Aneesh Anwar, noted for helming films like Zachariyayude Garbhinikal and Kumbasaram, is back after a couple of duds with Raastha, a desert survival drama. Set entirely in the Middle East, the film begins by introducing its principal characters and their dynamics. Shahana (Anagha Narayanan), a young girl from Kerala arrives in Oman looking for her long-lost mother.
A bunch of kind-hearted Malayali expats help her in her quest to reunite with her mother. It includes Faizal (Sarjano Khalid), Mujeeb (Aneesh Anwar), Salim (Sudheesh), Sadikka (Irshad) and Divya (Aradhya Ann). The fact that the film is scripted by two Oman-based Keralites, Shahul and Fayiz Madakkara, reflects on the representation of the affable Malayali community and their camaraderie.
Raastha follows a simplistic narrative with a generic first half devoted to establishing the characters and their efforts to find the whereabouts of Shahana’s mother, Fathima. It is exactly at the halfway stage that we arrive at the area of conflict—the desert. Faizal, Shahana, Mujeeb and Khalid, an Omani national, get trapped in Rub’ al Khali deserts, while on their way to meet a woman suspected to be Shahana’s mother.
At the interval point, it is written on screen that Rub’ al Khali is one of the world’s most dangerous deserts. But the real challenge lies in visually conveying why it is a deadly desert. To be fair, Aneesh Anwar and his team effectively portray the horrors of getting caught in such a situation. The tension building is done gradually by employing wide frames that capture nothing but endless stretches of sand dunes and ominous music.
Raastha is not one of those survival films, where we see characters resorting to desperate measures to keep themselves alive. The maximum they do is drink the water stored inside the car to wipe the windshield. Here, the focus is solely on the waning energy of the characters and the dangers that lie ahead for them, which ranges from ferocious sandstorms to poisonous reptiles. A major objective of such films is to make the audience uncomfortable, and here, the combined efforts of cinematographer Vishnu Narayanan and composer Avin Mohan Sithara ensure you feel the same. After a point, you’re certain to start feeling the scorching heat and insatiable thirst.
While Aneesh Anwar, the filmmaker, ticks a few boxes, he also falters at crucial points, especially with the casting. Perhaps, the biggest flaw is casting himself as Mujeeb. It is supposed to be a character that offers comic relief, but Aneesh makes a mockery of it. Even though there are constant attempts to elicit laughter, most of these situations are stale and rehashed.
On a positive note, Anagha and Sarjano are effective with their performances as they carry forward most of the film. While the former has been showing her potential right from her debut film Thinkalazhcha Nishchayam, Sarjano has improved a lot lately. As the level-headed Faizal, he delivers a mature performance. Only thing annoying is his romantic angle with Divya, played by a woefully amateur, Aradhya Ann.
Usually at the end of a survival film, we either get dejected or heave a sigh of relief. In Raastha, the makers opt for a bitter ending, but the heartbreak isn’t as intense as intended because the emotional connect goes missing midway... just like the characters.
Film: Raastha Cast: Anagha Narayanan, Sarjano Khalid, Aneesh Anwar, Aradhya Ann, Sudheesh , Director: Aneesh Anwar Rating: 2.5/5
