'Raincoat' is a display of the immense talent, and great intentions of the masterclass filmmaker of his times... sir Rituparno Ghosh has crafted well a story of love and when they meet. It is certainly not the love stpry you saw previously: these are real, unusual characters and they don't have a meet-cute and cut to the dreams kind of romance.
Aishwarya Rai is the film's primary strength. In 'Raincoat', she delivers constantly and consistently. Neerja is certainly 2004's one of the most well-acted characters. But what makes her all-good again is that she is also textured in display. Rai boldly straps herself of all the glamour and paegantry in 'Raincoat'. She wears a regular kantha saree and doesn't do any makeup, just like any regular girl in Calcutta's bylanes. She more than makes up for the overlong, dust-laden, normal-looking but still stone-faced Ajay Devagn.
But the film is not a lively adaptation. The story is well-told, but it doesn't infuse genuine emotions. It was hard to feel these fillings. It left many voids throughout, something which O. Henry's "The Gift of Magi" magically did- I had read it in the sixth class, and still neither me nor my mom (who read it in her tenth class) can get it out of my head. The three-page classic is memorable at best. I doubt if that, for one, may be the case for 'Raincoat'. Worth a watch, but not more than that.