Raasi has the dubious distinction of starting Ajith's
downward slide after the huge success of Kaadhal Koattai.
If John Travolta is the comeback man of Hollywood, Ajith could
very well be called the comeback hero in tamil cinema. Starting
off with Pavithra, he shot into fame with Aasai. But a
string of flops followed and he was almost written off before he
came back into the reckoning with Kaadhal Koattai. But he
was unable to continue that success either. A series of flops
later, he is now once again enjoying a taste of success with
Vaali, Nee Varuvaai Ena and Amarkkalam.
When questioned about his string of failures, Ajith recently
mentioned that he used to sign on for movies without checking
the story or the script. Watching this movie, one is tempted to
believe him. For I can't think of any other reason he would have
agreed to be associated with this movie which is marked by a
generic, unoriginal story and lame dialogs.
It is quite some time before we even see a hint of a story.
Till then the movie coasts along on the playful romance between
Kumar(Ajith) and his uncle's daughter Meena(Rambha). Kumar's
loving family consists of his mother(Jayachitra) and his sister
Kavitha(Neena). The uncle had apparently been a servant in
Kumar's household (for some reason, this is never elaborated
upon in the movie) and still has an inferiority complex on
account of that. So, when a rich man(Prakash raj) casts his eyes
on Meena and wishes to marry her, he agrees. Kumar's mother,
wishing to maintain her family's honor, bans Kumar from stopping
the wedding and he too abides by her wish. Meena, after waiting
in vain for Kumar to save her from the wedding, stops it on her
own. But disappointed with Kumar's inaction, she refuses to see
him from then onwards.
There is nothing new or original in the story or its handling.
The director manages to maintain a little suspense with the
events leading upto Rambha's wedding with Prakash raj. But at no
other place are we even mildly involved in the movie. The
characters and situations have all been seen before and there
are no surprises. Issues are left hanging and there are several
loose ends. For instance, Ajith pledges his house to borrow
money but this is never touched upon later.
People have mostly inexplicable changes of heart throughout
the movie. Rambha falls in, out of and back in love with Ajith.
Jayachitra first asks Ajith not to go the wedding and then asks
him to save Rambha. Rambha's father showers affection on her
sometimes and at other times, comes across as a villain. And a
man who's beaten up by Ajith and is itching for revenge, turns
into his friend. With most of these changes of heart having
somewhat flimsy - or no - reasons, they seem false and more like
the director's way of moving the story along rather than genuine
behavior on part of the characters.
Ajith proves to be a real Kaadhal Mannan, romancing
Rambha with zest. There are quite a few fights and he acquits
himself quite well in those too. Rambha is in her elements in
the song sequences and performs well while standing up to
Prakash Raj. Prakash raj is typecast as the heartless villain
and adds nothing new to the role. Nagesh and Vadivelu, as a
grandfather-grandson pair, evoke laughs at some places. Songs
and song sequences are tolerable.