About human-animal bonding
‘Raja Bheema’
– Review
Aarav is very fond of elephants since his childhood. After his mother’s death, Aarav’s father Nassar who runs a theatre has been raising him.
Aarav becomes very depressed after his mother’s death. Nassar tries to bring him out of that depression.
Then, Aarav’s depression is reduced by an elephant in the village. Aarav names the elephant Bhima and raises it.
Aarav looks after the elephant like his mother. Days pass and Aarav falls in love with Ashima Narwal.
There is a gang in their village that steals and sells elephant tusks and deer horns.
Knowing about this, Aarav gets the gang caught by the forest department.
Angered by this, the gang kidnap Bhima with the help of the forest department.
The rest of the story is about Aarav’s search for Bhima and whether he was successful or not.
Director Naresh Sampath has directed the movie focusing on the human race that destroys animals for profit, along with some social commentary.
More attention could have been paid to the visuals in the first half. A better screenplay would have made the film even more enjoyable.
Aarav has played the role of a majestic young man with conviction. He has scored well in the emotional scenes especially when he is separated from Bhima.
Nassar and K.S. Ravikumar have shown their experienced acting. Ashima has delivered a neat performance. Yashika Anand has understood her part and acted well.
Simon K King’s background score is impressive and the plot is complimented well by Sathish Kumar’s camerawork.
Rating: 3.6/5
by Naveen
***