Rathnam is a 2024 Tamil-language action drama film written and directed by Hari which is dubbed into Telugu with the same title. The film has Vishal & Priya Bhavani Shankar playing the lead roles while Yogi Babu, Samuthirakani, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Murali Sharma, Hareesh Peradi, Rama Chandra Raju, Mohan Raman, VTV Ganesh, Vijayakumar, Rajendran, Jayaprakash, Vettai Muthukumar, Tulasi, Livingston, Muthukaalai & others are seen in important roles. The music is composed by Devi Sri Prasad and the film is produced by Kaarthekeyan Santhanam & Alankar Pandian under Stone Bench Films, Zee Studios & Invenio Origin banners.
Story:
Rathnam (Vishal) works as a henchman under MLA Panner Swamy (Samuthirakani) and always gets into fights with people. One day, he sees Mallika (Priya Bhavani Shankar) and starts following her. Rathnam soon realizes that some goons are trying to kill Mallika, but Rathnam saves her and becomes her guardian angel. From then Rathnam goes all out to protect Mallika. Why does he do so? What is his relationship with Mallika? Why are the goons going after Mallika? Needs to be seen in the film.
What about on-screen performances?
Vishal as usual delivers a neat performance in a role that is tailor-made for him. He is solid in all the action sequences and is good on the emotional front as well. But his role does not offer anything substantially new, resembling many of his previous films as he has been doing these kinds of roles from the beginning of his career.
Priya Bhavani Shankar gets a meaty part that has dual shades and she excels with her performance in both of them. Her ability to switch between roles is commendable.
Samuthirakhani is pretty decent in a key supporting role as the MLA.
Murali Sharma, Harish Peradi, and Rama Chandra Raju are decent as the antagonists.
Yogi Babu is funny with his witty lines in a few scenes.
Gautham Vasudev Menon shines in a small yet powerful camoe.
Mohan Raman, VTV Ganesh, Vijayakumar, Rajendran, Jayaprakash, Vettai Muthukumar, Tulasi, Livingston, Muthukaalai & others are okay.
What about off-screen talents?
The story by Hari lacks novelty and is completely outdated. If you look at a few scenes in this film, they are quite similar to the scenes of some of Hari’s previous films like ‘Yamudu’, ‘Pooja’ etc. Looks like he has stopped at looking for new ideas and is only trying to replicate his own scenes in a different manner.
The screenplay too is very formulaic. It follows the same predictable action drama template format with routine backstories and a senseless revenge angle. There is not even one good scene in the film and the cliched writing takes away the interest in the decent plot twist the film has. Murali Sharma’s entry scene and the police sequences are prime examples of this. The second half of the film, in particular, feels dragged and overloaded with action sequences, which, at times, seem excessive and overboard.
The Telugu dialogues by Rajesh AS Moorthy are below par as they add very little value to the film.
Director Hari does a pretty disappointing job with the way he narrates the film. His presentation too is very routine as it follows the same fast pace pattern as his previous works. Though he tried to add a different emotion involving the main leads, it didn’t work out properly and after a point became silly too. Even his fight scenes look very routine and the overdose of bloodshed makes the action parts even worse.
The songs by Devi Sri Prasad are fine. A couple of melodies click and are hummable. ‘Praanam Naa Praanam’ song is the best one on the album. However, Devi’s background score fails to create any significant impact.
The cinematography by Sukumar is good and the five-minute single-shot action sequence in the pre-interval portions is shot well.
The edit by T S Jay is below par. Especially in the second half, tests the patience of viewers, as the pacing feels sluggish and drawn out.
The production values by Stone Bench Films, Zee Studios & Invenio Origin are adequate.
What’s Hot?
* Vishal’s Performance
* Priya Bhavani Shankar’s Performance
* Praanam Naa Praanam & Chebuthaava Songs
* Pre Interval Twist & Chase Scene
What’s Not?
* Poor Writing & Outdated Plot
* Tedious Screenplay
* Dragged Out Second Half
* Overdose Of Violence
* Template Action Sequences
Verdict: On the whole, Rathnam is a mindless action drama that is very formulaic and routine. The lackluster writing and the overdose of action are a few major drawbacks of the film and the scenes too lack freshness which thoroughly tires the audience. Can be skipped!!
Telugubulletin.com Rating: 1.5/5