R... Rajkumar Hindi (U/A) *Director: Prabhu Dheva Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Sonakshi Sinha, Sonu Sood, Aashish Vidyarthy
When a love-struck hero declares that he would do anything for love, you must shut out your rational mind to salvage it from being incessantly battered by visual rape of a vile plot. Else, you would be in for a rude shock to watch him literally crawl out of his grave to win his lady love.
At the least, you must be informed that the hero is in the “safe hands” of mass-entertainment actor-choreographer-director Prabhu Dheva who has proved that he is capable of bemocking the sensibilities of the audience.
The title R…Rajkumar, implying Romeo Rajkumar (Shahid), turns out to be Ridiculous Rajkumar who keeps himself busy thrusting out his lips to make a squeaking sound whenever he sees his girlfriend Chanda (Sonakshi). Speaking of the girlfriend, Chanda seems to have a special knack to emerge on the screen whenever a violent duel breaks out at secluded places presumably late into the night, leaving the audience wonder what the heck she’s doing there. Wait…why worry when fate drags our Romeo to the spot, who seems to be oblivious of the dangers posed by the gun-totting assailants but enchanted by the beauty of the village lass.
Did we miss the story of the movie here? In fact, there seems to be one which talks about two warring feudal lords Shivraj (Sonu Sood) and Manik Parimar (Aashish Vidyarthi) who are into illegal opium trade with an international agent Ajit Taaka (the late Srihari) based in Bangkok. Rajkumar, with his super human heroics, becomes one of the most trusted henchmen of Shivraj in no time.
The plot “thickens” when Shivraj and Parimar decide to bury the hatchet and work together. So as to strengthen the bond, Parimar promises to marry off his neice (Chanda – heights of coincidence) to Shivraj. Rajkumar finds himself in a quandary requiring a choice between his lover and the new boss. The rest of the story is narrated in a style that defies Newton’s theory of gravity peppered with item songs. The dénouement sees an unusual proletarian uprising in which our hero gets the backing of other henchmen who ironically values the power of love and friendship over their loyalty to their bosses.
Apart from a few good songs and equally enjoyable dance moves, the movie falls flat in the absence of a strong story and script. The violent action formula, which did wonders for Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar, fails to revive Shahid’s sagging career.
Don’t waste your money when the makers of the film themselves blare it out as “Gandi Baat”, albeit in a foot-tapping fast number?