Ram Setu Movie Review: The novel idea of this Akshay Kumar film gets diluted in execution MGG

Plot:

A shipping company, Pushpak owned by Indrakant (Nassar), wants to dismantle a part of Ram Setu to save up on shipping time and usage of fuel. But to demolish the Ram Setu, it’s important for them to prove that it’s a natural phenomenon and not a man-made bridge with a cultural impact made by Shri Ram and his troop. In an attempt to prove this myth, Nassar gets an archaeologist, Akshay Kumar aka. Dr. Aryan, a believer in science with little faith in mythological tales. Through the journey of proving that Ram Setu is a myth, Dr Aryan, along with a colleague, Dr. Sandra (Jacqueline Fernandez) encounter facts at multiple places that brings about a change in their psyche taking the Ram Setu. And the journey of discovery is filled with action and adventure and faces opposition from multiple stakeholders of the shipping project.

Ram Setu rides on a promising plot, which is novel for the Hindi-speaking audience. The adventurous trip to Sri Lanka results is self-discovery for the protagonists as also the discovery of the logic behind Ram Setu. Some of the action blocks – the initial 20 minutes in Afghanistan, the motor boat scene – and the final 10 minutes are among the key high points of the film. The performance by Akshay Kumar and his camaraderie with Satyadev lifts the impact of the narrative in the second half. The attempt to prove the existence of Ram Setu using scientific means is an element that might excite a segment of the audience.  The courtroom sequence has crowd-pleasing dialogues, which should work well for tier 2 and 3 audiences. The twist in the last 10 minutes, has a nice connect to Ramayana and comes across as a pleasant surprise.

Ram Setu has a promising plot, but writer/director Abhishek Sharma wasn’t ambitious enough to take things a notch higher. His writing is filled with convenient episodes, where most things happen easily and the journey to prove the existence of Ram Setu is devoid of enough thrill. There is an entire sequence in the second half, where the leads are stuck in the middle of a jungle – there’s so much that could have been done in this with challenges from natural forces like animals, landslides, etc. but Abhishek instead prefers to keep it all linear and convenient. Jacqueline Fernandez and Nushrratt Bharuccha’s characters are undercooked, whereas Nassar and Pravesh Rana, who are the negative forces, don’t get enough scope to be worthy opponents. There are logical loopholes in multiple key plot points and the team could have approached this in a smarter way. The thrill of the pre-interval chase sequence (without spoilers) get’s diluted due to a major lapse in the thought behind the stunt design. The visual effects could have been a lot better, especially in the underwater scenes.

Akshay Kumar delivers a sincere performance as Dr. Aryan. He is effortless in the action sequences, delivers his monologue with utmost conviction, and modulates his voice as demanded by the situation. His performance in the courtroom sequence deserves special mention. Satyadev as AP is simply fantastic and this act will help him create his identity in the Hindi belts. Things start moving well in the right direction for Ram Setu on his entry to the story. If Akshay Kumar is the heart of Ram Setu, Satyadev is the soul. His character brings in a new dimension, however, much like the entire screenplay, the character works at the thought level but gets a little diluted on the execution front. A twist in his tale towards the end will be received with seeti’s and taali’s. Jacqueline Fernandez and Nushrratt Bharuccha don’t have much of scope, though the former has a better screen time. Nassar and Pravesh Rana are decent, but not menacing enough.

Overall, Ram Setu isn’t a bad film, but it’s not good either – It lies somewhere in between. The subject will have some takers, but we wish, the director had gone wider with his vision by integrating opposition from the natural forces too, and not just stick to the human evils. Watch it for Akshay Kumar, Satyadev, and a rather novel though despite jitters in the screenplay and execution. It’s a mixed bag, though better than the last 3 Akshay Kumar films – Cuttputtli, Raksha Bandhan, and Samrat Prithviraj.

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