Raangi Movie Review | Trisha

Director: M. Saravanan

Music director: C. Sathya

Distributed by: Lyca Productions

Language: Tamil

Producer: A Subaskaran

The critically acclaimed director AR Murugadoss is credited with the story of the film Raangi. However, upon viewing the film, it becomes clear why he chose not to pursue it further. Written and directed by M Saravanan, the supposed anti-war movie is a disjointed and confusing mess. The film attempts to connect the consequences of a fake Facebook account with international terrorism, but fails to do so in a coherent or meaningful way. The central character's actions are portrayed as foolish and uninformed, rather than thoughtfully explored.

Raangi follows the story of Thaiyal Nayagi, a journalist who writes for an online news portal. She lives with her brother and niece, who looks up to her for her boldness and determination. However, Thaiyal's life takes a dramatic turn when her niece's nude videos are posted online, and her brother turns to her for help. As Thaiyal investigates the culprits behind the incident, she finds herself in communication with a terrorist in a foreign land. The film explores the events that unfold as a result of this communication.

One of the major issues with the film Raangi is the inconsistent and poorly written character of Thaiyal Nayagi, played by Trisha. Despite being introduced as a fearless journalist who stands up to a misogynistic police officer, she later displays alarm and foolish curiosity when she discovers the number of sexually explicit messages her niece has received. This ultimately leads to the major plot development of the film, where Thaiyal risks the life of her brother's daughter in an attempt to learn more about a terrorist.

The film's sudden shift into an international spy thriller also proves to be problematic, as the audience is presented with a multitude of bizarre plot points that are difficult to follow or understand.

Trisha does a good job of embodying the character of a young and determined journalist, but the dubbing by Raveena Ravi is subpar, and there are moments where the lip sync is off. Additionally, the decision to make Thaiyal an action heroine is flawed, as she lacks the finesse and grace required for such scenes.

Another character, Sushmita, played by Anaswara Rajan, is important to the story but is not given much to do except for a foreign trip. The actor playing the romantic terrorist also struggles to find the right tone for the character, as directed by M Saravanan.

The film Raangi suffers from a lack of clarity in direction from M Saravanan. The movie attempts to be an action thriller starring Trisha, but these elements often feel forced and disconnected from the overall story. The action scenes featuring Trisha's character, Thaiyal Nayagi, lack realism and believability, as she is able to easily defeat trained FBI agents and terrorists.

The monologue in the film where Thaiyal agrees with the terrorist on certain issues is also problematic, as it undermines the risks she takes for the terrorist and comes across as unintentionally comedic.

The film's visual effects are also underwhelming, with a clear indication of a limited budget. Despite the cinematographer's efforts to make the film visually interesting, the poor writing ultimately overshadows any technical achievements.

In the film Raangi, the depiction of the foreign country where the terrorist is based and the FBI's actions are both vague and subdued. While artistic freedom is important, in this case, the depiction of terrorists and organizations trying to stop them may be seen as insensitive and potentially offensive. In this light, it may have been wise for the film to have undergone censorship in order to avoid causing any agitation towards any parties.