‘Rautu Ka Raaz’ Review: Nawazuddin Siddiqui Film’s Simplicity Is Its Strength

In the serene Uttarakhand village Rautu, a murder is unheard of – or at least nothing of the sort has happened for over a decade. So, a school warden’s (Narayani Shastri as Sangeeta) death is, at first, seen as a natural death but the investigation slowly reveals more under the surface. 

A police procedural isn’t a rare sight in the streaming space but Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s latest Rautu Ka Raaz is an anomaly – it isn’t as fast-paced or ‘thrilling’ as you would expect from the genre. But surprisingly, that isn’t the show’s undoing. The pace is more languorous than tiresome and it gives the audience time and space to soak in the story and its surroundings. 

The film’s setting also allows it to take some liberties – the cops don’t need to spend weeks looking for suspects; the close-knit community makes it easy to find people. Everyone knows someone who knows someone. 

The investigation is led by the disciplinarian Deepak Negi (Siddiqui) and his reliable but slothful sub-inspector Naresh Dimri (Rajesh Kumar). While Siddiqui is clearly expected to do the heavy lifting in the project, it is Kumar’s restraint that actually stands out. And while Siddiqui captures his character efficiently, there are parts where it’s more the actor on screen than the character.

Perhaps the characterisation isn’t distinct enough to make this character stand out from his previous offerings.

Negi gets a backstory to add layers to his character but the writing isn’t sophisticated enough to seamlessly weave that into the story. The writing shines when it extracts comedy from the small-town inertia and its characters. The jokes almost always land, primarily because of the believable camaraderie between the cops at the station. 

The film doesn’t delay in getting to its point – the film’s primary focus is in its messaging more than the mystery. This ties in well with the film’s title; instead of a murder mystery, it delves into the secrets that fester in the cover provided by Rautu’s silence. The biggest issue with the film is that it feels a little undercooked – more focus on the plot points and more work into characterisation would’ve made the film more interesting. 

The saving grace is the effort the supporting cast makes. Without their efforts, the convenience of plots cutting to others would be more glaring. For instance, the film mentions that the warden’s death is ‘unnatural’ but barely discusses why that is. While it first adds an air of mystery to the story, it soon ends up making it feel incomplete. 

Eventually the film hints at a deeper debate between morality and legality and you are left with the question of what is 'right' and what the consequences of Negi's decisions might actually be. How do we view 'justice'? The film unfortunately doesn't spend a lot of time dwelling on this but, like a lot of interesting thrillers, brings up an interesting (albeit dark) conundrum.

Director Anand Surapur and co-writer Shariq Patel have built an impressive premise and plot but the film just falters in execution. The film’s commentary is sharp but since it isn’t novel to the OTT space – there are several well-made topics dealing with similar themes – some of the film’s appeal fades. However, the film’s writing is astute enough to keep it engaging till it becomes predictable. 

The film definitely chooses delicate themes to handle but instead of taking the harder route, more often than not, the writing relies on exposition. A teacher randomly suggests that she will send motivational quotes to Negi and you can’t help but wonder if there was a better way for him to have his epiphanies. 

Rautu Ka Raaz is at its best when it’s focusing on its characters and the way they’re jolted into action by the crime. As the film jumps from one red herring to another and as leads fall through and new suspects emerge, Rautu Ka Raaz’s tranquility becomes its strength. Despite its flaws, one can’t regret watching the film. 

The only regret one feels is of what the film could’ve been.