Arun Gopi’s debut film ‘Ramaleela’ stringently adheres to the requisites of a political thriller , and weaves a tapestry of recognized scenarios to keep the exigencies in check. He is let down by the writing though, where a palpable plot that starts off pretty well meanders into a course that offers much less cheer.
Arun Gopi’s debut film ‘Ramaleela’ stringently adheres to the requisites of a political thriller, and weaves a tapestry of recognized scenarios to keep the exigencies in check. He is let down by the writing though, where a palpable plot that starts off pretty well meanders into a course that offers much less cheer.
Ramanunni (Dileep) has shifted his allegiance from CDP to its rival party, much to the annoyance of CDP loyalists. He finds himself on testing grounds, when CDP manages to rope in his own mother Ragini (Radhika Sarathkumar) as his opponent in the upcoming elections, and is further troubled when he turns out to be the prime suspect in the murder of Mohanan (Vijayaraghavan), his prime political adversary.
It’s a pretty much uneventful former half that ‘Ramaleela’ holds in store that nevertheless sails ahead without much of a cloudburst or shower in sight. It does strike you as generic without doubt, and yet around half time, the sudden twist that arrives makes you cock up your head in anticipation, looking forward to some imminent excitement in the latter half.
Arun Gopi mounts an even larger canvas for the latter half of the film, but lets the writer drag the tale away into make-believe territory. The setting shifts to Goa, where Ramanunni seeks refuge from the cops, hot in pursuit, where he settles down in a resort, takes a closer look at how he has been framed and works out strategies to untie himself off the mess.
Believability goes for a toss hence on, and the film encroaches into some fantasy land where Helena (Prayaga Martin) takes over with spy cams and flickering TV screens staring back at her from a studio. There is talk of the Interpol and IP spoofing and what not, and behind all the technical jargon lies a story that turns all affected.
‘Ramaleela’ has very few of the high-octane scenes that one would expect of a film as this, and keeping the brawn aside, Sachy attempts to make it more of a brain tussle. But the muddled screenplay lets the aspirations of the film float away and compels it to evolve into thriller fluff that gets its act only partially right.
There is plenty of reason for celebration for fans of the actor though, with Sachy wording enough and more of barbed dialogues for Ramanunni, where jibes are incessantly hurled at the media and the police, and suggestions made that slip-ups on their part, if any, need to be acknowledged with grace and instantly rectified.
Dileep in ‘Ramaleela’ is the actor that you have already seen in some of his former thrillers, political or otherwise, and while there is nothing ground breaking in his feat, he comes up with a spontaneous act in a role that probably asks for little else. Shajon brings in a few light moments, while Radhika Sarathkumar barely gets an opportunity to make her star presence felt.
‘Ramaleela’ is fuelled by testosterone, but is bogged down by the machinations in the script. Playing out a tale that grabs the viewers’ interest on account of a multitude of apparent reasons, it marks an ambitious directorial debut by a young film maker, if not anything else.
Verdict: Average