Sri Raghupati’: An Assamese Film Review

The timing of a film's release is often what makes the difference between a hit and a miss. The Kerala Story was released on May 5, 2023, and it brings to the fore the tragic fate of Hindu girls in Kerala who were victimized by Muslim boys and trafficked to Afghanistan. On 16 June 2023, Adipurush retells the Ramayana. Sri Raghupati, which released on 5th June 2023, falls somewhere in between, largely drawing from the Ramayana-esppecially the episode where Lord Ram chases Sita from Ravana.

Sri Raghupati is positioned in Pori, an honest schoolteacher from Assam's inner village. In her mysterious death and disappearance of two of her students brings Raghupati Rai Baruah, an ACS officer, to take the case on his shoulders, which leads to a hideous human trafficking ring by Altaf, sending girls and children across the border to Bangladesh.

The film weaves suspense with unfortunate twists, though the first half moves rather slowly and resembles a family drama. After Pori's death, the film takes a Uturn in its tone, and Raghupati goes on an intense mission to find the truth. All along, Ravi Sharma comes up outstandingly as Raghupati-basically an invincible enforcer and a smooth negotiator.

The director, Suvrat Kakoti believes that all action scenes form the substance of the film, with technical improvements within the film gifting aesthetic value to Assamese cinema. Ravi Sharma does a decent job while experienced actor Arun Nath falters for this particular film because the script has no innovative twists. The film's plot is not predictable, nor does it have ground on the female characters. Uneven pace and lacking identity doesn't help the movie; however, Sri Raghupati atones for all this by making the required action flow in the movie.

But then, despite all shortcomings, Sri Raghupati has immense potential and early reactions are that it can prove to be a real career booster for Ravi Sharma, just the way Ratnakar raised Jatin Bora and Mission China did for Zubeen Garg.