Review : Payal Rajput’s Rakshana – Only for a few scenes

Actress Payal Rajput’s cop action drama Rakshana has hit the screens today and the film is hardly promoted by makers due to internal issues. Let’s find out how it is.

Story:

Kiran (Payal Rajput) is an IPS trainee whose dear friend Priya commits suicide, but Kiran believes that it is a murder. However, she fails to find any evidence to prove that her friend’s death was a pre-planned murder. After a few years, Kiran takes charge as ACP, and she comes across Arun (Maanas), a stalker, and tries to teach him a lesson. But Arun does character assassination and tries to bring a bad name to Kiran. However, Kiran is least bothered about that and continues to study what kind of a person the eve teaser is. One day, Arun commits suicide, and Kiran starts believing that there is someone else behind the stalker’s death. Will she get over the line?

Plus Points:

The majority of serial killer films don’t work because they fail to effectively convey the reason why the crimes are being committed. But here in Rakshana, the antagonist’s character is neatly designed. We get to see enough of the villain’s traits, and this gives depth to the proceedings.

The second half is watchable, thanks to the investigative scenes through which the protagonist gets to the bottom of the case. Payal Rajput makes a departure from the regular glamour roles and she is pretty good as a cop. Her body language and screen presence fit the bill, and she makes many scenes watchable even when the writing isn’t strong.

Vinod Bala lends good support to Payal. Maanas leaves a mark with his captivating performance. Roshan who played another important role did complete justice to his role.

Minus Points:

Rakshana is a technically bad film. Most of the scenes lack lip synchronization, and enough care is not taken in post-production. This affects the viewing experience considerably, and it is surprising how the makers could let such a big flaw enter into the final product, which is sufficient to change the audience’s perception.

The first half is poorly presented, giving the impression of watching an outdated film. The director really has some sensible thoughts, but they don’t translate well onto the big screen. For example, Payal Rajput says that women should not play the victim card and such actions will have severe consequences. This scene happens in a flash without making any impact.

In the second half, all the dots are connected, and once the big revelation happens, the film becomes predictable and also gets stretched for no reason. The pacing is slow in many scenes, and the editing team could have reduced the length by 10 minutes. The dialogues are poorly written, and a few are unintentionally funny.

Technical Aspects:

Mahati Swara Sagar did a good job, lifting the impact of a few thrilling moments with his pulsating score. Anil Bandari’s visuals are decent, but the film’s CGI is substandard. As mentioned earlier, Rakshana has many scenes that do not have lip sync. The editing is below par, and so are the production values.

The director, Prandeep, has put in a good effort as far as the story is concerned, but the same cannot be said about the execution. The first half is quite dull, and the bad dialogues make things worse.

Verdict:

On the whole, Rakshana is a crime thriller that manages to catch our attention only in a few scenes. Payal Rajput is very good in her role, and the script has the potential to become a good investigative thriller. However, the underwhelming execution, dull moments, and technical issues restrict the film from becoming a satisfactory outing.

123telugu.com Rating: 2.5/5

Reviewed by 123telugu Team

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