Quick answer: Raees is a 2017 Hindi crime drama directed by Rahul Dholakia, with Shah Rukh Khan as a bootlegger in Gujarat, where alcohol is prohibited, Nawazuddin Siddiqui as the police officer chasing him and Mahira Khan as his wife. Its teaser came out on 16 July 2015, the official trailer on 7 December 2016, and the film released on 25 January 2017. Bollywood Hungama puts its worldwide gross at ₹281.44 crore.
About this article
This page began in 2016 as a running update on Raees, at a time when the film’s trailer and final release date had not been announced. It carried a fan-made trailer while fans waited. The official trailer arrived on 7 December 2016 and the film released in January 2017, so the page now keeps that history and adds what actually happened.
Raees: key facts
- Director: Rahul Dholakia
- Producers: Ritesh Sidhwani, Farhan Akhtar and Gauri Khan, under Excel Entertainment and Red Chillies Entertainment
- Music: Ram Sampath (with JAM8)
- Teaser: 16 July 2015, released by Red Chillies Entertainment
- Official trailer: 7 December 2016
- Release date: 25 January 2017
- Running time: 143 minutes
- Reported budget: about ₹87 crore
What is Raees about?
The film follows Raees Alam, a boy from a poor family in Fatehpur, Gujarat, who starts out running errands in the illegal liquor trade and grows into the most powerful bootlegger in the area. His rise brings him into a long cat-and-mouse battle with an honest police officer, ACP Jaideep Ambalal Majmudar, and later into local politics, until his business is pulled into something far more dangerous than liquor smuggling.
The original article said Raees “is based on” the Gujarat bootlegger Abdul Latif. Media reports did link the story to Latif, and in March 2016 his son reportedly sent the makers a legal notice. The makers denied that the film was based on Latif’s life, so it is more accurate to say the film was reported to be inspired by him.
Teaser and trailer
On 16 July 2015, Red Chillies Entertainment released the first look and teaser of Raees. It is still available on the company’s YouTube channel:
For more than a year after the teaser, no trailer was announced, and this page carried a fan-made trailer instead, marked as unofficial. That fan video is no longer available on YouTube, so it has been removed.
The official trailer was released on Wednesday, 7 December 2016. Shah Rukh Khan launched it at a multi-city event and spoke to fans in cities including Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Indore, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Hyderabad by live video link. The trailer was later re-edited to remove a shot that drew objections from members of the Shia community.
Cast of Raees
- Shah Rukh Khan as Raees Alam, the bootlegger known as “Miyanbhai”
- Nawazuddin Siddiqui as ACP Jaideep Ambalal Majmudar
- Mahira Khan as Aasiya, Raees’s wife (her only Hindi film role)
- Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub as Sadiq, Raees’s friend
- Sheeba Chaddha as Raees’s mother
- Atul Kulkarni as Jairaj Seth, the liquor boss Raees first works for
- Sunny Leone in a special appearance in the song “Laila Main Laila”
An earlier version of this article listed Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s character as “ACP Ghulam Patel” and Sunny Leone’s song as “Laila O Laila”. In the film the officer is ACP Majmudar, and the song is “Laila Main Laila”, Ram Sampath’s recreation of the song from Qurbani (1980).
Wallpapers and images
These stills and posters were added while the film was being promoted in 2016.
Release date changes and the Kaabil clash
Raees was first scheduled for Eid, 6 July 2016. It was moved to avoid a clash with Salman Khan’s Sultan and rescheduled for Republic Day, 26 January 2017, the same date as Hrithik Roshan’s Kaabil. Both films were then brought forward by a day and released on 25 January 2017, with Raees on about 3,500 screens worldwide. Our page on Kaabil’s story, cast and box office covers the other side of that clash.
Raees box office collection
The original article hoped Raees would break the records of Sultan and Dangal. It did well, but not on that scale. These figures are as published by Bollywood Hungama:
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Opening day, India (25 January 2017) | ₹20.42 crore |
| Opening weekend, India | ₹93.24 crore |
| India lifetime (nett) | ₹137.51 crore |
| India lifetime (gross) | ₹190.99 crore |
| Overseas (gross) | ₹90.45 crore |
| Worldwide (gross) | ₹281.44 crore |
On the same Bollywood Hungama figures, Kaabil earned ₹103.84 crore nett in India and ₹208.14 crore gross worldwide, so Raees was the bigger earner of the two Republic Day releases. For comparison with the two 2016 hits the original article mentioned, see our pages on Sultan’s dialogues and box office and Dangal’s box office collection, both of which earned far more.
Raees dialogues
The poster above carries one of the film’s best-known lines, “Baniye ka dimaag aur Miyanbhai ki daring” (a trader’s brain and Miyanbhai’s daring). For more lines from the film, see our collections of Raees dialogues and Shah Rukh Khan’s popular dialogues.
Frequently asked questions
When was the Raees trailer released?
The official trailer was released on 7 December 2016. A teaser had come out much earlier, on 16 July 2015.
When did Raees release?
Raees released on 25 January 2017, a day before Republic Day, on the same day as Kaabil.
Is Raees a true story?
It was widely reported to be inspired by the Gujarat bootlegger Abdul Latif, but the makers denied that the film was based on his life.
Who plays the police officer in Raees?
Nawazuddin Siddiqui plays ACP Jaideep Ambalal Majmudar, the officer determined to stop Raees.
How much did Raees earn?
Bollywood Hungama lists ₹137.51 crore nett in India and ₹281.44 crore gross worldwide.
Checked in November 2026 against the film’s credits, Red Chillies Entertainment’s YouTube upload of the teaser, December 2016 trailer coverage by PTI, IANS and Gulf News, and Bollywood Hungama’s box office pages for Raees and Kaabil. Box office figures are attributed because sources differ.
1 comment
Raees will be the first blockbuster of the 2017.