Race
- Director
- Abbas Mustan
- Studio
- Tips Industries
- Release Date
- 20 March 2008
- Running Time
- 149 min
- Language
- Hindi
- Country
- India
- Budget
- ₹46.00 Cr
- Box Office
- ₹103.45 Cr
Review
Abbas Tyrewala's directorial debut is a slick, high-octane thriller that compensates for its narrative inconsistencies with stylish execution and committed performances. The film's greatest strength lies in its willingness to embrace pulpy, morally murky storytelling—Rajiv's calculated fratricide plot and Sonia's mercenary opportunism create a genuinely unpredictable dynamic that keeps viewers engaged through the convoluted twists. Saif Ali Khan delivers a magnetic turn as the charming yet menacing Ronny, bringing gravitas to what could have been a one-dimensional crime boss, while Akshaye Khanna portrays the duplicitous younger brother with convincing desperation. The South African setting and horse racing backdrop provide visual distinctiveness rare in Hindi cinema of that era, and Pritam's soundtrack pulses with infectious energy that elevates several key sequences.
However, the film's ambitions frequently outpace its coherence. The plot mechanics creak under scrutiny—the motivations feel artificially stitched together, and character arcs sometimes shift abruptly to serve the next plot beat rather than organic development. The Sophia subplot feels particularly undercooked, a romantic afterthought that dilutes narrative focus. More problematically, the film mistakes convoluted storytelling for complexity; the revelation that Rajiv orchestrated his brother's downfall should carry devastating weight but instead feels like a narrative gimmick. Tyrewala would refine his craft
Storyline
So basically, this movie kicks off with this cop named RD filling us in on all the drama. There's this super successful businessman Ronny who owns this fancy horse racing operation in South Africa and is basically a master at fixing races. His younger brother Rajiv is kind of a mess—he drinks way too much and wants nothing to do with the family business. Ronny's juggling relationships with this gorgeous model named Sonia and his devoted assistant Sophia who's clearly crushing on him hard. Meanwhile, there's this rival in the business world, Kabir, who's also into the whole horse race fixing game, and things between them get pretty intense.
Early on, someone tries to take Ronny out with a car accident, but he survives. Ronny finds out one of his jockeys has been bribed by Kabir to betray him, so he takes matters into his own hands. When Kabir tries to lowball him with an offer to buy his company, Ronny destroys him instead. Then things get messy in the family department when drunk Rajiv confesses he's fallen for Sonia, so Ronny steps aside and lets them get together. But here's where it gets twisted—Rajiv isn't actually interested in Sonia for love.
Turns out Rajiv knows all about Sonia's sketchy background and he's got bigger plans in mind. His dad apparently set up massive insurance policies on both brothers, and Rajiv decides he wants to take his brother out to claim a hundred million dollars. He brings Sonia into the scheme by offering her twenty million bucks to help him pull it off. They pretend to get married and Sonia starts seducing Ronny, but that's where things get really complicated and unpredictable.
