Vicious, Bloody & Mind-Bending, Raman Raghav 2.0 Features Nawazzudin Siddiqui's Career-Best Performance

Raman Raghav 2.0 is one of those movies that you would want to watch again. Partly because the film has a topsy-turvy narrative that would leave with you some questions after it ends, and also because the ride – unreliable as it was – was just so damn fun.

Raman Raghav 2.0 is about a serial-killer and a cop. The serial-killer hunts innocent people, and the cop tries to catch him. Pretty simple, isn’t it?

Wrong. As that’s about the only clichéd thing the film does.

The serial-killer, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, is a psychopath with a unique vision of the world. He’s pathological, scary and absolutely intriguing. Yes, the concept of serial-killers has been attempted before. But to have an absolutely unredeemable murderer occupy most of the scenes in a movie, without grossing out the audience too much, is something that takes a helluva vision—and a performance of remarkable restraint.  

This is Nawazzudin Siddiqui’s show, quite literally. Not only is he inch-perfect as the role of a person for whom killing is as natural as eating, but it’s his character that pulls all the strings. He is the focal point of all the confusion and mayhem. He is at the heart of all the mind-warping.  

Not to say that his rival Vicky Kaushal does badly. The Masaan star, in a role that is completely polar opposite of his star-turn, is impressive in his own right. Playing the role of a morally dubious and druggie cop, he holds the screen with maturity that is rare for a young actor like him. Sobihata Dhuliwala, a newcomer with some key scenes in the film, also shows a lot of potential.

After the failure of Bombay Velvet, the film has Anurag Kashyap returning to his preferred playfield. Creating a disturbing world full of bloody violence and twisted philosophy is something the auteur filmmaker loves doing. Yes, his stylish approach causes a bit of unneeded confusion in the story he’s trying to tell. But then again, that confusion is something he wants the viewer to feel.

From the moment the trailer of the film was released, people have been murmuring the question “Is Anurag Kashyap back?”. In my view, it’s quite unfair to dismiss a director whose films have changed the landscape of Indian cinema after one failure. But in case you are one of the people who are curious about the answer, here’s it is: He’s back, big-time.

4 stars.

Here's the trailer: