Raatchasi movie review: A preachy, predictable premise is rescued by Jyotika

Related News

LiveRaatchasi, Oh Baby movie review and release LIVE UPDATES: Jyotika and Samantha starrer off to a good start

Jackpot first look: Jyotika and Revathi promise an action-packed fun ride

I know I am not a great actor: Vidaarth

Raatchasi movie cast: Jyotika, Hareesh Peradi, Poornima Bhagyaraj
Raatchasi movie director: Sy Gowthamraj
Raatchasi movie: 2 stars

Advertising

Raatchasi is the kind of film that every parent or teacher would love to watch. It is also this karuththu padam (message film) where you get one moral lecture after another, resulting in a nugget of wisdom. I am not saying it is a bad thing—but for the message-heavy film that it is—Raatchasi has little impact.

The story revolves around headmistress Geetha Rani (Jyotika), who transforms a poorly-run Government school into a model institution that people look up to. The moment the plot kicks off, the lines are clear. You get Geethas intentions. She encourages students, dismantles all barriers and binds them. Geetha Rani is a disciplinarian, no-nonsense woman and wants to “fix things and cleanse the system”. She even lunches with a group of students and insists them to call her “Geetha”. If only it happened in reality. Sigh.

Raatchasi oscillates between the story that Gowthamraj wanted to tell and Jyotikas “ideal” image. Everything is perfect about the film and its so pissing off. When the director wrote the film, I believe he just thought of three characters and weaved the script around a wafer-thin plot. One—the “hero” (Jyotika), the other, the antagonist (Hareesh Peradi), and—third, the backdrop. This story places a lot of importance on the backdrop—school. You may wonder why I referred to Jyotika as “the hero”. It is not only because she shoulders the entire film, but also does stunts like Vijayakanth, quite literally. I would have been okay if those fight sequences were necessary, but they were not. It is clear Gowthamraj is a fanboy of Jyotika. He puts her on a Superstar pedestal. I wonder why suddenly Jyotika went into an action mode and the result wasnt satisfactory.

Advertising

Class II student Kathir crushes on Geetha, proposes to her and asks for her hand in marriage. He hands over a paper that has a drawing of her face and sneaks away. Geetha evokes a gentle smile. Its supposed to be one of those “harmless cute things”, right? Hey, but actually not. It is unfortunate to see kids not behaving like kids. How does it feel when this child asks a 30-something woman, “Ungala naan ponnu paaka varattuma?” Read More – Source