Raakh opens with a high-minded quote from William Shakespeare’s play The Tempest: “At this hour, lie at my mercy all mine enemies.”
Milap Zaveri’s this short film, refers to the Games of Thrones episode in which Ramsay Bolton tortures Theon Greyjoy. Standup comedian and occasional actor Vir Das, trying hard to prove that he can be menacing, has Shaad Randhawa tied to a version of the Catherine’s Wheel.
Vir wants revenge for the rape and murder of his wife, played by Richa Chadha, who is invoked through a brief flashback and videos beamed on the walls surrounding the prisoner. Randhawa is effective as the blood-splattered victim, but the film needed to have been far crisper.
Zaveri, whose specialty is sex comedies, stretches a one-note idea into 17 minutes and further bloats the running time. A Sonu Nigam song over the closing credits has a mesmerising effect. Precursor to a full-length feature that hopefully won’t get made. The film is produced by the music label T Series.
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