Rathnam Review: This Ultra-Violent Film Aims For Nuance But Ends Up As An Assault To The Senses

Writer and director: Hari

Cast: Vishal, Priya Bhavani Shankar, Samuthirakani, Yogibabu and Gautham Vasudev Menon

Available in: Theatres

Duration: 156 minutes

In Hari’s newest film, the violent Rathnam, Priya Bhavani Shankar’s Mallika casually drops a rather philosophical line. “There is no definition for good and bad,” she says, as she realises that the film’s eponymous hero (Vishal), dreaded as a violent gangster in Chitthoor, comes to her rescue when she is attacked by some violent goons. The line doesn’t make much sense early on but it is later solidified in another scene, when Mallika says that it’s solely the perspective that paints a moral picture of a person and their deeds. Perspective is a recurring theme in the film.

We see one act of violence, a police officer being attacked and murdered early in the film and the same incident is shown through a different perspective later, to tell us that this incident plays a bigger role in the story. Likewise, the opening scene of the film which involves a trio of bandits attacking a bus full of passengers, is unbelievably gruesome. While the scene made me wonder how the film was passed with a U/A certificate and is being considered a family entertainer, we eventually learn that it serves a larger purpose in the story, and isn’t there to just establish the villains. Even the murder that Rathnam commits as a child gets a different perspective later, even though it doesn’t land emotionally. While the thought that went into connecting the various ‘threads’ of the story is evident, what’s irksome is how loud the film is.

Of course, it’s not nuance or thematic subtext that we expect when we walk into a Hari film; it’s the mass, it’s the relentless pace and how his protagonists use both their brawn and brain to overpower the bad guy. A lot of these Hari-isms are still intact and they occasionally result in some strong moments in Rathnam. Take, for instance, the long, single-shot action and chase sequence that’s finely executed despite VFX hiccups. Moreover, the dramatic moments work well, especially a moment that serves as a payoff to the ‘home food’ element that the film established early in the second half. The film does work on the action front even though it’s not wildly inventive.

What’s striking about Rathnam is how it subverts the romantic angle with a twist that might have made Freud resurrect from his grave if not dealt the right way. The dynamic between Mallika and Rathnam is an angle that we have never seen before and I think it’s gutsy how the film explores this and doesn’t end up embarrassing itself. It’s a very thin line and the film trudges it beautifully.

But what stopped me from really enjoying the film is the excessive violence, because most of it felt unwarranted after a point. Hands, legs, throats, ears, and fingers are chopped liberally. The blood starts to flow right from the first scene and doesn’t stop! Five minutes into the film, we are shown parts of a body thrown around the Andhra-Tamil Nadu border. The film doesn’t even give us time to settle. We're even forced to sit through a hand-amputation joke and an explicit sexual molestation incident, which ends up triggering the mandatory 'hero intro fight' with Texas Chainsaw Massacre-level gore.

Yes, we understand that it’s a violent film but how much violence is too much violence? The final 20 minutes of the film, where the violence hits a sadistic level becomes an assault on the senses and the loud music does more harm to the film than favour.

The film, like almost every Hari film, is relentlessly paced and gives us no time to breathe as the screenplay is filled with events, even though Yogi Babu’s humour (is Hari the only filmmaker who continues to uphold the comedy track tradition?) tends to puncture the breakneck pace. But the emotions, which have been sacrosanct to Hari’s films, don’t work here even though the music tries hard because the characters (take, the hysteric reactions of Mallika’s mother, for instance) operate with a loud level that’s unintentionally funny at times. Even the long, well-intended conversations between Mallika and Rathnam barely make an impact and end up testing your patience. With all the thoughts it wanted to blend, Rathnam could have been a lot more than what it ended up being. If only it was more about Rathnam and less about rathham.