass entertainer with style, @iamsrk & @Nawazuddin_S excel @TheQuint
— Suresh Mathew (@Suresh_Mathew_) January 24, 2017
#Raees calls for a rewatch at Gaiety. @iamsrk makes u want to whistle & shout! @FarOutAkhtar @ritesh_sid @rahuldholakia throughly enjoyed it
— Saiyami Kher (@SaiyamiKher) January 25, 2017
#Raees Review- This movie is best Gangster drama film after Once upon a time in mumbai & equally good as OUTM . I give it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Must watch
— Sumit kadel (@KadelSumit) January 25, 2017
Especially the performances:
#Raees totally lives up to what it promised: @iamsrk in top form supported strongly by @Mdzeeshanayyub & an electric @Nawazuddin_S
— Udita Jhunjhunwala (@UditaJ) January 24, 2017
#Raees movie review: SRK is sensational. There’s no stopping this one. An outright winner. Just don’t miss it! Link: https://t.co/qXs4liltKQ pic.twitter.com/Eh9BhMTNOg
— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) January 24, 2017
@iamsrk Congratulations on #Raees.. Awesome performance.. Continuous whistling in theatre. First day first show..
— Sapna Kashyap (@imsk55555) January 25, 2017
#Raees was awesome. Balance of action, drama and romance. Career Best Performance of @iamsrk. Must watch. @RedChilliesEnt
— SOUMYA SAHA (@SoumyaSaha93) January 25, 2017
@iamsrk just watched #Raees fullon entertainment.Grt performance in negative role.@Nawazuddin_S and @TheMahiraKhan superb acting.#RaeesDay
— Nihar Ranjan Mohanty (@nihar234) January 25, 2017
Fearless performances & brilliant dialogues. @iamsrk ur a true combo of dimag & daring?@Nawazuddin_S yet again remarkable performance.#Raees
— Abdul Naeem (@iamnaeemm) January 25, 2017
#raees srk has author backed role anyway. But nawaz’s role is nothing on-paper…yet kills it. His entry scene is a killer.
— Od (@odshek) January 25, 2017
Of course, not everyone was as enthusiastic:
Hats off to u sir @iamsrk for u brilliant performance in #Raees
But the main prob.. is #Mahira & end of the movie…3*/5— sanjay kumar (@imSanJai17) January 25, 2017
Guru on steroids. American Gangster on Prozac. Narcos lite. Scarface scrambled. #Raees
— Tareque Laskar (@tarequelaskar) January 25, 2017
#Raees is not worst as Happy New Year or Dilwale but it’s not amazing either. Miss old @iamsrk & his wonderful movies.
— Alia’s Omkar (@TheOmkarSethi) January 25, 2017
#Raees But later on the film starts to dip in form in 3rd act. Emotional scenes hav been poorly executed leading up to a rather bland climax
— Od (@odshek) January 25, 2017
#kabil has already recieved decent reviews, same is also expected from #Raees .Both will earn money till sunday,then both will fall flat.
— DRP (@imdrp) January 25, 2017
And this Twitter user raised a disturbing and valid point:
Almost no mention of @TheMahiraKhan in the reviews of #Raees Unfair Unprofessional. work will speak for itself, Mahira! Chins up! @iamsrk
— Shazia Majid (@ShaziaSarwar) January 25, 2017
Given the controversy leading up to the film, one wonders what this signifies.
