Bullet Raja is an all-out action entertainer! Occasionally you are left speculating why the potential of a star is not used to its full degree. Tigmanshu Dhulia’s ‘Bullett Raja’ is a good example of what Saif Ali Khan is actually capable of and he without a doubt reminds you of ‘Langda Tyagi’ from ‘Omkara’ but brings a lot more oomph this time round! Saif plays Raja Mishra, a small town boy who turns into an out-and-out gangster as he gets entwined in a shootout. The story then plots his and his friend Rudra’s played by Jimmy Shergill journey in the politics and violence of Uttar Pradesh. Raja and Rudra then make their way up into politics while playing henchmen for the leading antagonism party leader. The movie is action packed and the director does not try and keep it understated to attract crowds. He does not try to pull off ‘Dabangg’ style stunts either. The hair raising action sequences are extremely well paced and the wit and humour used to set off the scenes remind you why Dhulia is a genius. The characters of Raja and Rudra make compelling anti-heroes. They are loyal, romantic, witty, macho, and strong.
The movie has an great cast ensemble. Gulshan Grover and Raj Babbar in negative characters make you nostalgic for their performances in the 90s. Even Chunky Pandey, who plays a negative cameo in the first half is really commendable. Jimmy as usual makes you think why he is so underused in Bollywood and why more directors don’t take him on board. He seems to be one of Tigmanshu’s favourite actors – with a splendid performance in this movie; the director is not far off the mark. Sonakshi Sinha plays her ‘typical’ Bollywood heroine role, and does not have much to contribute like many of her other roles in recent movies. The romantic angle given to the movie is wasteful. Ravi Kishen plays a character with a lot of potential in the movie and could have been utilised better . The dialogues were written by Tigmanshu himself are crisp and witty and don’t fizzle out at any part of the movie. They are not over done either. Some of them got wolf whistles as the audience cheered the actors for some more. With all the pluses in the movie however, the songs in the movie are disappointing. Sajid-Wajid has provided a good background score with a true Hollywood western style mouth organ playing at the pauses and the intense parts of the movie. The songs are badly placed. ‘Dont touch me’ and ‘Tamanche pe disco’ make you think why the director needed to put these tracks at all when he could have easily done without them.
Bullett Raja is not your usual gravity defying stunt filled motion picture that asks you to leave your brains behind. The twists and turns in the plot keep you rooted to the seats for the entire movie. They might be somewhat predictable but are not stretched and don’t underestimate the intelligence of the viewer. The movie is a must watch for anyone who loves hard core action. It is not as intense as Dhulia’s previous ventures were, but ‘Bullett Raja’ will surely not let you down. The movie scores a 6.5/10.