Horror flicks being the toast of the season, here’s yet another one for lovers of the genre. ‘Ra’ explores the different dimensions of the paranormal, where ghosts make their presence felt and evil spirits are waiting to be unleashed. A story of an unnatural death and a vendetta-angle is weaved in.
Appreciable is the attempt by the debutant director. But the various ingredients and mood-shifts from the cerebral to the mundane, is distracting at times.
It begins when hero Ashraf finds his wife Aditi dead on their wedding night. The investigating cop (Jay) suspects Ashraf or one of his friends to be the culprit. Eerie happenings that one would expect to occur in a haunted place, plague Ashraf. He’s locked inside his room; he gets blank calls from Aditi’s cellphone, which is in disuse; and his little niece behaves strangely. Ashraf in his debut effort renders a fairly competent performance of a man in trauma.
Aditi disappears after a couple of early scenes and song-dance numbers. Lawrence Ramu (the lyric writer too) as Ashraf’s friend Prabhu, provides necessary support. From the familiar haunted-house scenario, the narration shifts to a different level. It’s more cerebral here, some of which may go over the heads of a lay audience. The duo visit a doctor who seems a medium-research scientist-doctor rolled into one. It’s the ‘fourth dimension’ we are introduced to, with a crucial red door, and an evil force waiting to be unleashed. An interesting link-up is brought in here, explaining disasters on earth like floods and loss of human lives. At the end the director makes references to various English films, which had probably inspired him.
The killer and the motive are exposed rather suddenly. And after the other-dimension experience, the killer-angle seems mundane, lacking in conviction. The attention shifts to what Ashraf does, caught between vendetta, and the evil spirit. “Human greed and avarice is more destructive than any evil spirit,” opines the hero at a point. The closing scenes are gripping, suggesting a sequel. But throughout, what holds the film together is it’s brilliant cinematography (Saravanan). The camera angles and the lighting of the interiors, create the necessary spooky effect. Debutant Raj Aryan’s background score enhances the feel and mood. With appreciable technical values and experiment in its theme, ‘Ra’ is a laudable effort by a team of debutants.