Operation Raavan
Cast: Rakshit Atluri, Sangeerthana Vipin, Rocket Raghava, Radhika Sarathkumar
Director: Venkata Satya
Rating: 1.5
In Operation Raavan, we are introduced early on to Anand Sriram (Rakshit Atluri), a rookie journalist who joins a TV news channel at a time when the organisation is undergoing a major internal crisis. It is hinted soon after that Sriram is not the simpleton beginner that he claims to be, that his status is far greater in the larger scheme of things. However, even after Sriram comes clean about his past, it remains unclear how his new identity alters the narrative in any manner. A little later, Sriram confronts a mysterious bad man in an elaborate action sequence, whose only purpose seems to be to deliver the ‘mass’ moment.
But here’s the thing—Operation Raavan, at its core, promised to be a whodunit, a thriller about unmasking a psychopath killer. Unfortunately, the writers of the film continually struggle to be loyal to their core premise while incorporating other elements that they probably deem essential for a mainstream film. As a result, the Rakshit Atluri starrer never picks up momentum.
The film, directed by Venkata Satya, doesn’t deliver either either as a murder mystery or as a thriller that explores the psychology of a criminal mind. After kicking off the narrative with a gory murder sequence, the film spends too much time establishing the two main spheres the story revolves around—the media and the police system. However, these tracks feel half-hearted on an execution level. The one confrontational moment between a journalist and a high-ranking police officer notwithstanding, Operation Raavan never attempts to explore the intense possibilities when these rigorous systems cross each other’s paths. Apart from being uneconomical in its duration, Operation Raavan is also gravely dull in these sequences. After establishing the mysterious antagonist, the screenplay forgets about their existence for a while. So when the narrative comes back to the central conceit of finding the killer, it’s incredibly tough for the audience to stay intrigued by the mystery element.
In terms of building characters one could root for, there’s only Amani (Sangeerthana Vipin), a sincere and righteous journalist who wants to do her job adequately despite all the external pressure and obstacles. But the writers fail to bring any depth to her or any other prominent character, already struggling with an incoherent screenplay that’s largely plot-driven. So when Amani makes that one emotional phone call to Sriram, expressing her feelings amidst a tense moment, we find ourselves being strangely apathetic to her situation. Writing decisions like this feel like desperate attempts to sprinkle drama and twists when the script lacks them at its core, especially considering Anand’s new identity adds nothing to the plot later on. At the end of the day, he remains the prototypical hero who needs to save the heroine, and that’s that. (The audience also finds itself consistently distracted by the ghastly dubbing work, where it is evident that many of the dialogues were altered on a post-production level, creating a visually jarring impact.)
Things get interesting only for a brief stretch in the second half, when the film’s focus shifts entirely to a chase sequence between the good guy and the bad guy. Despite its logical loopholes, this stretch is well-paced and keeps us glued to the proceedings. This joy is short-lived, unfortunately, because the film again veers into an irredeemably self-indulgent direction in the final act, when it reveals the culprit, their backstory, and the works. There is also an attempt to incorporate religious iconographies into the central good vs. evil battle, but it falls flat because of awkward execution by the director.
Sangeerthana Vipin, in the limited scope she is given, is adequate as Amani. Rakshit Atluri, as Sriram, is strangely stiff in his performance, barely capturing the intensity of his character. The only actor who rises above the script is Radhika Sarathkumar. The veteran actor is barely present in a handful of scenes but makes the most of the material.
Radhika brings gravitas to a revelatory moment in the climax, reminding the audience of the potential of this concept had the writers attempted to explore the grayer shades of their story. Alas, Radhika’s character stays largely peripheral to the overall scheme of things. And Operation Raavan, in its entirety, remains a tiring and dull whodunit.