I normally don't watch a movie until I know that the movie has really good reviews. I made an exception for this movie and it totally disappointed me. I think a great script and a talent like Nawazuddin was wasted. The movie did not feel scary at any point and I am not sure what the director wanted to prove here. I was very excited as it is not common to see an Indian movie on a psychopath (from the 60s). I thought it would be something like a Quentin Tarantino movie.

An opening rider in Raman Raghav 2.0 establishes the film's connect (as well as the disconnect) with the infamous serial killer of the 60s Mumbai: Raman Raghav, who had left a trail of 41 odd murders behind him. "This film is not about him," the disclaimer states. Indeed the film is about a contemporary copycat killer. But then it is not just about the new age Ramanna either.Whodunnit? Whydunnit? Howdunnit? Raman Raghav 2.0 is actually neither of the above. Yes there are many murders that keep you riveted but they are not an end in themselves. They are more a contrivance, as is the cat and mouse game between the killer Ramanna (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) and the cop Raghuvendra Singh Ubbi (Vicky Kaushal). The slayings and slaughters are mere pitstops in the journey of these two characters and their unfolding relationship with each other. The killings (right from the one at the start till those in the end) are devices through which Anurag Kashyap explores the crime vs law binary. He brings the two together, coalesces and fuses them. Is there much that separates the two? Aren't they reflections of each other? The film is a long chase in which each is actually running after his own shadow. It is as if Kashyap deliberately splits an immoral, unlawful mind into two and the film then becomes a voyage to a metaphoric completion. As if on cue Ramanna says of Raghav: "Apni mukti aurat mein dhoondh raha hai (He is looking for his own redemption in a woman)." Implying quite kinkily that it is he who is actually his salvation. The pivot of the film is the portrait of the serial killer. The creature of Mumbai mythology and folklore is brought alive with added shades of the dark and the menacing in this brand new avatar. Glowing cat eyes, a scar running down his forehead, at times wearing his own sister's earrings, humming "aadmi musafir hai" and moving around with an iron car-jack in hand, scouting furtively for victims, hiding in slush and rising up nonchalantly from it plastered with muck. Nawaz is brilliantly frantic and frenzied as the cold hearted, demented, voyeuristic pervert. Like the best of killers his depravity is built on his individual philosophy: that he has a wireless access to God, that he is the messenger of Yamraj who is telling him to pick people up and kill them. For him killing in the name of nation or religion is just not as evolved as killing purely for the heck of killing which is what he is himself practising. Nawaz packs in such a brute force in his lean frame and mean presence that everyone else gets automatically shoved to the periphery. Sitting on his knees, looking up at the cop in the balcony—with one unwavering look he sends a chill down the spine. But, despite Nawaz's overpowering presence Vicky stands in good stead as a reckless, trigger happy, drug-addled cop keeling dangerously close to Ramanna's side of darkness.They share much in common. Both have emerged from squalid surroundings; belong to worlds that are rotten and foul. Be it the filthy slums or a decaying middle class family. So a passing reference to Vasantbalan's Angadi Theru seems quite appropriate in the scheme of the film.Both Ramanna and Raghav are also creatures bred and brought up in patriarchy, are victims of it (Raghav's uneasy but submissive equation with his dad for instance) yet perpetuating its deep misogyny. No wonder women, however strong-willed, get the worst end of the stick, be it Ramanna's victims or Raghav's girls.Some sequences stand out. Ramanna holding his sister's family hostage brings out his sick mind in the queasiest way possible. A massacre followed by a feast of some chicken curry and to top it all that dynamite of a song-- Behooda. Most satisfying! Or that unnervingly funny killing in slums even as an old lady is too busy collecting the potatoes fallen from her bag. The killings and bloodshed might be kept off screen but the gore and gruesomeness reach out. The black humour adds to the horror. How in the long scene at the very start Ramanna confesses to his crimes only to be let off by the police. Owning up becomes his ticket to freedom, and to more murders than the nine already committed.More than the story itself, it is the quirky telling that is the key. Structured around eight chapters, vividly shot in the slums, pulsating with raucous music, Raman Raghav 2.0 is a taut thriller, full of energy and brimming over with tension. It doesn't flag even once and holds the viewer tightly in its grip. Such is the dizzying momentum and pace that you even stop caring about some missing pieces of the jigsaw that would have been niggling you. Clear-cut, uncomplicated Raman Raghav 2.0 takes you on an entertainment high.

Movies like this makes me proud of the time we live in. We get to experience the artwork of directors like Anurag Kashyap. This movie is not for the faint of the heart or art. Brilliantly acted, not only by the lead Nawazzuddin Siddiqui (what a gifted actor!), but by all supporting cast. Vicky Kaushal gives such a powerful performance. Every aspect of the film making, from the background score to the few soundtracks (by Ram Sampath) are so amazing. This movie doesn't leave you for a minute. It keeps you engaged so much, its hard to take a washroom break. You get into the characters head even while watching the film. No wonder Nawazzuddin got sick and hallucinating and uttering the dialogues from the film while during the shooting of the film. I wonder why I gave it 9/10. Maybe because I don't give 10/10 to any movie, but I really cannot think of any aspect to be critical upon! A definite watch, must watch, absolute must, if you love dark, noir films!

One is a corrupt drug addicted cop Raghav(played by Vicky Kaushal). The other is a homeless and jobless man Raman(played by the excellent actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui) who has spent a longtime as a wanderer.These two eventually collide and that is the real climax of this film. You should should know that Raman Raghav was notorious serial killer who operated in Mumbai during the late 1960s. He was caught by a massive manhunt operation. He was given a life sentence and subsequently died in 1995 due to kidney failure at Sassoon Hospital. Do not confuse Raman Raghav with another serial called The Patthar Maar(literally means a man who kills by dropping as stone on a person's head). This serial killer operated in the years 1985-1987 was thought to have been caught, escaped, and was never heard of again. A movie was made, The Stoneman Murders (2009), loosely based on the Patthar Maar killer, starring the versatile actor Kay Kay Menon and directed by veteran director Manish Gupta.Back to the film. The film starts in a disco joint, where Raghav is having fun with his girlfriend and is highly intoxicated on alcohol and drugs. Afterwards Raghav leaves with his girl in his car to their next stop which is supposed to be the guy who supplies Raghav with his addiction.We then witness a murder. Raghav's drug supplier is killed. We don't know who has committed the deed. It will be revealed towards the end of the film. Next day a consort of policemen arrive at the murder scene to begin the investigation. Next, we see Raman sitting outside a police station, waiting for an opportunity to confess to a string murders that he has committed. One of the detectives listening to the interrogation is Raghav. As soon as Raman sets his eyes on Raghav, he knows his destiny. The interrogaters think that Raman is lying to get media publicity, and so thrash him soundly and lock him up in an abandoned area. However he soon escapes later on, when some loafers hear his cries and release him by breaking the lock of his cell. After he leaves, the film really starts...This film has intense scenes of violence that I feel that no one under the age of 18 should see. Also it shows how Western culture have corrupted the morals of people in India. We see Raghav having depraved sex with a woman who deeply loves him and wants to take care of him. She also wants to marry him and have a child. However Raghav is so drug addicted and has such lack of morals that he often threatens or beats her.We begin to see eventually that Raghav is no better then Raman, and in a few instances we see that Raman is actually seeking redemption for his crimes. See the film to find out what happens next...This film directed by the acclaimed director Anurag Singh Kashyap who has won the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters) in 2013.More films you may like: Hatya(1988), 100 Days (1991 film), Tarkieb(2000), Rahasya (2015) and Talvar (2015).Thank you for taking the time to read this review. May you live long and prosper.