Raakaasa Movie Review

After delivering a blockbuster with ‘Committee Kurrollu’ in 2024 as a producer, Niharika Konidela, teamed up with Sangeeth Sobhan and the debutant director, Manasa Sharma, for a comedy fantasy thriller film, Raakaasa. The film instantly raised expectations when it was announced, and its promotional content promised an intriguing theatrical experience. After aggressive promotion over the last few weeks, the team released the film in theatres today. Did Sangeeth Sobhan score yet another hit film after the super-successful ‘Mad’ and the moderately successful ‘Mad Square’? Did Niharika Konidela, continue her success streak as a producer? Did the debutant director, Manasa Sharma, come up with an engaging film? How did, Nayan Sarika, do in the female lead role? Did the comedy in the film have the potential to work out well with the audience this summer? Let’s figure it out with a detailed analysis.

What is it about?

Eera Babu Aka Veeru(Sangeeth Sobhan) returns to his village from the USA to marry his childhood girlfriend. But, immediately after arriving, he gets to know that she is getting married to someone else. After trying his best to break the marriage with no luck, Eera Babu, gets drunk and ends up dozing off all night at a deserted and haunted fort in the village. Why is a big fort in the village, deserted? Is there anyone living in the fort? What challenges did Eera Babu, face after dozing off all night near the fort? How did Eera Babu, chase the mystery around the fort and the people/person, living in the fort?

Performances:

Sangeeth Sobhan did a very good job with his performance and comedy timing throughout the film. Especially, during the initial portions of the second half, his effortless timing and the expressions in close-up shots, were a treat to watch. However, he may have to start doing films in multiple genres to avoid getting typecast in only comedy films. Nayan Sarika did an ok job as the lead actress. Raadhya did a cameo and she did an ok job with her performance. There’s nothing much for both actresses to do in the roles that were not author-backed.

Getup Srinu, got a full-length role and he managed to generate a few laughs with his usual timing and mimicking skills. Vennela Kishore generated a few laughs in the second half. The writing for Getup Srinu & Vennela Kishore characters was over the top but both the actors with their comedy timing, made the audience entertained at a few places.

Brahmaji was not utilised well. There was a lot of scope to generate good comedy on the character he played but the potential was left untapped due to the lacklustre writing. Tanikella Bharani, Ashish Vidyarthi and Annapurnamma, made their presence felt in crucial roles.

Technicalities:

Anudeep Dev’s work as music director is one of the major letdowns. The film has four songs and all of them were below-par. Also, the background score for the film is too loud in many places. Editing by Anwar Ali, was alright. He ensured the film had a crisp runtime. Production design and art department deserve a special mention for a neatly designed fort set along with stunning set props during the ‘adventure’ episode in the second half.

Raju Edurolu’s cinematography in the second half of the film is commendable. Production values by Pink Elephant Pictures were good. Let’s discuss about the writer and the director, Manasa Sharma’s work in detail in the analysis space.

Positives:

1.⁠ ⁠A Few Comedy Portions
2.⁠ ⁠Sangeeth Sobhan’s Performance

Negatives:

1.⁠ ⁠Lack of Novelty
2.⁠ ⁠Climax
3.⁠ ⁠Loud Background Score
4.⁠ ⁠Not So Engaging First Half

Analysis:

When a young producer who previously produced critically acclaimed commercial success films like ‘Committee Kurrollu’, a young debutant director and a promising young hero in the lead role, team up for a fantasy comedy entertainer, the very least the audience expects from the film is a touch of freshness in writing and execution, isn’t it? But, what we get to see in ‘Raakaasa’, is a beaten to death story line which resembles many films in the past, including the recently released, Shambala, and the execution which again resembles many films in the past, including Megastar Chiranjeevi’s ‘Anji(2004)’. The film has some comedy portions which brought a few laugh-out-loud moments, especially, a couple of comedy episodes in the second half, worked out well. But, apart from those few laugh-out-loud moments, it offers nothing which we have not seen in the past.

The first twenty to twenty-five minutes in the second half of the film have a few genuinely engaging moments. Yes, it resembles, Anji(2004), but the adventure part along with Sangeeth Sobhan’s effortless performance and comedy timing, during the initial portions of the second half was thoroughly entertaining. The production design team deserves a special mention, for coming up with a fort set and set props that look real, within a limited budget. The entire second half was shot in the fort set but the director and her team ensured the audience, would not feel monotonous.

The biggest letdown in the film is the climax. After showing the antagonist as a cruel and blood thirsty monster, the writer and the director, Manasa Sharma, for some reason decided to end the film by giving a humane and positive backstory to the antagonist character. Why can’t an antagonist be an out-and-out monster? Is it necessary for everyone to have a positive side? It is surprising to see a young filmmaker resort to such beaten to death backstory in the name of bringing the required emotional angle to the film. Another drawback of the film is its story which lacked freshness.

‘A young man fighting against a blind faith which the villagers believe in for thousands of years’, is the core point of the film. Didn’t we see many films with a similar plot in the past? In fact, just last December, we saw a film titled ‘Shambala’, which has a similar storyline. The only difference is that, Shambala, was dealt in a serious tone and the makers of ‘Raakaasa’, dealt it with comedy. It is high time for the young filmmakers to start staying away from the cliched plots and come up with story lines which are novel and unique. Also, the first half of the film offers very few entertaining moments. We can see the writer and the director’s desperate attempt to make us laugh but a majority of the gags did not work. A cliche gag on ‘Brahmins and Biryani’ in a film in 2026? No, it’s not funny anymore.

Overall, Raakaasa, has a few genuinely laugh-out-loud moments, especially in the second hslf but the lack of freshness in writing and execution, a dull first half along with loud background score, worked against the film. You may give it a try watching it in the theatre if you don’t mind catching up on a film with a few comedy portions here and there but it gives you a Déjà vu feeling throughout.

Bottomline:- ‘Routine’ Raa

Rating – 2.5/5