Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
In a sleepy, picturesque hill town where nothing much of interest happens, a warden’s mysterious death at a school for underprivileged children sets the gossip mill running (which really is just two old men sitting on a bench and talking to each other). The residents are confident that the clever but weird inspector Negi will soon unravel the town’s first murder case in over a decade.
Directed by Anand Surapur, who co-wrote the film with Shariq Patel, “Rautu Ka Raaz” stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui (Afwaah/Badlapur/Tiku Weds Shera) as protagonist Deepak Negi, while Rajesh Kumar plays his sidekick Naresh Dimri. Together with his ragtag team of cops, who’d rather close the case, take a vacation, and visit a temple, Negi begins to investigate the death of Warden Sangeeta (Narayani Shastri) of Sevadham School. As leads begin to emerge in the case, it turns out the warden was privy to several dark secrets that slowly tumble out of the closet.
Set in the hills of Uttarakhand, the murder mystery is a simple, small-town thriller, but the epicenter of action is quite unique – Sevadham School mostly comprises children with vision impairments. Atul Tiwari plays Manoj Kesari, the owner of the school, who is a little too keen on closing the case, inviting suspicions over whether there’s more to the case than meets the eye. Despite its leisurely pace and laidback characters, “Rautu Ka Raaz” keeps throwing up new layers of intrigue in its 2-hour runtime.
I saw Nawazuddin Siddiqui last in the dark, flashy thriller “Haddi”, where he seemed miscast as a vengeful transgender woman. However, in “Rautu Ka Raaz”, Siddiqui is at his entertaining best as the practical, straightforward Inspector Negi. He suffers from some past trauma and gets a little too emotionally involved in the warden’s case, although, since his painful past is only explored in superficial glimpses, it could’ve been eliminated from the plot. His personal investment in the case could’ve remained intact without the fleeting soppy glimpses of his past as Negi’s genuine interest in the welfare of the visually impaired students of Sevadham School makes for a significant theme of the story.
Laden with subtle humorous moments and interactions, “Rautu Ka Raaz” drums along smoothly with its little twists and turns. Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Rajesh Kumar make an entertaining duo as Negi and Dimri, their senior-junior work equation is low-key comical. One of the funniest scenes in the film is when the cops find a lot of cash at a crime scene, and when Negi instructs his juniors to record the recovery, Dimri asks, “Should we record everything? I have five kids at home,” implying he wishes they could keep some money for themselves. Negi promptly responds by saying that Dimri popping kids is not the government’s problem. Dimri, however, never takes offense at Negi’s affronts and meticulously follows whatever instructions he is given by his senior. The two comically manipulate all the witnesses in the case to cough up the truth or give them leads.
The cinematography and screenplay are straightforward, oftentimes charming due to the mountains, and thankfully there are no song-dance sequences to distract from the story. The last 15-20 minutes throw in a surprising story twist that at first feels like an attempt to cheat viewers because it simply feels out of the blue, although it’s faintly foreshadowed throughout the runtime. You know, it’s a Deus Ex Machina kind of twist, yet it kind of falls into place. However, the emotional tone of the ending wasn’t as satisfactory as the creators intended it to be. If you like cozy mysteries with a sprinkling of humor and local flavor, without much grandiosity or complex twists and turns, this is a good pick.
You can watch “Rautu Ka Raaz” on Zee5.
Read Next: Eric Review – Retro Thriller That Embraces Its Monsters
Also Read: Mother-Daughter Murder Night Book Review (Audio version below)