Kollywoodmix Rating 4.5/5
Production: Dream Warrior Pictures Cast: Hareesh Peradi, Jyothika Direction: Sy. Gowthamraj Screenplay: Sy. Gowthamraj Story: Sy. Gowthamraj Music: Sean Roldan Cinematography: Gokul Benoy Editing: Philominraj
Anyone who has watched the trailer of Raatchasi would know what to expect from it – that’s the positive and negative of this film, which has been made with a good intent. You know that Jyotika, as Geetha Rani, is a headmaster who comes to an indisciplined school in a village to set things right. She’s a ‘raatchasi’ for the staff and students as her sudden strict and progressive plans do not go down well with them.
Meanwhile, Rama Lingam (Hareesh Peradi), who runs a private school, and the MLA of the constituency in which the school belongs to, hatch plans to bring down Geetha Rani in several ways. The plot revolves around how she overcomes the challenges posed by them.
For a predictable plot like this, what would have worked is an engaging screenplay with striking emotions. However, that’s exactly what the movie lacks at many instances. There are many characters, but hardly any of them leave an impact, thanks to the ineffective detailing in their characterisation. Jyotika’s performance as the dutiful teacher is the prime saving grace of the film.
Jyotika’s performance is clean throughout and the clarity she brings to screen is impeccable. She steals the show with good dialogue delivery and body language. Poornima Bhagyaraj and Sathyan, both have delivered good performances. Poornima who is quiet throughout the film has scored well in the climax, whereas Sathyan delivers the lighter moments with his body language and comedy. The Dialogues deserves a special mention, a few of them are sharp and questions with a lot of depth.
The events happening in the film are haphazard that it starts affecting the other aspects of filmmaking like the music. Sean Roldan has delivered an album comprising of beautiful songs. There is a proper mix of music that’s slightly arthouse-ish, and music that’s commercial in nature. But it feels like listening to bursts of good music cut off midway because of the nature of scenes changing quickly.
At one moment, the students in the school are fighting in the name of caste. They have a thread tied to their hands to differentiate between the castes. Geetha removes the threads and burns them, which enrages the villagers. This is the interval block of the film, that sets you up for something. But, the very next scene, she gives a short speech to the villagers and the issue is solved. If only it was so simple to abolish something as deep-rooted as caste.
Of course, Raatchasi isn’t as preachy as it sounds. There are good moments that genuinely make you smile. A second-grade kid named Kathir draws a rough sketch of Geetha Rani and presents it to her. Such pearl like moments are very few in number and they don’t sustain for a long time.
