Past and future: Saira (Kriti Sanon, left) and Shiv (Sushant Singh Rajput) are lost in their love.

What happens when lovers from a previous life cross paths in the future?

Director Dinesh Vijan brought together actor Sushant Singh Rajput and actress Kriti Sanon for the first time for his debut film Raabta (Connection).

Sanon herself recently debuted in Bollywood, starring in the 2014 box office hit Heropanti. Her onscreen romantic chemistry with Tiger Shroff, also a newcomer at that time, appealed to the public and garnered her three awards. Her career sparkled further with a leading role in Dilwale, which also stars Shahrukh Khan.

In Raabta, Sanon plays opposite Rajput, who is known for his leading roles in box office hits Kai Po Che! and M.S. Dhoni.

Indian romantic thriller Raabta centers on couple Saira (Sanon) and Shiv (Rajput) who decide to test the strength of their feelings for each other by parting ways and getting to know other people.

Shiv openly womanizes while Saira sits in a bar, where she gets to know the rich and famous Zakir Merchant (Jim Sarbh). They both hit it off. Soon, these three characters are involved in a love triangle.

Throughout this, Saira has nightmares about her past life, which is connected to the two men in her present life.

The film starts like a mediocre romantic comedy, with the first half taking the Bollywood formula of boy meets girl, causing one to wonder why the film was even produced. Some of the lines are also cliché.

It is only later when Saira gets kidnapped by Zakir that the drama elevates, with twists bringing the audience for a ride in the second half of the film.

After the intermission, the audience begins to clearly understand what exactly happened in the past lives of the three main characters and how it connects to the present.

Vijan created visible chemistry between Kriti and Rajput. Sarbh was intense at the start but retracted during his transformation into a lunatic man.

The script could have been written with more creativity, as the dialogue was unoriginal. Some of the lines seemed to have been taken from the movie Belfrikre.

One thing to look out for in the movie is the music. Deepika Padukone performs a dance number for the movie’s theme song. Unfortunately, she did not lip-sync the song perfectly. Nonetheless, all the songs are very catchy.

The picturesque scenery is also commendable and the cinematography provides good effects. The costumes and makeup in some scenes are appropriate and stunning.

Since hitting theaters, Raabta has received mixed reviews. As The Times of India put it, “if sparks flew more organically, it would have been easier to make a connection with this epic tale of love.” Meanwhile, India Today called it a “comet-crossed romance which never hits the target.”

Overall, director Vijan managed to bring a love story in a past life and continue it to a present one. The fantasy elements in Raabta piques the imagination enough that one can enjoy it with a bag of popcorn.

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Raabta

(T-Series 170 minutes)

Directed by Dinesh Vijan

Cast: Sushant Singh Rajput, Kriti Sanon, Jim Sarbh, Varun Sharma

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