Of missing connections & mess ups

Nonika Singh

Janam janam ka saath hai nibhane ko, sau sau baar meine janam liya… remember the lilting song that reinforced the strength of love across many lives. Indeed, rebirth is central to Indian philosophy and has been a trigger for many a film, some riveting, some ploughing the usual dead ground. In a standard reincarnation film hovering over unrequited love, hero and heroine are born again to find true love and seek revenge from the man (or woman), who tore them apart. 

Raabta, too, is a triangle of sorts where all three faces get a new lease of life. And the film its jagged edges, not the kind which create tension, rather the type that evince quite a few yawns.  Of course, if you are clueless about the film’s theme, it begins on an unsuspicious note.  

And tries its hand as a bubbly  Gen Next  romance, the usual modern day variant of boy (Sushant Singh Rajput) meets girl (Kriti Sanon) love story. Before you can immerse in their smooth rollicking affair and applaud at its new dynamics (after all the hero is called Badan and  the heroine  ‘accused’ of exploiting the handsome boy, all in jest of course), it’s time to turn serious.

Presto, the third face, Jim Sarbh appears; a wee bit charming and a trifle enigmatic. However, as all three of them are drawn into a vortex of past life, the criss-cross gets less puzzling and more tiresome. 

Kya ajeeb shuruaat hai—comes the dialogue close to the end. Actually the film’s start, middle and end all too are rather peculiar and we don’t mean it as a compliment. Save a few dialogues that an earnest Rajput utters with heightened excitement, nothing is exciting really. Actors seem to be in self-congratulatory mode and describe themselves in flattering terms which are rather off-putting. In-between there is a stray interesting one-liner: “Economics is alright but isn’t chemistry something.” 

Sure, chemistry is important and palpable too between the lead pair but is clearly not enough at all and is sans intensity in any case. A love story spanning two lives ought to be replete with several heartfelt moments. Alas, the heart doesn’t go dhak dhak either. The film that tries too hard to be mysterious doesn’t get a single nuance right, not a moment when you get goose-pimples or your share of chills and thrills. 

Nowhere does it make you invest in its characters. Nor does it keep you engaged when the film moves past forward. In fact, the previous lives of its principal characters with flashes of Game Of Thrones (almost as if you have stumbled into Dothraki tribe) and abounding with strange looking people is absolutely a tedious watch. Even Sushant cast in a different avatar doesn’t pass muster. Be it at his garrulous best as the lady-killer banker or the tribal warrior, his earnestness can’t save the film. This Raabta is more about missing connections, not just with us as viewers. Its two disparate worlds collide rather than find a meeting ground. And pray what’s gifted lyricist Irshaad Kamil doing in film that comes on the wings of two remix songs, one a blast from the past, Ek ladki bheegi bhaagi si, and the other Kuch to hai tujh se raabta, recreated from the more recent Agent Vinod.  Of course, if you love playing guessing games, look out for talented Rajkummar Rao. Sadly like much else in the film he too is lost.