Rowdy Rathore
wogma rating: Add to that never-watched 'To Watch' list (?)
Some witty lines and their perfect delivery try to compensate for the complete lack of plot and logic. But, the good news for the makers is their target audience isn't looking for logic or cohesion. It is looking for a good time in the theaters by laughing at the silliness and that's what the Rowdy Rathore delivers for them.
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Exactly as you'd expect, Rowdy Rathore is a mix of a clever lines delivered in a rowdy style and much melodrama. The action is every bit macho and played out with much gusto. And exactly as you'd expect, Rowdy Rathore hasn't an iota of logic to its paper-thin story. So, yes for the fan of masala and Akshay Kumar, it's a package worth every bit of the ticket money. For others like us, it's exactly as you'd expect - a few laughs at the silliness of it all.
Amidst the silliness though, you are introduced to Shiva (Akshay Kumar), a petty crook, who doesn't mind letting the world know he is a thief, and hates children; and has no qualms when he thugs his friend. In fact, you are given an example of each to establish his character. And just when you begin to admire the consistency of his character even though he's the 'supposed' hero of the film, you are asked to lose hope of any major character development. For seemingly no rhyme or reason, he chooses to tolerate a child who he's annoyed with rather than have his way.
When the lead character is given such shabby treatment, we didn't really think the female lead would be accorded any respect, did we? Not with a title like Rowdy Rathore. While Shiva's lady love, Priya (Sonakshi Sinha) is thrown in and out of the screenplay, as per convenience, Sonakshi herself does little with what her role offers. She lacks grace in the dance and is equally rowdy. However, in this age of Kareena's and Katrinas, her rubenesque proportions are a welcome change. It's a shame then that it looked like they chose to go for a 'waist double' for close-ups of her supposedly slippery waist. That or she breathed out really hard for those close-ups. There is little damage control she could've done in the couple of scenes she is handed down towards the end.Then you have a few villains who thrive on humiliating people - men, women and children alike; weaker the better. Living in the heart of the country, no law applies to them.
Amongst many such clichés is rowdiness that seeps through the comedy, action, romance and sundry predictable emotional moments. And the film starts with melodrama, which doesn't dip right to the end. This consistency makes Rowdy Rathore an 'entertainer' that requires no laws of story-telling, or good film-making. The attempt at symbolism is hilarious because it is expressed too literally - from raping the police to the references to the mythology of Ram and Krishna, everything is spoon-fed.
What I did like though is that amid a lot of the violence, child artists were largely protected from being a part of it or even witness to it. But that there are a couple of scenes where children to witness utmost brutality makes me wonder if it was by design or coincidence.
But that's a small reward (if it can even be called that!) for seeing Akshay Kumar as Shiva dressed in pinks, reds, oranges, yellows, lime greens and purples. You can only imagine how loud the background score is to go with these bright colors.
But I do get it that that's the central theme - loudness. While Rowdy Rathore is certainly not a film I'd recommend, but it has a carved audience of people who aren't going to wait for any such recommendation.
- meeta, a part of the audience
Thumbs up, by Stefan S, A Nutshell Review : ...The plot is simple, the fight very pronounced between good and evil, the romance is thick and cheesy, and the villains all very cartoony.... full review
Thumbs up, by Taran Adarsh, Bollywood Hungama : ...The accurate blend of action, emotions, drama and humor, besides a superlative performance by Akshay Kumar, makes this an immensely pleasurable and delightful movie watching experience... full review
Thumbs up, by Subhash K Jha, Buzz in Town : ...It is an old-fashioned good-versus-evil comedy-action-drama with paisa-vasool written in every frame. ... full review
Thumbs up, by Nupur Barua, fullhyd.com : ...not once does the story fail to hold your interest, even when it becomes predictable.... full review
Thumbs up, by Martin D'Souza, Glamsham Editorial, Glamsham.com : ...ROWDY RATHORE has a storyline, unlike a few of the past Bollywood blockbusters that rode heavily on customized fight sequences. More importantly, Prabhu Deva has the pulse of the audience.... full review
Thumbs up, by Mrigank Dhaniwala, koimoi : ...Dialogues, penned by Shiraz Ahmed, are outstanding at places and alright at others. All in all, the script works because of the action and the comedy... full review
Thumbs up, by Sonia Chopra, Sify Movies : ...Rowdy Rathore is a film that’s good-looking, fun, and with a strong commercial flavor. Worth a watch! ... full review
Thumbs up, by K N Gupta, SmasHits.com : ...Lovely cinematography by Santosh Thundiyil's adds to the brilliance. Music composers Sajid-Wajid deserve applause for a tremendous album of songs. ... full review
Thumbs up, by Srijana Mitra Das, Times of India : ...a peppery pot-boiler brimming over with action, slapstick comedy and romance, dynamite lines and Akshay Kumar... full review
So-So, by Naresh Kumar Deoshi, Apun Ka Choice : ...It’s loud, ostentatious, gaudy, banal, and repeatedly teeters on the brink of imbecility, but then Akshay Kumar, the comedian, comes to the party and rescues the film just when the wheels threaten to come off. Credit to him, the film isn’t the disaster it could have been.... full review
So-So, by Bobby Sing, Bobby Talks Cinema.com : ...In all ROWDY RATHORE satisfies you mid-way with only a great & entertaining second half wherein Akshay performs in his full form as the action hero.... full review
So-So, by Prateeksha Khot, Bolly Spice : ...The first half is fun, but then dreaded curse of the second half strikes again as you end up dragging yourself through a very long movie.... full review
So-So, by Rony Dcosta, Desi Martini : ...Rowdy Rathore tries hard to be Wanted, Dabangg and Singham rolled into one.... full review
So-So, by Manu Agrawal , Desi Martini : ...Rowdy Rathore is that kind of cheapad action-comedy film which you will curse in Public but enjoy in the theater.... full review
So-So, by Blessy Chettiar, DNA : ...To be rolling on the floor laughing would be asking for too much. A lot of the comedy seems forced and Akshay tends to ham too. ... full review
So-So, by Ankit Ojha, Planet Bollywood : ...Technically, the cinematography was great, but the camerawork ranged from experimental to annoying at best, what with those crash zooms making us mad. The music and lyrics are dated and the background score fits in well with the music. ... full review
So-So, by Shilpa Jamkhandikar, Reuters : ...“Rowdy Rathore” is a hark back to the 1980s. If you enjoy cinema of that time and are an Akshay Kumar fan, give this one a chance.... full review
So-So, by Anuj Kumar, The Hindu : ...With plenty of opportunities to laugh at or laugh with the proceedings, this crude, noisy variety of entertainment reminds of the masala fare of the 80s... full review
So-So, by Rummana Ahmed, yahoo! India : ...'Rowdy Rathore' is a typical masala film, packed with romance, drama, melodrama and lots of action. The film is loaded with Tamil-style punch lines, slow motion action sequences where blood quietly trickles on to dusty ground and menacing-looking villains... full review
Thumbs down, by Kshitij , Desi Martini : ...just another retro masala entertainer. With obnoxious villains, forced humour & really really really loud audio, it will tire you out by the end of it.... full review
Thumbs down, by Ameetbhuvan, Desi Martini : ...A loud background score enough to induce a headache, a rotund Sonakshi Sinha, a sleep walking Akshay with fake mustaches (visible clearly in many a scene) and absolutely nothing in the name of a story... full review
Thumbs down, by Anupama Chopra, Hindustan Times : ...Rowdy Rathore is pure noise. Only the brave should venture in... full review
Thumbs down, by Rajeev Masand, IBN Live : ...Rowdy Rathore is excruciatingly long. The one-liners have little impact and make no sense, and the action has a been-there-seen-that feel to it.... full review
Thumbs down, by Fatema H.Kagalwala, India Entertainment : ...Everything about the film is loud – in-your-face close-ups, distorted wide-angles, loud explosions and thumping of dead bodies, endlessly screeching dialogue delivery and extremely contorted facial expressions.... full review
Thumbs down, by Shubhra Gupta, indian express : ...You take the masala films made in the 70s and 80s. Borrow liberally. Patch together a plot, or whatever passes for it. Rope in a star looking for a solo hit. And you get, all together now, 'Rowdy Rathore'... full review
Thumbs down, by Sanjukta Sharma, Live Mint : ...The story has gaping holes and has unintentionally illogical and absurd turns. The writing and performances are without any punches or surprises. The one-liners are platitudes which won’t extract even a chuckle... full review
Thumbs down, by Saibal Chatterjee, NDTV : ...Riddled with an array of loud, lame and specious contrivances, Rowdy Rathore plays out pretty much like a comic-book fantasy rendered in the form of a live-action film.... full review
Thumbs down, by Mansha Rastogi, Now Running.com : ...The film is nothing but a sequence of various action scenes stitched together interspersed by forced songs.... full review
Thumbs down, by Raja Sen, Rediff : ...A good meaty chunk of pointless predictability, brutal violence avenged by even more sadistic violence, and one-liners than make no sense... full review
Thumbs down, by Pratim D. Gupta, The Telegraph : ...A two-and-a-half hour unmitigated assault on the senses, it is the kind of movie that makes you wonder how exactly did Indian cinema end up here in the summer of 2012.... full review
Thumbs down, by Gaurav Malani, Times of India : ...The lack of originality is substituted with an overdose of action with a fight sequence popping up every ten minutes in the second half.... full review
Thumbs down, Upper Stall : ...To look for conventional plot, aesthetics or treatment in Rowdy Rathore is pointless. It is shamelessly commercial, but never once apologetic about it.... full review
TheLameStooge: Rowdy Rathore was good (Y)
THEESAKSHIGOPAL: so watched #rowdy #rathore yesterday n its jst wow i cant stop praising @akshaykumar he is wow iam in love with him
TheBandraBoy: Rowdy Rathore, the first half dragged on a little, the second half was amazing ! Perfect for what it wants to be... a masala film...
surenderpaul786: Rowdy rathore awesome movie .....sonakshi n akshay both r superb in the movie....grt.....movie.....
siddharth4137: Rowdy Rathore was as good as Entertainment! Entertainment! Entertainment! !!
ShehzadaManan: Rowdy Rathore published . awesome movie watch it...<3 http://fb.me/1FH3fnsuA
scorping: #rowdy rathore is what indian cinema is all about- masala, action, drama, comedy, item dance. Full on entertainment...
Satyamupadhyay4: Rowdy rathore one of the greatest movie
rushab_jain: ROWDY RATHORE nic movie must watch
Ronakpujari: Just saw rowdy rathore, superb comedy and action. #rowdyrathore
rohitrathi12345: Rowdy rathore awesome
rockidsboy: Saw a movie 'rowdy rathore' of akshay kumar gr8 movie:)
RahulRa29396521: rowdy rathore ... dmakedar movie ..!! :)
PVS_02: rowdy rathore rockssssssssssss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Pujanshah3Shah: rowdy rathore is fully fun movie
predictJaymz: 'Rowdy Rathore' - masala entertainer. Nice movie to refresh up.
prachipandey7: rowdy rathod u r awesome.loved ur movie very much
Prabhjot3469: just watched rowdy rathore.'twas rocking
prabhatdubey2: rowdy rathor it'd really rowdy rowdy rocks .......
parashah91: Watched rowdy rathore. Good. timepass movie.
neha0105: "Rowdy Rathore" fell in love with this movie.....awesomest :) :) :)
mirzasuhail45: Who didn't like rowdy rathore!! Wo Khopche mein miley.. @akshaykumar loved the movie! :*
LoveBipashaBasu: Kareena was looking sexy at ROWDY RATHORE as well as @sonakshisinha !!:) and @akshaykumar 's Sense of humor !!:D I need to watch it again:)
LalitDaga1: Grt flash back style sirji. Just rocking khiladi ji in Rowdy Rathore@akshaykumar
Kunalskepter: Rowdy Rathore, truly a rowdy film with south masala and amazing dialogues, full entertainment!!!I guess its better off for the action lovers
kmadhav: If u watched this Rowdy Rathore I BET u dat u will forget the Action of Ghazni wanted Dabbang bodyguard. @akshaykumar is superb in dis movie
kirannatt: rowdy rathore with the aunt <3 was a pretty funny movie :)
KINJALMEISHERI: ROUDY RATHORE is a faadu film... u rocked it.... More crazy for u now...
KaushalSinghKKC: its owsam movie Rowdy Rathod very good performence by akshay kumar and sonakshi.........
kanchagopal: rowdy rathore film bahut aacha hai
jnsahil101: Rowdy rathore is really rowdy... amazng movie... love 2 see it again... thnx sonakshi n akshay kumar for dis wonderful movie... thanx....
JindagiNishant: Akshay kumar superb in ROWDY RATHORE awesome mindblowing performance
jdoshi1991: Rowdy Rathore. A good entertainment flick. Live life, movie size, jumpy and careless.
jatinderpal91: Rowdy rathore...Awesum movie, nice job sir@akshaykumar
himanshu6670: Rowdy rathore is a superb film!@Akshayrealfans
gautambhalla21: Totally enjoyed Rowdy Rathore..!! Paisa Vasool entertainment..! There were whistling all the way scenes ..!
Fardeenbehlim: Rowdy Rathore is rock and is a really great action movie
dhawal4u: Rowdy Rathore rocks for sure.....Akshay kumar is superb....his comic timing and action sequences were absolutely... http://fb.me/2aWnR36Wt
centrelnaman: i like the movie rowdy rathore
bijitsinha19: rowdy rathore....awesome,,,,,sonakshi..mindblowing
ashokNshinde: nice Hindi Movie Rowdy Rathore
ARYANBHRIGUVANS: Rowdy rathod is a fabulus,fantastic and awesome movie.Akshay kumar,you are a great actor,you have done a rowdist acting
angelsoni87: I've become a big fan of Prabhu Deva... what a man... Is a very good director..Made a very good movie ' Rowdy Rathor'..superb Direction..:)
ANCHITAKSHAANSH: SONAKSHI'S AND ROUDY RATHORE IS VERY NICE MOVIE
aliceo668: I loved the movie Rowdy Rathore!! Keep it up Akshay n Sonakshi....keep doing chintaa taa taa
aishwary_shah: ACtly...ROwdY RAThoRe..is gud muvie......tHE grEaT SOutH tOUch.......... PrAbhUdEva.....nW ablE for one ONeether muvie....
aayushjain95: Rowdy RATHORE! Amazing movie! Awesome stuff by @akshaykumar aka AKKI :D :) #DontAngryMe #Rathore
AARAVMOHITKAR: ROWDY RATHORE is a very awesome movie of year ...... apun ka fatka 440 volt ka zatka ha ha ha ha......
15Harshit: WHAT A AWSM MOVIE IS ROWDY RATHORE , full of COMEDY And ACTION. YOU all must watch
ideawala: If you can bear the first half of rowdy rathore which is complete crap its actually a pretty good film.
iam_shivani: can't believe i'm saying this but Rowdy Rathore was not bad
DikoHarry: last night i see the movie rowdy rathod not good n not also bad....
XtremeLeft: This is real shock that how some movie reviewers hv given 3 stars to Rowdy Rathod, I mean movie deserve this F***
nischalgurung: Rowdy Rathore - Horrible Bad Film Once Again to Flop http://is.gd/1yLqPr #Bollywood #flop
Mayurdole: 30sec of Kareena Kapoor was the only good part about rowdy rathore #movie @KareenaNo1
kapgup: Sanjay Leela Bhansali: Rowdy Rathod. You gotta be kidding me. WORST MOVIE EVER. U need help!! @akshaykumar what were you thinking??
KamathGurudutt: Rowdy Rathore pathetic, geesa-peeta, gory, headache-inducing movie. Every 5 minutes I was asking -- ye ghatiya film kab khatam hogi? Avoid.
gooner_rachit: Rowdy Rathore : a waste of time
Brahmonaut: Rowdy Rathore is so bad, that the next episode of Satyamev Jayate will address the issue of falling standards of bollywood. #SMJ
avikri: Rowdy Rathore please dont watch..... one sick movie.... sonakshi sinha looks totally like a slut & akshay kumar... http://fb.me/1Xzb1bpW7
ashpathak1989: Rowdy Rathore is a crap....... It doesn't deserves more than one star in ratings..
anshul_bhat: Was not a good idea to watch Rowdy Rathore with kids. Nightmares :-(
ahsandaredia: I am now convinced that Akshaye Kumar is the worst actor alive. Rowdy Rathore ne dhimaag ka halwa bana diya hai. 2/10
AartiCKansal: Rowdy Rathore.. wat a nonsense movie it was.... Prabhudeva.. atleast remake banate time dialogues aur costume to... http://fb.me/1OLkF6uJW
0M17: when we thought Akshak Kumar couldn't get any worse after Tashan & Tees maar khan.. here comes the Rowdy Rathore. fuck off man! faltu movie
This page has additional observations, other than the ones noted in the main review.
Plot Summary
Shiva is a small-time pick-pocket thriving in Mumbai. Vikram Rathore is a valiant, honest officer in a little village in the heartland and is presumed dead by the villains of the village. Shiva looks like Vikram.
What Worked
- The SLB films video logo is beautiful.
- 'Chinta ta ta' theme step introduced in the titles of the film looks grand.
- The statutory warning against smoking is direct and cool. Not that I agree with whether or not it belongs in a film at all, but that if it has to be there, might well go about it, in a cool way.
- It was rather cartoonish but that the thieves could see jewelry walking around and not people was a nice way of putting their minds across.
- The 'stop-rewind-play'. Every time it is used, brought a smile.
- Mockery of men's deodorant adverts.
- Use of the 'chinta ta ta' step to do CPR on an unconscious person.
- The way Shiva flicks mobile phones.
- Akshay Kumar's dance in white in the last song. It was simply amazing, especially for a man his age.
What did not
- Self-referencing joke by Akshay Kumar was too predictable. Also, the way it came about was as if he was exposing his insecurity.
- Kareena Kapoor's special appearance.
- The loud chachi at the wedding.
- Well, there is no attempt at all at thinking about continuity or logical jumps, let alone maintaining them. So, no point in listing them here.
Parental Guidance:
- Violence: Full of brutal violence.
- Language: Rowdy(?) but not abusive.
- Nudity & Sexual content: Rape implied and talked about in a few scenes.
- Concept: Good vs Evil.
- General Look and Feel: Bright and loud.
![[Facebook page of Rowdy Rathore]](/static/images/icons/facebook_small.png){kind=icon}
![[Twitter account of Rowdy Rathore]](/static/images/icons/twitter_small.png){kind=icon}
![[YouTube channel of Rowdy Rathore]](/static/images/icons/youtube_small.png){kind=icon}
![[Wikipedia page of Rowdy Rathore]](/static/images/icons/wiki_small.png){kind=icon}
![[IMDB Page of Rowdy Rathore]](/static/images/icons/imdb_small.png){kind=icon}
Comments (14)
@Prashant hopefully there will be a slow and steady change. At least some of the non-standard films are getting a break from the larger audience.
@nkit i guess i should have said *relatively* clever?
@Pradeep :D I have forgotten the potential Akshay Kumar had as an actor. Or maybe I have given up.
@Sachin You can check http://wogma.com/category/hindi-movies/basic/ instead of the main page. This will give you only films that are in Hindi. Hope that works. Thank you.
@TimEliebe oh well, waht can I say? Let me know what you and your wife think?
@Sunny :)
@Anuj good for you!!
@TimELiebe and Aankhen too! http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0306434/
@Anuj arre, just because Akshay Kumar acted well in Aankhen and Khakee how does it take away anything from the other actors of the film?
@Anuj No-no! no sarcasm. and yes, I don't like him in those typical comedy roles. Gets to me after a while. Which is why his act in Khakhee and Aankhen was a refreshing surprise.
@TimELiebe now let's hope at least some of you enjoy it.
FYI, we saw AANKHEN a few weeks back, and yes you were right, Meetu - it was an excellent showcase for Akshay Kumar's serious side. The plot was a bit hard to swallow in spots but undeniably suspenseful, and they tied up some seemingly dropped plot threads in a way that had us all laughing with delight! I hadn't expected Amitabh Bachchan to be such a flat-out villain, Sushmita Sen is my new crush and has impressive acting chops every time we've seen her, it was good to see Arjun Rampal play a hero role for a change (we mostly know him as "Mike" from OM SHANTI OM and Ra-One's Terminator form), and Paresh Rawal brought some surprising poignancy to a stock comic relief character.
Thank you very much for the recommendation! It was worth the purchase - since Netflix still doesn't have it...
Oh, excellent @TimELiebe! I'm so glad you guys enjoyed it :D
@Anuj: Do I need to watch DABANGG? I've seen it crop up as what I guess is a kind of "hip cult film" in other Bollywood movies (kind of the way Al Pacino's SCARFACE crops up in recent Hollywood movies)....
@Meetu: Apparently the only way to legally watch ROWDY RATHORE in the US is via Netflix Streaming - which uses some kind of removable subtitles option that is hard to turn on if you're not watching the movie on a computer! We tried watching the first few minutes last night after giving up on WE ARE FAMILY a half-hour in (more in my comment on it), and while it looked like a lot of dumb fun, I was the only person watching who was willing to try and parse the story out without benefit of subtitles....
@TimELiebe I'd say wait for the DVD with subtitles to be out.
@Meetu, we finally watched ROWDY RATHORE - and yeah, I guess we were the target audience for this movie, because we all loved it! Yes, it was ridiculous and over-the-top, and that thing with water as a brain hemorrhage cure was treated more like a super-power than anything medically possible - but everybody, even Tammy who started out grousing about some of the logic and plot holes, ended up clapping up clapping our hands in glee and chanting, "Row-Dy! Row-Ry! Row-Dy Rathore!"
It's the kind of dumb fun entertainer that we sometimes really enjoy seeing - the songs were good, the dances were fun (we liked Sonakshi Sinha's dancing better than you did, apparently - and thought she was fun as a nice girl turned badass!), the kid was just the right blend of adorable and persistent to melt the hero's hard heart, the villains were irredeemable slime bags fit only for extermination, and Akshay Kumar was giving it his all in the light-adventre hero department. We bought it on DVD (finally!) after fussing with Netflix Streaming several times without success - and I'm glad we did, because I think this is a crowd-pleaser we'll come back to.
In fact, I'm going to share this movie with my friends on The Gentlmen's Guide to Midnight Cinema - I think it's right up their alley....
@TimELiebe oh dear lord...to each his own, to each his own.
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