Raag Desh Movie Review: Well-Intentioned But Poorly Executed

Tigmanshu Dhulia, who is known for making gritty crime films set in the badlands of North, attempts a different genre this time, taking up the subject of the trial of three officers of the Indian National Army by the British Government. But does this experiment succeed? Let’s take a look...

The film revolves around Major General Shah Nawaz Khan (Kunal Kapoor), Lt Col Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon (Amit Sadh) and Lt Col Prem Sehgal (Mohit Marwah) of the Indian National Army, who were tried for waging war against the King by the British Government after the trio joined Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose’s Indian National Army while being prisoners of war.

Sehgal’s father (Kanwaljeet Singh) ropes in veteran lawyer Bhulabhai Desai (Kenneth Desai) to defend the three and what follows forms the rest of the plot.

All the three lead actors have put in a dignified performance and deserve kudos for the way they have played their roles, especially Mohit Marwah, who shines through with his shy charm. Kenneth Desai as Bhulabhai is a sheer delight to watch on the screen as he takes on the British Empire in the courtroom and the others have performed decently. Special mention must be made of Kenny Basumatary as Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, who does a good job in his limited role.

There is no doubt that Dhulia made this film with noble intentions, but the execution could definitely have been better. The poster and the trailer of the film seemed to suggest that Raag Desh is a thrilling courtroom drama, but the film ends up veering in all possible directions, making it quite taxing to maintain your interest.

The film should have stuck either to the courtroom drama or to the back-stories of the three protagonists, but the director’s insistence on killing two birds with one stone, will definitely prove to be its undoing. The cinematography too is very average and the film is not visually appealing as such. Though the performances are above average and the dialogues are powerful, a loose screenplay and poor camera work ensures that the audience loses interest quickly in the story unfolding on the screen.

In conclusion, maybe Dhulia should stick to doing what he does best- make films about crime in North India...