‘RaaKaaSaa’ movie review: Sangeeth Shobhan’s supernatural fantasy tale banks big on humour

Yesteryear filmmaker B. Vittalacharya’s phantasy tales enjoyed immense popularity successful Telugu cinema of the 1960s, serving arsenic paisa vasool entertainment with a dash of action, adventure, romance, and catchy music. The bravura of his adventurous protagonists came to the fore arsenic they battled curses, life-threatening peril, and exorcisms done a bid of challenges that kept viewers hooked.

While manager Vassishta paid a fond tribute to the seasoned successful Bimbisara(2022), first-time filmmaker Manasa Sharma lends a playful modern rotation to his signature tropes with RaaKaaSaa. This supernatural thriller, infused with wide doses of humour, follows the carefree NRI Veera Babu (Sangeeth Shobhan), who is thrust into troubling situations successful a colony wherever superstitions are heeded to.

The saga, centred connected a cursed fort, opens with an arresting folklore astir a deadly demon who supposedly demands quality sacrifice to forestall the ruin of a village. Amid predictions of doom, a much-pampered Veera Babu returns from the USA to seal his emotion beingness with a section girl. When the program fails, helium becomes entangled successful a horrifying ritual that upends his existence.

Initially, RaaKaaSaa does small to change the tropes associated with horror-comedies. It builds a chilling backstory astir the fort, takes its clip establishing the laidback colony ambience, and lays the instauration for the halfway conflict. The goofy protagonist, caller disconnected a breakup, is joined by a sidekick named Balu (Getup Srinu), portion striking a transportation with puerility sweetheart Subbalakshmi (Nayan Sarika).

The backdrop, though acceptable successful a phantasy world, appears somewhat primitive. Veera Babu, for instance, is asked to use kajal to a woman’s waist to triumph her over. A emblematic colony headman resolves section disputes by pronouncing antithetic punishments, portion a manipulative elder clergyman indulges successful occult practices to sway the locals. Predictably, it takes an educated youngster to question their ignorance.

The filler portions that instrumentality jibes astatine section realities and eccentric characters are comic successful parts, but bash not rather bring the extortion down. The penning is occasionally gimmicky and verbose, though Sangeeth Shobhan holds the fort, operating successful the aforesaid comedic metre arsenic the MAD franchise. Once the manager establishes the nexus betwixt Veera Babu and the fort, the proceedings summation momentum.

The ocular imagery and the hostility starring up to the ritual astatine the tainted fort are peculiarly immersive. The communicative hostility is smartly contrasted with acheronian humour done a bid of coincidences. The director’s cardinal spot lies successful the authorization with which she builds the layers of the phantasy satellite — an facet that keeps the 2nd hr afloat contempt a fewer bumps on the way.

The Vittalacharya-esque sequences, wherever the pack unearths clues and surpasses obstacles successful the fort to overpower the demon, are the film’s lifeline. However, conscionable erstwhile you expect the communicative to instrumentality a superior turn, the over-reliance connected humour undermines its impact. While determination are genuine laugh-aloud moments featuring Getup Srinu and Vennela Kishore, the gags consciousness hopeless and repetitive astatine times.

A much intriguing, alternate mentation of the demon’s communicative is relegated to the last moments. The filmmaker could person taken much clip to soma this retired alternatively than opting for crowd-pleasing humour. The thread involving enchanted daggers and the demon’s backstory, revisited with compassion, provides a invited lease of beingness to the narrative.

Though the film’s DNA is woven astir lighter moments, Manasa Sharma shines brighter erstwhile the goofiness takes a backseat to world-building. It is earthy that she chose to capitalise connected the improvisational strengths of Sangeeth Shobhan, Vennela Kishore, and Getup Srinu, who are successful terrific form, but this absorption often sidelines the plot’s potential.

Apart from the pb trio, astir actors stay underutilised. Nayan Sarika’s relation starts with committedness but is yet diluted. Even heavyweights similar Ashish Vidyarthi, Tanikella Bharani, and Brahmaji are wasted, though they effort to lend their parts immoderate respectability.

Anudeep Dev’s inheritance people rises to the juncture during important moments without distracting from the proceedings, adjacent if the songs permission small impact. The film’s aesthetics stay a metallic lining; the flashback sequences, the rituals, and the seamless integration of VFX to amplify the demon’s persona merit praise.

RaaKaaSaa has galore compelling ideas up its sleeve, but yet settles for being a harmless popcorn entertainer alternatively than a phantasy saga. It is simply a watchable, time-pass mainstream fare, but it could person aimed higher.