Film: Ravi Bopanna

Producer: V Ravichandran

Director: V Ravichandran

Starring: V Ravichandran, Sudeep, Radhika Kumaraswamy, Kavya Shetty, Mohan and others

Stars: 2

Ravichandran is back as a director after a six year gap. His latest release ‘Ravi Bopanna’ is another ‘Vikrant Rona’. The film has grandeur, rich visuals, good songs and background music, some thought provoking dialogues and what not. But the film lacks not only the pace, but also fails to connect with the audience.

Actually speaking, ‘Ravi Bopanna’ is a remake of Malayalam hit ‘Joseph’. If Ravichandran had been faithful to the original and if he had did the same, then he would have been more successful. But Ravichandran has made the film in his own style. He has taken only a few portions from the original and has tried to make a film in his trademark style.

‘Joseph’ was a very serious film with a murder mystery and lot of thriller elements in it. Ravichandran has tried to convert it into a family film here. He has added a lot of glamour, action, sentiment and songs in this film. Except for comedy, the film has every ingredient to make it a commercial film.

‘Ravi Bopanna’ revolves around the story of a retired police officer. Ravi Boppanna is dwelling in his past with the memories of his two wives. While, the first dies in an accident, the second leaves him for various reasons. Ravi Bopanna who is alone, can’t come out of these memories. Meanwhile, he learns that his second wife is in coma after a road accident. Just when everybody writes it off as accident, Ravi Bopanna’s intuition tells him that it is a murder and he tries to unravel the mystery of his former wife’s death.

As told earlier, the film is a serious one. But Ravichandran unnecessarily makes it a lag adding various other quotients. Moreover, he comes as his inner self every now and then and talks about various aspects of life including memories, laughter, judgment and what not. Ravichandran in his previous film ‘Apoorva’ has shown some messages on screen making it hard for the viewer. This time, he comes as a narrator every now and then and lags the film. If Ravichandran had avoided the unnecessary philosophy and presented the film as it is, it would have been better in the point of view of the audience.

Though the technical aspects of the film are very good, it is the narration which lacks something. Ravichandran at any point of time doesn’t connect with the audience. The film goes on and on, but the viewer sits yawning. G S V Seetharam has beautified each and every frame of the film. Gowtham Srivatsa’s background music, Mohan’s dialogues are laudable. Ravichandran as an editor excels. If he would have given the required prominence to the script as well as the other aspects, the film would have been a great watch.

Ravichandran is seen in three different shades, but looks wooden. Kavya Shetty looks glamourous on screen, but has nothing to do. It is ditto with Radhika Kumaraswamy. Sudeep electrifies the screen with his voice in the climax. Watch ‘Ravi Bopanna’ if you are a fan of director Ravichandran.