This man is fast becoming one of my favourite directors in Bollywood. Although, known for making the non-commercial films, Tigmanshu Dhulia goes a bit mainstream this time but without making it feel quite so irritating. Maybe just the songs were a bit out of place and unnecessary, but apart from that ‘Bullet Raja’ is really worth the watch.
The whole Raja Misra (Saif Ali Khan) and Rudra (Jimmy Shergill) bromance brings to mind the Jai-Veeru bromance from ‘Sholay,’ however, not as powerfully portrayed on screen. Jimmy Shergill, an actor I have garnered respect for over the years, does good justice to his role.
I always thought Saif Ali Khan’s crowning achievement was landing Kareena Kapoor as his wife, but he proved me wrong. I must say this is one of his best performances to date. He’s able to portray those little things that make a movie character whole, something I haven’t seen him do in a while.
Dhulia is able to bring to light the underbelly of the political situation in in Uttar Pradesh quite well. The story is something we never keep in mind, although we do experience it from time to time. ‘Bullet Raja’ (Raja Misra’s ‘political’ name), reluctantly adopts a gangster life due to the violence and caste-divide in UP politics.
The movie follows the traditional gangster goes good style as Bullet Raja manages to stop the world from falling into anarchy. The violence present throughout the movie is very Tarantino-esque. It has that whole disregard for physics and humorous vibe to it.
The scene where Raja insists on shooting one of his targets from more than 100 metres away, provides a bit of comic relief in the midst of loads of violence.
The Verdict: ‘Bullet Raja’ is definitely worth the watch. It has that very ‘Sholay’ feel to it although I doubt it will garner that big a cult following. Catch this one before it runs out of theatres!