Express feelings in a manner that leads people to empathize with you;
Build bonds and relationships that last beyond a lifetime;
Gather all the magnificent thoughts that run astray and put them forth for the whole wide world to see; and
To bring to life stories hitherto untold.
It is this power of words that fascinates me and gets me to express my thoughts with the hope when that someone located somewhere on the face of this earth comes across my thoughts, (s)he becomes inclined to chronicle her/ his journey and thoughts through the power of words.
A serial killer is on the prowl, looking to kidnap and brutally murder 15-year-old schoolgirls.
Investigating the case is a newbie police officer who aspires to direct a film based on a fictional serial killer and conducts extensive research on past serial murders. He has been inducted into the police force on the recommendation of his brother – in – law who is a police officer. While his inexperience is in itself an impediment, the fact that his senior officer treats him with a high degree of contempt further hampers his morale.
Will the police officer be able to apprehend the dreaded murderer? Is there a link between the schoolgirls who are kidnapped and murdered? What is the serial killer’s motive? And what is it that turned a pure – minded human being into a demon who unleashes terror on the hapless victims?
WHAT WORKS?
ENGAGING FROM THE GET – GO
The earliest thing to notice about this movie is that it does not intend to spend any time in building up the characters and instead wants to spend time in building up horror amongst the audience from the get – go. The initial scene itself depicts a brutal and gruesome murder taking place as a part of a film shoot while in the next scene, you see 2 elderly men being led to discover the body of a 15-year-old school girl inside a cement pipe by 2 dogs. And from here on, the film seems to be in a perpetual crescendo.
THE PERFORMANCES
The performance of the main cast as well as the supporting cast is simply outstanding, as detailed in the ‘Performances’ section.
VERY FEW DISTRACTIONS
Many films from the South Indian film industries which may fall into the action or thriller genre somehow seem to needlessly wander into unwanted territory in building up a side-track about the romance between the protagonists or to provide comic respite through a supporting character. Ratsasan does none of the above because the director has his focus in the right place. The romance between Vishnu Vishal and Amala Paul seems natural and yet, is not overstretched. Even the lone romantic song in the film is played with the ongoing investigation into the serial murders as the backdrop. And the comic respite is brief and achieved in moments which involve the protagonists only.
MINIMUM CHARACTERS
It must be said that the director has provided personality layers only to the characters which are extremely essential to the script and the screen time of characters who are not connected with the investigation is kept to a bara minimum. A case in point being that the screen time of Ramdoss, the brother – in – law of Vishnu Vishal’s character and part of the investigating team, is considerably larger than the screen time of Vinodhini Vaidyanathan, who plays Vishnu Vishal’s sister.
HIGH ON BRUTALITY, LOW ON GORE
It would be incorrect to assume that a film which has too much of brutality and torture has elements of blood and gore. That this film successfully avoids exposing the audience to these elements and yet manages to spook them is down to the haunting background score of Ghibran and the editing by San Lokesh.
WHAT DOESN’T WORK?
THE MOTIVES OF THE ANTAGONIST
There have been films in the past where the motive of the antagonist has played a crucial role in lending a semblance of believability to the proceedings in the movie. After all, it was the quest of power and money and the wily ways he designed to achieve them that made Arvind Swamy’s character of Dr. Siddharth Abhimanyu in Thani Oruvan immortal. In this movie though, the motive of the antagonist to commit the serial murders seems silly! And yes, I am being lenient towards the movie when I use this phrase.
OVERSTRETCHED CLIMAX
While any film from any industry tends to focus a lot on its climax, this film takes it a few steps ahead by involving elements of magic and some action that can only be called ridiculous. Further, in the end, Vishnu Vishal receives a call that is supposed to provide the film with an ideal ‘happy’ ending. However, it is precisely this element that seems extremely unrealistic.
THE PERFORMANCES
MAIN CAST
VISHNU VISHAL
As someone who associated the Tamil film industry with legendary actors like MGR, Rajanikanth and Kamal Hassan, actors who got into the skin of each character such as Ajith Kumar, Vikram, Ilayathalapathi Vijay and Vijay Sethupathi, I had never heard of Vishnu Vishal before I saw this film. He does have the physique required of a policeman and showcases a range of emotions through the film.
He aptly shows the humane side of his character when, as an aspiring film director unwillingly forced to join the police force, he comes across a woman being arrested for the murder of her husband who was harassing their daughter. As well as the gritty and determined side of his character when, much later in this film, he embodies the various qualities required of a policeman as he goes about solving the case through a combination of application of mind and action sequences that are the hallmark of the Tamil film industry.
AMALA PAUL
Amala Paul, even as the love interest of the protagonist, does not have much screen time to display her acting skills considering that the entire focus of the film is on Vishnu Vishal and the surrounding case. However, even in the limited screen time she is provided with, she gives a good performance as a school teacher raising her deceased sister’s speech impaired daughter on her own and someone who backs the protagonist to the hilt.
THE ANTAGONISTS
What truly elevates the film to a different level, however, are the performances of Vinod Sagar (as Inbaraja, a paedophilic school teacher whose portrayal of lust and fearlessness of the consequences is something unseen before) and Saravanan (in a dual role as the antagonists Mary Fernandez and Christopher Fernandez who takes brutality, gruesomeness and lunacy to a different level). It is the performance of Saravanan which lends credence to the title of the film, which means ‘demon’ in Tamil.
SUPPORTING CAST
No film can work solely on the basis of the performances of its lead cast. This film is held together by the performances of its supporting cast mainly, Abhirami (as Ammu, the protagonist’s nephew), Ramdoss (as the protagonist’s brother – in – law who forms a vital part of my favourite scene described below), Nizhalgal Ravi (as a doctor running a morgue) and Suzane George (as the commanding officer of the protagonist who views him as nothing short of a nuisance).
THE SOUNDTRACK
Apart from the performances put in by the ensemble cast, what ensures that a chill runs down the spine of every audience member is the accompanying soundtrack by Ghibran which lends a haunted feel to the entire movie. There is rarely any scene which lacks a sense of impending doom and fear and suspense creeping in slowly. The critical role that the background score plays in the film can be ascertained by the fact that while actual songs constitute just 14 minutes of the film’s running time, the background score takes up 54.
FAVOURITE SCENE
Where the entire movie follows Vishnu Vishal and Ramdoss working with the rest of the police force to chase down the murderer, there is a scene where the two suffer from the loss of a close family member to the brutality of Saravanan. While Vishnu Vishal aptly portrays the horror of seeing the dead body of a family member who has been tortured and murdered, what follows is him trying to stop Ramdoss from seeing the dead body and experiencing the degree of pain he is currently experiencing. The resultant expressions from both actors and the accompanying background music is enough to make you feel weak in the knees.
SUMMARY
If you are interested in watching a movie that will keep you hooked and on the edge of the seat for a substantial duration of the film and prefer movies that scare you with their sheer brutality, this one’s for you!
It was Valentine’s and every girl around her had got a red rose, the ultimate symbol of love. Yet, as she removed the purple Dahlia tucked into the side pocket of her bag, she couldn’t help but smile.
It was her favorite flower and in that instant, she knew the source of her happiness although she hadn’t seen him the entire day. He who stood in a distant corner looking at her. He, who was overjoyed due to her smile and found satisfaction in the success of his stealth.
As he saw her walk away, he sighed and looked down, the smile continuing all the way through. “Time for my diary to know the happenings of today” , he thought as he dug his hand into his bag only to come up with an unfamilar, unruled, blank notebook.
The cover page bore the image of an eagle embossed on it and the words “For your imagination to soar… Up and away… To give words to your thoughts… And to help others enter your otherworldly realm” inscribed on it. A day spent in anxiety had ended in ecstacy.
Their eyes never met.
Words were not exchanged.
Yet, despite the apparent lack of interaction, love was requited.
जब Valentine’s Day पर महाविद्यालय के बाकी लड़कों ने अपनी प्रेयसी को लाल गुलाब देकर अपना प्यार जताया , उस एक अकेली सुंदरी ने अपने बस्ते में अपने पसंदीदा चंपा के सफ़ेद फूलों का गुच्छ पाया |
था ज्ञात उसे की फूल बस्ते में रखे थे उसीने , जिसे सुंदरी की निगाहें दिन भर खोजती रहीं | “कभी आकर लफ़्ज़ों में बयान तो करे कम्बख़्त प्रेम अपना !” ऐसा मन ही मन में वो सोचती रही |
था थोड़े ही दूरी पर वो प्रेमी छुपकर खड़ा सुंदरी की ख़ुशी में ही समाधान पाते हुए | चुप – चाप देखता रहा सूर्यास्त की पार्श्वभूमी पर सुंदरी को महाविद्यालय से बाहर जाते हुए |
“मैं करूँ भी या नहीं अपने प्यार का इज़हार?” सोचते हुए डाला प्रेमी ने अपने बस्ते में हाथ , तो पाया एक रिक्त पुस्तक जिसके पहले पन्ने पर थी लिखी सुंदरी ने अपने हस्तलेख में अपने मन की बात |
“चूँकि हिचकते हो बेवजह बात करने में मुझसे , कर दो मेरे प्रति अपनी भावनाओं को इस पुस्तक में बयान | ये पुस्तक हो होगी गवाह गाथा की हमारी और होगी प्रमाण उस प्रेम का जो है हमारे दरम्यान | “
जो प्रेमी था दिन भर तनाव से लिपटा हुआ , अब अकस्मात उसमें उत्साह बेमिसाल था | क्यूँकि “कब करूँ मैं इक़रार अपने प्यार का?” अब बस इतना ही उसके मन में सवाल था |
रंग इश्क़ का था उनके, उन चंपा के फूलों सा सफ़ेद , रंग इश्क़ का था उनके, उस ढलते आफताब सा सुनेहरा | गज़ब सा ही तो था इश्क़ उन दोनों का जिसका रंग चढ़ा था दोनों पे गहरा |
ना मिल पायी दोनों की नज़रें उस दिन , ना कर पाए दोनों लफ़्ज़ों में मोहब्बत का इज़हार | पर मौन रहने के बावजूद भी बयान कर गए वे एक – दूजे के प्रति अपना असीम, निर्मल सा प्यार |
On Valentine’s Day, while the other boys of the college Expressed their love to their beloved by giving them red roses There was just one beautiful girl who found A bouquet of white Plumeria flowers in her backpack
She knew that the flowers had been kept by the one Whom her gaze has searched for the entire day “When will he express his love for me directly?” She kept thinking to herself
The lover stood at a short distance Glad merely due to her happiness He silently saw her leave the college campus With the sunset serving as a background
“Should I express my love for her?” Thought the lover while putting his hand in his bag He found an empty book, on the first page of which The girl had written out her feelings for him
“Since you hesitate without any reason while talking to me Express your feelings for me in this book This book shall be the witness of our story And the proof of the love which we have for each other”
The lover who was engulfed with stress the entire day Experienced a sudden surge of enthusiasm in him Because the only question which lingered now in his mind was “When should I express my love for her?”
Their love was resembled by the pure white colour of the Plumeria flowers Their love was resembled by the golden colour of the setting sun Strange was the love between the two of them Which had engulfed the both of them deeply
Their gaze never met that day Words expressing their love were not exchanged And despite the apparent lack of interaction They expressed their unbound, innocent love for each other
Words on a canvas 