Raatchasan Tamil Movie

Feature Film | 2018 | Drama, Mystery
Critics:
Ratsasan is gripping, but it could have scaled greater heights with better actors and a tighter narrative.
Oct 7, 2018 By Baranidharan Sivasankaran



"Ratsasan" had one of the most intriguing trailers with an astounding BGM to compliment the thrills and horror the film would deliver. Due to the promotions, it had a decent pre-release buzz. Also, Ramkumar, the director of this movie had earlier given a hit in the form of 'Mundasupatti', the period comic drama (which was an expanded version of the director's short film of the same name). Thus, the film's credibility naturally went up. Let's see how the director has adjusted to this genre shift from his previous film.


Arun (Vishnu Vishal), an aspiring film director who is desperate to make a thriller is rejected time and again by the producers. To make ends meet and due to coercion from his mother, he ends up as a cop. In parallel, there's a psychotic killing spree of teenage school girls. Arun tries to pitch in with his expertise in researching psycho killers due to his directorial ambitions. He has to fight bureaucracy and numerous ego clashes with his arrogant superiors to nail the culprit.


The movie had strong doses of thrills in the first half. The murders were gruesome and sent chills down the spine. Especially those chills were largely nurtured by the supporting cast who react to those hostile circumstances. The scenes that portray a demonic school teacher who uses his aegis as a tutor to satisfy his sadistic streaks is a warning alarm for the society at large.


Vishnu in the lead role as a cop was a letdown. His body language and dialogue delivery was something similar to his previous breezy films. In short, he hasn't put in any special effort to iron things out. As a result, the scenes that should have impact fell flat. Amala Paul as the female lead was also not very significant. Ramadoss in a supporting role was quite meatier.


The biggest drawback for the movie was the real killer and the back story. There was no much of a connect. Also, the hero nailing the real killer was not entirely convincing. Towards the end, what should have been a surprise element was anything but that. Because, as soon as we set the eye on the killer, we know what's the deceit going to be. A long drawn climax only aggravated the frustration.


Music and BGM by Ghibran were fantastic. The psychotic BGM was haunting, but the songs were just about average. I still didn't understand the montage song with Amala Paul. Cinematography by P.V.Sankar was exquisite and captured even the minute details in the frame.


The movie could be watched once for its competency in narrative style and the director's attempt to present something new. I wish there were a bit more effort in ironing out the rough edges to make the wicked look much more sinister, and the pieces would have come together much better. Nevertheless, it's a nice attempt and worth a watch!

Baranidharan Sivasankaran

   

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