Ravanasura Review: Only Ravi Teja impresses in this middling thriller with loose ends

2.5/5

Story

Ravi(Ravi Teja) is a criminal lawyer who works with a senior lawyer, Kanaka Maha Lakshmi(Fariah Abdullah). One fine day, a gruesome murder happens in daylight and the crime is caught on camera. In comes Harika(Megha Akash) who requests Ravi and his team to take up the same case and help her father out of jail(Sampath). During this time, a few more murders keep happening and surprisingly, Ravi shows a lot of interest to take up the case which is handled by Hanumantha Rao(Jayaram). The rest of the story reveals why Ravi is showing so much interest in the case and what is his backstory.

Review:

Post the super success of Dhamaka, Ravi Teja chooses a thriller as his next and even produces Ravanasura which is directed by Sudheer Varma. Ravanasura, by the title itself one can make out that the main lead will have a negative streak in him. The film starts on a very simple note and Ravi Teja is shown as this carefree lawyer who is forced to take up the case just to woo the heroine.

But the actual fun in the film begins when the major twist is revealed. This is when Ravi Teja's character takes a U-turn and means business. Credit Should go to Sudheer Varma for showcasing Ravi Teja in a new avatar. The fans of Ravi Teja will surely be impressed with the star hero's negative streak in the film. Being a seasoned artist, Ravi Teja does a brilliant job in his role. His emotions, body language and the intensity in his eyes are superb and Ravi Teja makes Ravanasura watchable only because of his performance.

Ravanasura has five heroines and each of them are nicely credited in the narrative and also get to showcase their glamor. A few twists during the interval block are executed in a decent manner. But the major problem is with the story which is quite routine. We have so many films where a hero commits a crime and has a purpose behind it. The same happens in Ravanasura as well and the only difference being the treatment.

The film has major issues with several tracks. Akkineni Sushanth plays a key role and his track is not at all handled properly. The purpose of his character is justified but the actions that his character does are clueless in the film. Ravanasura has a number of loose ends and logic goes for a toss in so many scenes. The top cop played by Jayram knows who is behind the murders and only watches more crime happening as he does not have any evidence against the man behind it. Such silly logics are in abundance in Ravanasura.

Coming to the performance, Ravi Teja is seen in a brilliant role and he makes the most of it. He is fun-filled in the first half and gets intense in the latter part. Faria Abduallah, Megha Akash, Daksha Nagarkar, and Anu Emanuel are neat in their respective roles. Sushanth is getting decent roles and he is impressive in Ravanasura. Hyper Aadi is also good and evokes a few laughs in the first half.

Harshvardhan Rameshwar and Bheems Cicirolio have composed the music and their songs are not that great. But the biggest disadvantage is the BGM, it is nowhere riveting and does not create an impact. The visuals are neat and the production values are amazing. The production design is decent but the editing is disappointing as close to ten to fifteen minutes of the film could have been chopped off.

Sudheer Varma is known to be a pro when it comes to thrillers but his style of narration and intensity is missing here in Ravanasura. While he executes the twists and crimes done by Ravi Teja in a brilliant manner, the purpose for which he is doing all this and the way the cops deal with such a big case is let down by shoddy scenes. A few songs hinder the flow of the film and the second half makes some sense.

Ravanasura has a decent premise but is made light with some shoddy screenplay. There are not many scenes which hold your attention but still Ravi Teja's acting keeps you invested. By the end of it all, one gets a feeling that you have seen such plots quite a lot and there is nothing new the director has showcased barring the solid role of Ravi Teja.

Verdict

On the whole, Ravanasura is a crime thriller backed by a fabulous performance by Ravi Teja. The crime showcased and the hero's characterization is good but the rest of the execution does not give you a high. There are a few dull moments in the film and the plot lacks novelty. Having said that, there are a few gripping moments but they are not satisfactory for us to get glued to the screen and make this film a strictly okay watch.