Review : Raakshasa Kaavyam – Interesting concept, underwhelming execution

A small-budget film named Rakshasa Kavyam has hit the screens today. The movie stars Abhai Naveen and Anvesh Michael in the lead roles. Let’s see how the movie is.

Story:

The entire film revolves around two characters, Ajay (Abhai Naveen) and Vijay (Anvesh Michael). Ajay is a contract killer who has immense respect for students, and on the other hand, Vijay (Anvesh Michael) wants to make films highlighting antagonists. There is an intense animosity between Ajay and Vijay. What is the reason for it? What’s the connection between the two? Who had the last laugh? This is what the film is about.

Plus Points:

The film starts on an interesting note with the voiceover of Sai Kumar, who explains a mythological story. The lead characters are based on that mythological story, and credit goes to the director for thinking in such a smart way as the idea itself is very exciting.

Abhai Naveen has given a solid performance in Rakshasa Kavyam. His portrayal of a contract killer is very natural, and his backstory is decent. Though there are pacing issues in the first hour, one still gets connected with the backstory of Abhai’s character due to strong emotions.

Anvesh Michael also gave a good performance. Dayanand Reddy aced his role to perfection, and the entire track on Pawon Ramesh is crafted in a neat manner. The comedy scenes in the first half will tickle our funny bones.

Minus Points:

After a promising first half, one expects the second half to be in the same range, but sadly, the movie goes downhill post the interval mark. While the first half is reserved for depicting the character of Abhai Naveen, the second half is meant exclusively for Anvesh’s character. The director has tried to do justice to the other lead character, but it is not at all convincing.

The scenes are repetitive here and poorly designed. There is a world of difference between both halves in terms of execution. Had the second half been good, the film could have gone to the next level. Although Anvesh Michael did his job well, the writing is flawed, so one can’t connect to this role.

There are a few twists in the film. While the one that comes during the interval is good, the other twists are utterly predictable. The film has extreme violence and strong coarse language, making it unsuitable for a few sections of the audience. The climax portions are prolonged.

Technical Aspects:

The music by Rajeev Raj and Srikanth M and the cinematography by Rushi Konapuram suit the tone of the film very well. The production values are good. The editing could have been better as far as the second half is concerned. The dialogues and artwork are good.

Director Sriman Keerthy handled the first half in a fair manner, but the momentum was not carried in the latter half. Visualizing how mythological characters will behave in this day and age is indeed a pretty good idea, but the way the second half is handled doesn’t do justice to the plot idea.

Verdict:

On the whole, Rakshasa Kavyam has an interesting concept, but the execution is not up to the mark. There is a complete contrast between both halves, as the director fails to present the second lead character in a convincing manner. Abhai Naveen and Anvesh Michael did well, and a few comedy scenes worked. The boring second half and predictable scenes worked against the film big time.

 

123telugu.com Rating: 2.5/5

Reviewed by 123telugu Team

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