Raame Aandalum Raavane Aandalum review: This Suriya production is a rural drama with the heart of Peepli [Live]

Director Arisil Moorthy’s Raame Aandalum Raavane Aandalum (Ra Ra), which is the first title from Amazon Prime Video’s recently announced collaboration with Suriya’s 2D Entertainment, is a socio-political satire set around a village and its politics.

The film has the heart of Anusha Rizvi’s Peepli [Live] (2010), but still works as a quirky rural drama about the events that follow when two beloved bulls of a family go missing. Maintaining a satirical tone for the most part, Ra Ra manages to raise some pertinent questions without getting too serious in its treatment. It strikes a fine balance between satire and drama.

The film follows Kunnimuthu, a farmer, and his wife Veerayi, who lose their bulls, Karuppan and Vellaiyan, who were looked after like their children. Kunnimuthu sets out in search of the missing cattle as he begins to lose hope of finding them. When it is learnt that a local politician could be involved in the disappearance of the bulls, the story takes a political detour with multiple twists and turns. 

Arisil Moorthy makes an assured debut and establishes himself as a filmmaker with a voice and a purpose. He goes beyond the entertainment factor to give us a story that we can relate to and characters we can empathize with. Set in a small village with no basic amenities like electricity and drinking water, this is a story of hope and development. It shows how people of so many villages in our country still live with the hope of their lives getting better.

On the other hand, it also shows how greedy politicians continue to rob the poor and don’t provide anything by way of development. By taking a satirical stand, the film manages to directly take a dig at the current political scenario and quite a few politicians. Thankfully, it never goes overboard in its attempt to talk about the flawed system we live in.

First-time actor Mithun Manickam as the film’s central character is a solid find and brings out the helplessness of his character quite convincingly. He is a natural and he plays his character with unparalleled sensitivity.

Ramya Pandian, in the limited screen space she gets, makes an impression with a good performance. Vani Bhojan as the intrepid reporter is the show stealer in the second half as she vows to throw the spotlight on corrupt politicians. The realistic locations plays a vital role in elevating the overall viewing experience.

Raame Aandalum Raavane Aandalum will be premiered on Amazon Prime Video on 24 September.