Critic's Rating:2.0/5
Starring: Ravi Teja, Sushanth, Anu Emmanuel, Faria Abdullah, Megha Akash, Daksha Nagarkar, Poojitha Ponnada, Sriram, Rao Ramesh, Jayaram, Murali Sharma, Sampath Raj & Others
Director: Sudheer Varma
Producers: Abhishek Nama, Ravi Teja
Music Director: Harshavardhan Rameshwar, Bheems Ceciroleo
Cinematography: Vijay Karthik Kannan
Editor: Naveen Nooli
Related Links : Trailer
Mass Maharaja Ravi Teja is back with his new film Ravanasura. Directed by Sudheer Varma, the action thriller has an ensemble cast. The makers assured firmly that the film would shock the audience with its twists & shocking elements and has not revealed anything about the plot. Let’s find out whether the movie lived up to the hype created or not.
Story:
Story: Junior lawyer Ravindra (Ravi Teja) is a goof whom no one seems to take seriously. But there's more to him beneath the surface.
Review: With Ravanasura, Sudheer Varma attempts to make an “entertainer” that begins as your run-of-the-mill commercial drama, phases into being a thriller, and ends up being a film that doesn’t leave you satisfied either way. The director seems to meander on things that don’t need to be explained in depth and rush through key points of the story, making this film one hot mess. The saving grace? Only Ravi Teja.
Junior lawyer Ravindra (Ravi Teja) works under his ex-crush Kanaka Mahalakshmi (Faria Abdullah) but is seemingly not very good at his job. He goofs up a lot and still retains his job because – you guessed it right, he’s the hero in a commercial film. And true to heroes like him, he likes to annoy his boss because she’s a woman and happens to be his ex-crush too. She’s now happily married to Sekhar (Sriram).
One fine day, Harika (Megha Akash) walks into his life and office both. Even as he swoons at her, she tells him her father Vijay Talwar (Sampath) is wanted for murder. The issue? Her father can’t seem to remember committing the crime. Like any sane man, Ravindra doesn’t believe him but he takes up the case because he’d like to help his "future father-in-law." Harika isn’t in on this plan but that doesn’t matter, does it?
Then there are characters like a police officer called Ruhana (Pujita Ponnada), a mysterious guy called Saketh (Sushanth A), Jaanu (Daksha Nagarkar), Keethana (Anu Emmanuel) and a few others who come and go from the film as the script pleases. Then there’s ACP Hanumanth Rao (Jayaram) who’s about to retire but is tasked with an important case involving multiple murders.
Ravanasura starts off as any other Ravi Teja-starrer with some song and dance, apart from silly jokes thanks to Hyper Aadi who plays advocate Babji. The film however does pick up when things take a turn. As the layers are peeled back you begin to see how all these people that Ravindra is surrounded with might just be connected to each other. And while Sudheer had initially taken his own sweet time joking about Ravindra and Mahalakshmi’s relationship, he rushes through some key points here.
Some of the scenes leading up to the interval seem both rushed yet nauseating at the same time. You want to know more, but you don’t necessarily want to see more either. When the second half picks up, things continue in the same vein till a very predictable flashback is brought in, again rushed through before you can emotionally connect to anything and an attempt at whitewashing certain heinous acts is made in the name of “justice.” When you’re told why all the above plot points were important to the film so far, it is hindeborderline laughable.
While cinematic liberty is expected, Sudheer expects you to not just suspend disbelief a little a too much, he also wants you to not think of any chinks in the logic at all it seems like. A Ram-Sita-Ravanasura angle is brought in to justify the film’s title. The whole thing reeks of a 90s thriller gone bad and by the end of it all, you just wonder where this is all heading. But, of course, Sudheer has another ace up his sleeve that’s a little too silly to comprehend.
Ravanasura is saved marginally due to Ravi Teja’s performance. He might enjoy doing the whole masala routine but he seems to truly come unto his own when a certain side to his character is unveiled. He oozes menace and seems so unpredictable for a hot minute there, you don’t really know what he’s going to do next. And while Sudheer does push the character to its limit, he doesn’t back it up with strong enough reasoning. While the film is filled chock-a-block with characters, the rest of the actors seem wasted in their roles, which is a shame. Sushanth's character is a little better comparatively and he manages to hold his own.
Harshavardhan Rameshwar’s background score adds well to the proceedings, it’s even impressive in parts. Bheems Ceciroleo’s music doesn’t offer anything fresh and the songs just act as a hindrance, seemingly force-fitted there. Vijay Karthik Kannan’s cinematography is good, so is Naveen Nooli’s editing. The writing however is the biggest let down of the film.
Ravanasura has moments where it feels like it could be much more than a lukewarm attempt at a thriller. But those moments are so few and far in between, that alone doesn’t make this worth a watch.
Plus Points:
Ravi Teja is in his element once again, and he has done a supreme job with the film. In the initial few minutes, we get to see the entertainer in Ravi Teja, and suddenly his character gets a solid transformation intriguing the viewers. It isn’t easy to pull off a grey-shaded role, but Ravi Teja brings out the best of him and does this part with utmost conviction. His menacing act will be a feast for fans, and the actor’s performance in a couple of scenes is whistle worthy.
The first half, as mentioned, has a decent blend of comedy and thrill elements. The movie picks up pace after the entry of Sushanth, and proceedings from hereon will keep the audience invested. The interval bang is alright and makes one feel there is some interesting element in the second half.
Sushanth gets a good role, and he did his part nicely. There are five female characters in this film, and everyone is okay in their respective roles. Plot-wise, Megha Akash gets more prominence, and the actress was fine in her role.
Minus Points:
For all the hype that was created before the release, the film didn’t reach the expectations completely. It was promoted as if the movie had a first-of-its-kind concept. But when the actual twist reveals in the second half, the movie turns pretty routine. It is something which we have seen in many old films, and there is nothing great about it.
The tempo in the second half reduces, and the proceedings become predictable after a point in time. There are no shocking elements as such, which the team assured during the promotions. The songs come as speed breakers and affect the flow of the movie.
Logics go for a toss, and this is one aspect where the thrillers can’t go wrong. Ravi Teja tries his level best with his stupendous act to hold the film, but there isn’t enough meat in the plot for the audience to get engaged throughout.
Technical Aspects:
The background score composed by Harshavardhan Rameshwar and Bheems Ceciroleo was too good, and the duo elevated a few scenes in a nice manner. The cinematography by Vijay Karthik is splendid, doing justice to the film’s genre. The editing is fine. The production values are neat.
Coming to the director Sudheer Varma, he did a pretty ordinary job with the movie. The story penned by Srikanth Vissa is routine, but the makers tried to give it a new touch with the characterization of Ravi Teja. Sudheer Varma’s screenplay in the first half keeps one invested, but the film falls like a pack of cards from the mid portions of the second half.
Verdict:
On the whole, Ravanasura is a partly engaging crime thriller that relies heavily on the performance of Mass Maharaja Ravi Teja. The actor played a role that has variations, and the first hour of the movie leaves one wanting for more. But the way the second half is executed is underwhelming and the the key twist disappoints big time. You can watch the movie, but make sure not to expect anything out of the box.
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