Raja Natwarlal - the name didn't ride on any big hopes prior to its release. It marks the fourth collaboration of director Kunal Deshmukh and Emraan Hashmi and that too outside the Vishesh Films camp. A con- caper at its heart, Natwarlal entwines all the possible elements of a typical Hashmi potboiler - drama, revenge, twists and the customary lip locks.
The Plot. A street-smart thug named Raja(Hashmi) inadvertently crosses paths with a deadly Cape Town-based don, Vardha(Kay Kay Menon, deliciously menacing)when he, along with mentor Raghav(Deepak Tijori), steal away a hefty sum from his men. Raghav is killed by Vardha's men and Raja swears revenge.He takes the help of a rather cynical ex-con guru Yogi(Paresh Rawal)in devising a royal scam to rob the don off all his ill-acquired wealth. With an agenda that they would auction a fake cricket team to Vardha as the sport is ostensibly his only weakness, the stage is all set for the battle of wits!
Reportedly inspired from the 1973 Hollywood flick, Sting, Raja Natwarlal manages to keep you hooked with all its twists and turns. With an undercurrent of humor and crisply written dialogues, the narrative springs out good sequences , particularly when Raja and his motley of con-men stage a fake meeting of Vardha with the cricket board Chairman with a pest-control-in-progress tag outside the room. What doesn't work here is the love track between Raja and his girlfriend, Ziya(Humaima Mallik) and the monotonously choreographed dance-bar numbers. And every time, the action ticks off , it is soon ruptured by stupidly placed songs .Even the beautiful picturizations amidst the scenic locales of Cape Town and the music by new-find Yuvan Shankar seldom do the damage control. It would also require a suspension of disbelief for the discerning viewer to see how an overtly incredulous tycoon gets tricked in the name of a fake cricket league.
With a mediocre intensity this time, Emraan Hashmi pulls off the act efficiently. He imbues Raja with a steely resolve and manages to give an emotional depth to the character. The movie redeems much of its lost strength from accomplished stars like Paresh Rawal who is superb as the satirical con-coach and mouths hilarious two-liners and Kay Kay whose performance is near immaculate. It was rather disappointing to see the talented Mohd Zeesan Ayub(Raanjhana) wasted in a sliver of a role as the mute hit-man .Humaima, who proved her potential in Pakistani films, hardly impresses here and is reduced to an average glam queen.Sumeet Nijhawan(Maazii,Diskhiyaoon) is adequate as the wicked policeman.
Raja..isn't a great film, but at the same time doesn't disappoint you with its mischievous shades.
