Filmmaker Dharani Dharan who made the fairly impressive Burma and Shirish who made his debut with the acclaimed crime drama Metro have joined together in Raja Ranguski, a whodunit murder mystery thriller.
An old lady Maria(Anupama) an antique collector is brutally murdered in her villa and all the evidence point towards a young constable Raja (Shirish). An inspector Arokyam (Vijay Sathya) and CBCID officer KK (Jayakumar) chase the constable to put him behind the bars. On the other hand, Raja gets the help of his writer girlfriend Ranguski(Chandini) and his constable friend(Kalloori Vinoth) to find the real murderer...
One of the strength's of Raja Ranguski is the crisp runtime (120 minutes) and unpredictable twist which we get to know only in the climax. Although the romantic portions featuring Shirish and Chandini were not convincing, the investigative scenes are quite intriguing. Yuvan Shankar Raja is in top form and his background score is easily the biggest selling point of the film that he elevates the thrill factor with his music.
Performance wise, Shirish has the physique for a cop role but the actor should improve on his expressions. Chandini has ann important role but her performance isn't quite convincing. Anupama Kumar shines in the brief yet pivotal character while the characterizations of the two cops - Jayakumar and Vijay Sathya are fascinating in the mystery thriller. The comedy one-liners of Kalloori Vinoth is also enjoyable in many places.
The trouble with the script is that the romance between Raja and Ranguski is badly written and not convincing. There are some red herrings thrown in to confuse the viewers but they are almost immediately eliminated and you can guess the murderer towards the climax.
Cinematographer Yuva perfectly captured the mood of the characters, his shot divisions within the limited landscape of the villa is very impressive and the constantly moving frames also helps to hold the attention of the viewers. The editor has packaged the film within the perfect duration and there is no needless gimmick.
Overall, Raja Ranguski is a thriller which is watchable for some twist and the intelligent screenplay of director Dharani Dharan.
Raja Ranguski review - Verdict: Decent thriller
