In terms of building characters one could root for, there’s only Amani (Sangeerthana Vipin), a sincere and righteous journalist who wants to do her job adequately despite all the external pressure and obstacles. But the writers fail to bring any depth to her or any other prominent character, already struggling with an incoherent screenplay that’s largely plot-driven. So when Amani makes that one emotional phone call to Sriram, expressing her feelings amidst a tense moment, we find ourselves being strangely apathetic to her situation. Writing decisions like this feel like desperate attempts to sprinkle drama and twists when the script lacks them at its core, especially considering Anand’s new identity adds nothing to the plot later on. At the end of the day, he remains the prototypical hero who needs to save the heroine, and that’s that. (The audience also finds itself consistently distracted by the ghastly dubbing work, where it is evident that many of the dialogues were altered on a post-production level, creating a visually jarring impact.)
Things get interesting only for a brief stretch in the second half, when the film’s focus shifts entirely to a chase sequence between the good guy and the bad guy. Despite its logical loopholes, this stretch is well-paced and keeps us glued to the proceedings. This joy is short-lived, unfortunately, because the film again veers into an irredeemably self-indulgent direction in the final act, when it reveals the culprit, their backstory, and the works. There is also an attempt to incorporate religious iconographies into the central good vs. evil battle, but it falls flat because of awkward execution by the director.
Sangeerthana Vipin, in the limited scope she is given, is adequate as Amani. Rakshit Atluri, as Sriram, is strangely stiff in his performance, barely capturing the intensity of his character. The only actor who rises above the script is Radhika Sarathkumar. The veteran actor is barely present in a handful of scenes but makes the most of the material.
Radhika brings gravitas to a revelatory moment in the climax, reminding the audience of the potential of this concept had the writers attempted to explore the grayer shades of their story. Alas, Radhika’s character stays largely peripheral to the overall scheme of things. And Operation Raavan, in its entirety, remains a tiring and dull whodunit.