Ravanasura in OTT – a Sudheer K Verma directorial is an action thriller that celebrates the actor and producer Ravi Teja in all his glory. The title is surely intriguing, for here is a name that indicates bad which is ten times the usual, and there is another side to this Rakshasa king as well.
Ravanasura opens with a murder followed by a court scene that introduces Faria Abdullah as Kanaka Mahalakshmi, a senior lawyer appearing in the court of law waiting for her junior lawyer to bring a witness to help her case. This junior, who is infact senior-most (pun intended as he is not only senior to her in age but also at college) is Ravi (Ravi Teja) who comes across as this non serious always on the wrong foot, good for nothing kind of a lawyer who barely manages to keep his job. And, he brings a wrong witness and the lawyer loses her case. In a small back story – Ravi wishes to marry her but she chooses to marry yet another successful lawyer Sekhar (Sriram)
What follows are a series of strange murder cases where the killer leaves a trail of clues for the police to find, but hardly remembers anything. As the movie moves towards the interval, Ravi Teja is seen trying to romance a girl Harika Talwar (Megha Akash) and marry her so that he gets to enjoy her money, which is also the reason he convinces Kanaka Mahalakshmi to take up her case. Harika’s father Vijay Talwar (Sampath Raj), a pharma company owner is also in prison for a murder case; he is seen killing a government official in CCTV footage and has a strong case against him. She believes her father didn’t kill. Ravi in his eagerness to prove this actually helps the police make the case stronger. While Kanaka Mahalaxmi almost quits the case – it is handed over to ACP Hanumanth Rao (Jayaram). Murali Sharma is the senior officer who insists ACP to take over the case. And, Hanumanth Rao begins to solve the case.
Who are these people, why are they getting killed, and what is the story behind the murderers – why is the title Ravanasura – has Ravi Teja decided to take the risk and play an anti-hero, is what the rest of the film all about.
Ravanasura is a murder mystery that has elements from films like Joker & Faceoff with a lot of Ravi Teja charm thrown in. It even has similarities to a Bengali psychological thriller. But, the script even though, incredulous in places, is riveting, and intelligently keeps the viewers guessing while showcasing the brilliance of the lead actor. Ravanasura once again reminds the commitment and passion that Raviteja carries with him – which have made him a successful hero and darling of masses. The Mass Maharaj, who is also the producer of the film has left no stone unturned as he displays the navarasas to glory. He hooks the audience to the scenes in each of his avatars, and manages to evoke the right emotions, even as the one who calls himself an artist, who murders without letting anyone know (much is revealed in the teaser, but there is more).
There are other members of the cast who come and go – Hyper Adi for the comic relief, Poojitha Ponnada as a police officer, Daksha Nagarkar, Rao Ramesh…We cannot not mention Sushanth, who plays a pivotal role in the story – he has a meaty character, and uses the opportunity well. Dialogues by Srikanth Vissa give an edge to the story.
Ravanasura on OTT is surely enjoying the expected response and audeince is lapping it up.
Without revealing much – Sudheer Verma has crafted Ravanasura as this taut thriller with a whole lot of violence (at times even cringy) included. However, not all good things end well. The film’s climax and end could have been so much better – instead the director chose to be safe and went with clichés, which could be the film’s undoing. Yet, another distasteful aspect of the film is the portrayal of women. While it is understandable that the script does not leave much scope for its women characters, certain scenes could have been avoided.
Technically the movie ticks the right boxes and that includes music by Harshavardhan Rameshwar and Bheems Ceciroleo
Ravanasura on OTT – Watch it on Amazon Prime
