Mihir Bhanage, TNN, Feb 23, 2018, 07.37 PM ISTCritic's Rating: 3.5Story: A filmmaker documenting the protests from a tribal community against a development project goes missing. His wife and young daughter embark on a journey to find him.
Review: Firstly, the team of Raakshas deserves a pat on the back for making a film in a genre that was untouched by the Marathi industry.
Raakshas revolves around a family. The father Avinash (Kelkar) is a documentary filmmaker who goes missing in the jungle. His wife Iravati (Tamhankar) and daughter Aranya (Deshpande) start searching for him and they get help from a fantasy story book that Aru finds during one of her earlier trips to the jungle with her father. The story from the book, a tribal myth, gives Aru clues about the whereabouts of her father and the ‘Raakshas’ that has taken him away. Once they start connecting the dots, Iravati, Aru and Parsu (Kale), a local tribal who helps them, understand that they are unearthing a lot more than just Avinash’s kidnapping.
Raakshas explores the unexplored. Shot almost entirely in the jungle, the woods become an integral character in the story. In terms of performances, this film earns brownie points.
Tamhankar as the worried wife and Deshpande as the brave daughter are fantastic while Kelkar in a small yet important role is convincing. The supporting cast is strong too, notably Vitthal Kale and Purnanand Wandekar whose sincere portrayals get them noticed. However, fusing elements of fantasy with a thriller that also drives home a message, Zoting’s story is the clear winner here. The film suffers a bit in execution though. It could’ve benefitted from better editing and a slightly modified climax.
Nonetheless, Raakshas keeps you on the edge of your seat and qualifies for a good watch.