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'Rafta Rafta' comes as a low profile and least publicized entertainer that locks horns with big budget films this week. Low face value, average to poor performances, forgettable music with age old decayed formula sums up proceedings of the film. At a time when there is no definite success formula, the film with zero expectations hardly holds attention. This film fluctuates from semi-baked sex comedy to contemporary murder mystery outstretched in three hours. Films like 'Rafta Rafta' shows amateurish approach of new talents with no hope for better cinema. The low face value is another big problem where the lead protagonist shows no promise and the film lies low on entertainment quotient. The film holds importance for the comeback of 90's heartthrob sensation Rahul Roy ('Aashiqui') in villainous attire. Besides him, there is no actor who holds the fort commendably. Model-turned-actor Sameer Dharamadhikari is the only recognized face among novice actors. Sameer has decent looks but his career never shaped up like a contemporary Bollywood star. The actor impressed in 'Agnipankh', where he played an Air Force pilot opposite Shamita Shetty. Besides good performance the film sank without trace and this film suffers from the same dilemma. Sameer also delivered fine performance in critically acclaimed 'Satta' where in the woman oriented film he played the character of Vivek Chauhan with promise.

The film made news because of Raveena Tandon's screen presence and Madhur Bhandarkar's razor edged direction. In low budgeted 'Nigebaan' and much acclaimed 'Raincoat' (Aishwarya Rai, Ajay Devgan) he showed promise with brief presence. This time he is paired opposite overweight and unimpressive Urmila Rao in loosely conceived love story turned action thriller. Even the male bonding factor where Sameer pairs with newcomer Viraaj Singh fails to attract audiences. 'Rafta Rafta' has another big attraction in the performance and presence of Pakistani popular actor Jawed Sheikh. He performed brilliantly in 'Shikhar' but this time he suffers from poor script and below average screenplay. The contemporary role of a police officer looks stale. The film suffers heavily from poor selection of leading female actors especially Urmila Rao. She looks overweight and shows signs of maturity in a role of westernized glam doll. The actress has been the weakest link of the film and audiences suffer from ordinary show.

Model-turned-actor Monica Castellino is another disappointment and Monica is in every frame of the film. She has also worked in sex flicks like 'Men Not Allowed' where Payal Rohtagi played the lead protagonist. Both these actresses never flare up glamour quotient and film suffers heavily from mediocrity. Nawab Arzoo's shoddy screenplay hardly offers them anything to display and with ordinary looks things get worse.

The dance sequences and confrontation scenes are poorly conceived. Poor music makes things worse. Sameer Dharamadhikari's presence is the only relieving factor but he behaves as a "mimicry" artiste in the first half of the film. In the second, he hams throughout as the film shapes into conventional potboiler. Newcomer Viraaj Singh can fit better into TV serials than in films but he delivers the needful. The actor has been an optimum choice considering the low budget of the film.

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'Rafta Rafta' is the story of fun-loving boys -- Akshay (Sameer Dharamadhikari) and Rahul (Viraaj Singh). The duo are born and brought up well and plan to study in London. The glitz and glamour of the westernized culture attracts them as they often get deceived by hot babes. They take shelter under Perminder's (Asha Sachdev) house and befriend Raju (Shakti Kapoor) in philandering acts. During this time, Akshay gets attracted to Shilpa (Urmila Rao) and Rahul to Neha (Monica Castellino). Neha is living under the guardianship of drug lord Spencer (Rahul Roy). She is living under fear as Spencer dictates every action of her life. During this phase, intimacy between Rahul and Neha grows and finally they land up in unexpected miseries. Ponty (Shahbaaz Khan), another gangster, has lust for Neha and deal is struck between him and Spencer. During that time Inspector Bobby Grewal (Jawed Sheikh) investigates murder and traps Spencer and his gang.

Neha plots to kidnap herself through Akshay and Rahul but deceives them even. In the climax the truth is revealed and lovers get their beloved.

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In cut-throat competition where even the best of talents lose ground there is negligible scope for a no-starter like 'Rafta Rafta' to survive. In terms of performance, Rahul Roy delivers notable performance after being written off as one film wonder. The villainous act shows another dimension of his talent after 'Gunaah' (Sanjay Dutt, Sridevi). The actor emotes well in the climax and in terms of exuding he can be termed as professional in the clan of novice and newcomers. Shakti Kapoor irritates throughout the film with silly comical acts. Yesteryears' popular actress Asha Sacheva has a brief role but justifies her character.

Action sequences (Prem Sharma) are well executed and cinematography holds attention in capturing exotic locations of London. In terms of choreography, the item number by Mumait Khan is the only appreciable work whereas the rest of them look irrelevant. Music by Sen Bros is of little importance with "Lagi Lagan" being the only melodious track.

Debutante director Raj Sharma's direction is a big let down in selecting decayed formula of 70's and 80's. The shoddy body show and lascivious body moves of glam dolls speaks for his low aesthetic values. In small centers it will fare from average to poor whereas in multiplexes it will be a non-starter.