A scene from ‘Rasavati’ Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

How director Santkumar titles his films is undoubtedly fascinating. If Mauna Guru Defined the main character of his first film, his second year student, Magamuni, apart from clarifying the personalities of its chiefs, was also a word-play by combining their names. In his latest film, Rasavati (The Alchemist), The title brilliantly embodies its overarching theme as well as establishes the actions of its protagonist.

In Raswati, Santhakumar introduces Sadashivapandian (Arjun Das), a soft-spoken and shrewd Siddha doctor, to Kodaikanal’s new Inspector Parasuraj (Sujeet Shankar) who is suffering from unresolved mental illness. Also new to town is Surya (Tanya Ravichandran), the manager of a resort, who surprisingly strikes up a relationship with Sada. Upset at the sight of the happy couple, Parasu goes out of his way to try to create havoc in their relationship. Although it initially appears to be the work of a narcissistic individual who is unhappy to see others happy, there is more to it than meets the eye.

What’s interesting about it? Raswati – From a writing standpoint – how all of its primary cast have had pasts. Like alchemy – the medieval chemical science and speculative philosophy aimed at transmuting base metals into gold – they all strive to become a better version of themselves. After a traumatic past left her scarred physically and emotionally, Sada is in a better place, both figuratively and literally, trying to use the knowledge she gained in the process for the betterment of humanity. On the other hand, Parsu, who has grown up with a troubled childhood, is still not able to heal his suppressed pain which often comes out in undesirable ways.

The film spends most of its runtime establishing how the good guy is good and the bad guy is… bad. Sada treats an elderly man’s feet while Parsu orders his subordinate to tighten his shoelaces. Sada saves people and Parsu kills them. Sada relieves the pain and Parsu delivers it emotionally, at home, or physically, at work. Sada is an animal lover and Parsu enjoys torturing trapped rodents; You get the flow. Unfortunately, that’s all the film offers during the first half.

Add to the equation the equally traumatized Suriya whose character or his troubled past adds no importance to the film. But this is nothing compared to the secondary characters played by Ramya and GM Sundar; The former as a whole exists only for comedic purposes which is nothing but ridiculous. The film picks up pace in the second half when many of the puzzles are resolved, but despite an interesting conflict and introducing us to Reshma Venkatesh (who does a beautiful job in her first role), the set-up becomes ineffective. What happens next is a predictable climax.

A scene from ‘Rasavati’ Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Despite the film as a whole not being satisfactory, some of its moments stand out, and Raswati We hope that we will find relief when we try to read between its lines; For example, the albino cobra that appears twice in the film may possibly represent Lord Shiva, who is often mentioned in connection with Siddha medicine. The dialogues, though giving us the feeling of reading the verses of a novel, are often ineffective. Sada, in one scene, compares the compassion of seeing cut trees being carried on a truck to the consequences of an elephant being hit by a train. The filmmaker also makes references to his previous films and even takes a dig at critics and bibliophiles. Thaman’s effective score along with Arjun Das and Sujith Shankar’s acting and Saravanan Ilavarasu’s stunning shots make this an otherwise conventional film.

To call the pace of the film slow is an exaggeration and it makes sense considering the very thin plot, which the director tries to stretch by adding more characters which in turn leads to more scenes. The film also emphasizes the need for every trigger warning possible, from abuse to suicide. But despite the many subplots, the film doesn’t necessarily boil down to the age-old idea of ​​revenge. Someone at my screening compared the movie Dhill And it’s hard to argue against this comparison. For a movie full of characters with nostalgia, this is very disappointing Raswati ceases to be a product of the past to which there is no response.

Raswati is currently running in theaters

(Help to overcome suicidal thoughts is available on the state health helpline 104, Tele-Manas 14416 and Sneha’s suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050. Helplines across the country can be reached here)