Rautu Ka Raaz Review: Emotional Crime Drama is Enjoyable

Zee5 is all ready to get to the bottom of a surprising mystery surrounding a school set in a sleepy town called Rautu in Mussoorie. The movie, with a runtime of 113 minutes will leave anyone shocked.

Rautu Ka Raaz is a simple whodunit that keeps many mysteries under wraps as it tries to get to the bottom of a rather underwhelming crime (at first) that turns out to be something more sinister. With a personal connection to the case, Inspector Deepak Negi tries to get to the bottom of the mess as he grapples with something tragic in his past.

I liked the movie’s intention – it reels us in with this small whodunit and injects emotions into the runtime that creeps up on you out of the blue. There’s a genuineness and humour to the story with a moral at the end and even though I have doubts about that ending, I enjoyed the slow and beautiful visuals of Mussoorie, coupled with Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s no-nonsense cop act that he has done so many times by now.

The storyline of Rautu Ka Raaz, as I previously mentioned, is simple and effective for a one-time watch. Deepak Negi is a sharp and witty policeman who just wants to do something good for the community. As people keep on mentioning throughout the runtime, he is a bit weird, but there is a reason for his weirdness and it makes him stand out. However, he’s not the quintessential quirky character either and the script balances him out well. The storyline, as with every whodunit, has several people who can be blamed and a few greedy individuals with a power fetish to keep viewers invested.

The mystery unfolds well – at no point will audiences be able to figure out the real murderer until the very end. It also showcases many atrocities that take place in schools for disabled kids in India and, for good measure, we also touch upon their hopes, dreams and aspirations that go beyond these kids’ disabilities. Rautu Ka Raaz definitely plays with our emotions from time to time, which proves to be a great break from the murder plot. The information coming out makes sense for the most part and adds value to the movie. Is it the best whodunit ever? No really, but it’s a good crime-drama film with something to say and keeps you invested for the most part.

However, it’s the ending that is a bit iffy for me. I think the twist was great and will completely take anyone by surprise. We are left shocked when the usual suspect is actually the good guy in the film (for once) and it’s someone who no one would (usually) look at in such situations. However, I think it was a bit forced, not because such a situation would be impossible but because it’s a bit much. The ending feels like the movie needed a twist to make us do a double-take and the creators made a decision on the culprit based on that.

There are also a few things that the movie introduces that are not addressed later on. I also question the morality of Negi’s decision in the end to club two different things together. Rautu Ka Raaz wants us to feel like he is a conflicted character who has probably done something bad in the past but it doesn’t turn out to be anything sinister, leaving us to question why that aspect was so unnecessarily dramatic. So then when he actually does something conflicting and immoral, it’s weird that he is somehow shown to be a hero.

Either way, the cast does a great job in the movie. The humorous bits fit snugly into the storyline and are effortless. Negi’s character is “weird” which makes for some funny moments and the child actors are also great in their scenes.

Rautu Ka Raaz Review: Final Thoughts

Rautu Ka Raaz is an entertaining watch with a simple story. There’s not a lot of complications, which surprisingly makes it charming, and the beautiful hill station just elevates everything. Although the morality and the CGI are questionable, the movie is a one-time watch that will make you smile.

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