Movie review: A watchable 'Raaga'

Cast: Mithra, Bhama, Avinash, Ramesh Bhat, Jai Jagadeesh, Jai.

Director: Mithra

Rating: 3 stars

The 14-year-old dream of a director hits the screens with a different vision that sounds pretty good in its “blind attempt.” This is a tale of two visually impaired persons – a boy with low self-esteem and a girl who is the only child of a rich man, and how they connect with each other. Set in the late 1960s or 70s, for reasons best known to the director, Raaga manages to strike a chord with the audience in the  first half, and slowly starts unravelling in the second as the act gets very serious.

The whole ‘set up’ of the late 1960s-70s is plain to see. Apart from the Public Call Office (PCO) with those olden day retro telephones, a vintage car, retro fashion such as hair styles, attire and hats, the entire film is shot in limited locations which is understandable considering that the two protagonists are blind. However, what perplexed us was their physical mannerisms that resembled those of mentally challenged individuals and not the visually challenged. That was a bit of a stretch.

Mithra runs a PCO situated within the premises of a hospital where he accidentally meets a girl, and eventually wins her heart. While both are happy in their own worlds, the ray of hope soon vanishes when Mithra is forced to stay away from his love interest. Bhama, as the girl with squinting eyes, is impressive but her childish behaviour is a tad exaggerated. Even Mithra at times over does it. The portrayals are unconvincing and unnatural.

The girl gains her sight back after a successful operation and is now even more determined that Mithra be by her side, but her father has other far reaching plans. Dialogues pegged with philosophical nuances is the other highlight of this special tune orchestrated by the director, which might sound good to some.

Nonetheless, Raaga is much more than just a commercial flick, it’s a dream of hope and love beyond materialistic needs. We only wish that all visually-impaired could have such an idealistic life in reality.  For the rest of us, Raaga is watchable as an honest attempt, but with no guarantee on whether it will suit all types of cinema-goers.