204. Ravanasura; movie review

 

RAVANASURA

Cert 18

140 mins

BBFC advice: Contains sexual violence

What an unseemly mess Ravanasura is.

The starting point is the near-slobbering lust the character of 55-year-old Telugu superstar Ravi Teja has over women who are less than half his age.

Or maybe the film-makers are suggesting that we should believe he is playing someone in his 20s, despite his middle-aged looks?

After all, the storyline indicates he even went to law college with his boss (25-year-old Faria Abdullah) and he also thrusts himself rather creepily at a client (played by 26-year-old Megha Akash).

But it gets worse - every female in Sudheer Varma's film is young and beautiful and becomes a potential victim of rape, torture or murder or, possibly, all three 

Shockingly, the film seems to bathe in such violence against women.

It also jumps around all over the place, so what begins as an unfunny comedy about an incompetent randy lawyer, transforms into a thriller surrounding brutal killings

The one intriguing element of the latter is that they are all apparently open-and-shut cases with the murders happening with witnesses and recorded by CCTV.

However, a highly experienced investigator (Jayaram) soon discovers that there is much more to them than meets the eye.

From then on, there is an avalanche of vicious crime in no obvious pattern.

Ravanasura crux isn't remotely credible and Teja's character is especially odd. One minute harmless and comical, albeit sexist, the next dangerous and not funny in the slightest.

And then there is a tangent which is mind-blowing and a resolution which is simply bewildering.

In its favour Ravanasura has some exciting, big-scale dance numbers. Those apart, it is way off beam.

Reasons to watch: Ravi Teja fans might like it

Reasons to avoid: Just nasty on several levels

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 3/10

Did you know? Ravi Teja is a household name in Tollywood (Telugu cinema) but he got his first acting chance in a Kannada movie. He starred in a small role in the movie 'Abhimanyu' in 1990. 

The final word. Sushanth: "Ravanasura is my first full-fledged thriller. The film has an innovative theme that is never seen before in Tollywood and the treatment is very fresh. I aspire to portray various roles with new dimensions and I got the opportunity to look new in Ravanasura." 123 Telugu

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