Aswathama Movie Review

Naga Shaurya turned writer for his latest home production Ashwathama. It is a thriller that is reminiscent of last year’s release Rakshasudu. Shaurya does his best but it turns out to be a film that only works in parts.

What’s It About?

Gana (Shaurya) is in search of a serial sex offender who operates anonymously. Gana’s sister is one of his victims and he is hell bent in finding the invisible villain. The film is about how Gana gets to the monster.

Performances:

Naga Shaurya has tried action for the first time and he is convincing in this new avatar. Mehreen has a very limited role. Jisshu Sen Gupta steals the show with his effective portrayal of a psychotic doctor. None of the remaining star cast got noteworthy characters.

Technicalities:

Ramana Teja’s direction is uneven as he shines in some sequences and looks amateurish in others. A tightly woven screenplay is a must for films like this and Ashwathama’s screenplay seems half baked.

Songs are needless and not even one song is worth listening to again. Background score by Ghibran is very good. Camera work is also good considering the limited budget. Action scenes are shot well. Editing is okay. Production values are neat.

Thumbs Up:

Tense moments

Jisshu Sen performance

Thumbs Down:

Uneven Screenplay

Weak Climax

No Motive For Villain

Analysis:

Ashwathama is a different film for Naga Shaurya who usually does romantic entertainers. However, it doesn’t offer much freshness concept wise. It closely resembles Bellamkonda Srinivas’s Rakshasudu, which is a superior thriller in every aspect. Naga Shaurya, who penned the story for Ashwathama has incorporated contemporary elements like sexual violence against women and also did some research regarding how the crime is operated.

Hero has a strong motive to go after the villain, but he uses brawn than brain in his investigation. Logic goes for a toss in this entire search mission. However, the anonimity of the villain holds the interest and make it partly engaging in the first half. The villain is shown post intermission with a gruesome scene that makes you cringe in your seats. Raping a corpse in a mortuary is a disgusting intro to his character.

One would expect a strong motive for him to act like a monster. Proper explanation is not given to his psychotic behavior. While he operates his crime with so much care, the protagonist finds him very easily once his character is revealed. This is where Ashwathama falls flat as the protagonist is hardly challenged in his pursuit of finding the bad guy. The screenplay writers should have taken a cue from Tamil filmmakers that are doing fabulous job in making tense thrillers out of similar concepts.

Ashwathama is an okay thriller that has a few engaging moments and a solid performance from Jisshusen, but doesn’t have enough to keep you engaged all the time. It is a movie that suits for home viewing than thetarical experience.

Verdict: Ashwathama falls flat

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