Ravanasura

Ravanasura is a 2023 Indian Telugu-language psychological action thriller film directed by Sudheer Varma from a story written by Srikanth Vissa. It is an official adaptation of the 2019 Bengali film Vinci Da. It has an ensemble cast featuring Ravi Teja, Jayaram, Sushanth, Anu Emmanuel, Faria Abdullah, Megha Akash, Daksha Nagarkar and Pujita Ponnada. Besides acting, Ravi Teja also produced the film under RT Team Works along with Abhishek Nama's Abhishek Pictures.

Ravanasura was released on 7 April 2023, where it received negative reviews from critics and was a commercial failure.

Plot
Ravindra "Ravi" is a junior lawyer working under his ex-girlfriend Kanaka Mahalakshmi, who mostly goofs up the cases. He is also friends with Kanaka's husband Sekhar, who is the AG of Telangana. One day, Harika Talwar, who is the R&D head of Syncox Pharma, asks Ravi to prove her father Vijay Talwar's innocence, as he was framed for the death of Radhakrishna Chennuri, the FDA chairman. Ravi investigates the case and finds that there is no concrete evidence against Vijay, such as DNA samples from the crime scene that match Vijay's, but does this to impress Harika and convinces the prosecutor of the same.

However, ACP Hanumanth Rao is asked to lead the investigation into Radhakrishna's death and suspects that Vijay is being framed. His team finds a similar case involving a celebrity's death. Hanumanth asks Goli Pahelwan, a famed rowdy who was present during the death of the celebrity, to describe what had happened during the night of the murder. Pahelwan tells that a man arrived at their house and took the face and body measurements for a statue at Madame Tussauds. They discover that the man is Saketh, a prosthetic makeup artist, and track him down to his house. When Hanumanth tries to arrest him, Pahelwan arrives and saves him. They both drive away and kill DIG Narasimha Murthy.

It is revealed that Ravi is wearing a prosthetic mask of Pahelwan and was responsible for the murders. He actually met Saketh during a case and was interested in his prosthetic faces. Ravi befriended Saketh and kidnapped his girlfriend Jaanu to blackmail him into making prosthetic faces. One day, Jaanu tried to flee from Ravi but met with an accident and went into a coma as a result. In the present, she wakes up in the hospital, where she tries to get help from doctors and other people but to no avail. Suspicious of this, Dr. Dinesh informs Hanumanth that Ravi is closely guarding a girl. Hanumanth learns that Ravi is responsible for the murders and Saketh was making the prosthetic faces for him as he was being blackmailed.

Saketh calls and informs Hanumanth that Ravi is wearing Dinesh's face and is arriving to kill him, but Dinesh is later killed and Ravi escapes. Saketh is asked to make a prosthetic face of Sekhar. Ravi uses this face and heads to Harika's house, where he brutally murders her and Sekhar gets arrested. Disgusted with Ravi's actions, Saketh tries to escape and free Jaanu but is caught by Ravi. He reveals the motive behind the murders to Saketh and Hanumanth. Ravi's father Ramachandra had suffered from an ailment, where he met Dr. Shanthi, who was treating him, and she found that Syncox Pharma, who have ties with the medical mafia and were involved in unethical human trials, caused dementia in people with the use of their diabetic drug.

Being the masterminds behind the human trails, Harika, Vijay, and Home Minister Mudi Reddy, took the help of Sekhar, Narasimha Murthy, Pahelwan and Dr. Dinesh to kill Shanthi and cover their tracks. Enraged, Ravindra began to target those responsible for Shanthi's death. Realizing this, Saketh agrees to help Ravi in his mission. Ravi finally kills Mudi Reddy at a political gathering, places the blame on the latter's henchman Devaraju, and closes the case. After this, he lets Saketh and Jaanu go, apologizing and thanking them for how he treated them and lives happily with his girlfriend-turned-wife, Keerthana.

Production
The film which was announced on 5 November 2021 and got launched on 14 January 2022, The film's principal photography began in January 2022. It was released on 7 April 2023.

Music
The music of the film is composed by Harshavardhan Rameshwar and Bheems Ceciroleo. The first single titled "Ravanasura Anthem" was released on 6 February 2023. The second single titled "Pyaar Lona Paagal" was released on 18 February 2023. The third single titled "Veyyinokka" was released on 15 March 2023. The fourth single titled "Dikka Dishum" was released on 22 March 2023.

Theatrical
The film is scheduled to release on 7 April 2023. Earlier in January 2022, the film was announced to release on September 30, 2022 but due to production delays it was postponed to 7 April 2023. The film has received an A certificate due to its violent content.

Home media
The satellite and digital streaming rights of the film were sold to Zee Telugu and Amazon Prime Video respectively. The film was premiered on Amazon Prime Video on 28 April 2023.

Reception
Ravanasura received mixed to negative reviews from critics who praised Ravi Teja's performances, film score and cinematography, but criticized its screenwriting and predictability.

Critical response
123Telugu gave 2.75 out of 5 stars and wrote "Ravanasura is a partly engaging crime thriller that relies heavily on the performance of Mass Maharaja Ravi Teja. The actor played a role that has variations, and the first hour of the movie leaves one wanting for more. But the way the second half is executed is underwhelming and the key twist disappoints big time." Neeshita Nyayapati of The Times of India rated the film 2 out of 5 stars and wrote "Ravanasura has moments where it feels like it could be much more than a lukewarm attempt at a thriller. But those moments are so few and far in between". Janani K of India Today rated the film 2 out of 5 stars and wrote "There are many logical loopholes in the film and termed the murders in the film as "senseless with no logic".

Raghu Bandi of The Indian Express rated the film 2 out of 5 stars and wrote "Director Sudhir Varma fails to sustain the narrative as action takes over intrigue and suspense." Sakshi Post rated the film 2 out of 5 stars and wrote "Ravanasura had a lot of scope for story development. The half-baked story comes with poor execution. Don't go with expectations. Watch it only if you are a fan of Ravi Teja." Sreeju Sudhakaran of LatestLY gave 2 out of 5 stars and wrote "Mass Maharaja's Ravanasura is just another stretched-out problematic revenge thriller tailored for his fan that is feebly masked by the lead character's antagonistic persona. Ravi Teja's fans might enjoy his onscreen antics, but even then an illogical, predictable screenplay and a stretched runtime proves to be the Ravanas in this tale."