'W/O Ram' review: Undone by predictability

If a conceit can be spotted miles away, is it good enough?

There are statistical records to show that crime against women, in many cases, are committed by people from known circles. The predator is often someone she has trusted in good faith. The makers of W/O Ram take up this idea and try to build a clever conceit of a thriller. There’s noticeable effort, which needs to be appreciated, but it doesn’t translate to a something that keeps us at the edge of the seat.

It’s a little tricky to discuss this film without revealing anything that could end up being a spoiler. Not the plot points. Even the atmospherics, characterisations and the narrative style would give it away because it’s a been-there-done-that deal.

In the opening scene, there’s a gun, Deeksha (Lakshmi Manchu) and someone else whose identity isn’t revealed. A gunshot goes off, there’s blood on the wall and the next scene introduces us to a nondescript hospital in which she wakes up. She’s lost her husband and her six-month foetus. Then, there are the typical characters — a corrupt cop ironically called Satyam (Krishnaswamy Shrikanth Iyengar) and a new-to-the-system and hence empathetic cop Chari (Priyadarshi, in yet another convincing part), and other suspicious characters that lurk in dark corners.

We see the world through Deeksha. Plucked out of happy matrimony, she steps hesitantly into the police station where her husband’s case would be left to rot. Her transformation from a victim to a woman with a purpose happens a little less organically than is necessary to make it convincing. A few of the initial scenes, with their dark and eerie tones of black and red to hint at danger are done well while a few other scenes and even dialogues are clunky. Maybe this was also a part of the deal, to keep the audience guessing?

Talking of a make-believe narrative that was done so well, the best example in recent times is still Sujoy Ghosh’s Kahaani . It took us in its sweep, made us overlook the clues and left us gasping at the threat faced by Vidya Balan.

W/O Ram takes up a few of those tools to narrate a different story. Samala Bhasker’s cinematography and Raghu Dixit’s background score augur well for the story and Shrikanth Iyengar and Aadarsh Balakrishna do their parts well. Lakshmi Manchu is both the film’s strength and Achilles’ heel. Strength lies in headlining a project that’s off the formulaic route (she’s also a co-producer) and the undoing is that she’s not always convincing as a victim. There’s something about her that makes you feel she isn’t really helpless. For some time, the narrative also plays with this ambiguity but ends up revealing its cards a bit too early. There are giveaways, if you are alert. In the end, what matters is not whodunnit but why. And the why would have had a stronger impact had the narrative been better.

The point is, a make-believe format needs to be taut enough and deliver the surprise when it matters. Long before the end, it’s easy to guess who’s behind the crime; that isn’t a great sign of a thriller.

Debut director Vijay Yelakanti has promise, so we’ll wait for his next.

W/O Ram

Cast : Lakshmi Manchu, Priyadarshi

Music : Raghu Dixit

Storyline : A woman unravels the mystery surrounding her husband’s death.

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