Ripupbury Movie Review: Rare moments of entertainment amidst a needlessly convoluted plot 

Ripupbury begins by introducing us to a ghost that hunts down men who enter into an inter-caste relationship. The ghost is a dark, tall, levitating man who is powered by early 2010 VFX plugin effects. He sometimes takes the form of a fluffy puppy doll and at other times a demonic dog with glowing eyes. The ghost mutilates the body of its victims and leaves their severed head in unlikely places, like the inside of a post box, the fuel tank of a bike and even inside a football. The sheer improbability and randomness of the ghost’s actions pervade across all aspects and the entire length and breadth of the film. Nothing makes sense, the very concept of logic is mutilated to an extent that you start thinking that maybe this is a subversive masterpiece that you are too primitive to understand. Unfortunately, that is not the case.

Director: Na Arun Karthik
Cast: Mahendran, Arati Podi, Noble K James, Maari

At the beginning of the film, we are introduced to three friends (played by Mahendran, Noble K James, and Maari) who do what a group of bachelors in every Tamil comedy do: They annoy their townspeople by pulling weird pranks and while away their time with no intentions of getting a job. And then, of course, one of them falls in love. That person in Ripupbury happens to be Sathyaraj (Mahendran), who along with his friends, has a Youtube cooking channel. We understand what the film is going for with the trio. They are supposed to be the goofy centre of the film that supplies humour and levity to counterbalance the horror elements. But the problem here is that the humour is heavily reliant on intonations and body language and to make matters worse, the dialogues are almost always defiantly unfunny. On top of that, some jokes are also of the tasteless variety with outdated colourism and poop humour. The few funny lines that do work usually appear when Sathyaraj and gang interact with the ghost. 

The film repeatedly tells us the ghost is casteist (I guess that was supposed to be funny) and then later subverts it by showing how its victims are the ones who are truly casteist. Using a highly relevant social theme in a film does not mean that you have to add your commentary on it. But that being said, we never truly understand what Ripupbury’s intentions are with casteism. Sure, the bad guys are casteist but that does not seem to be the central theme of the film (if there ever was one). Then why bother referencing it throughout the film? Also, the plot threads are needlessly convoluted. Characters appear, disappear, and reappear at will, policemen recruit three random boys from a village to hunt down a ghost and equip them with a doll that acts as a... ghost-radar? Things like these might add to the fun in a whacky, over-the-top comedy, starring muppets but Ripupbury is miles away from the charming wholesomeness of a muppet movie. Moreover, the film suddenly delves into exorbitant amounts of melodrama and grittiness during the flashback portions.

While the writing is a big letdown, the film does manage to hold our attention with its technical skills. The cinematography captures visually striking moments whenever the script allows it to. And the editing manages to find humour with cleverly employed match cuts. The sincerity of the music composition stands in stark contrast to the uninspired picturisations. Just as your attention wanders off, the surprising quality of the songs, and score pull us back to the screen. 

While it is tough to describe what Ripupbury is all about, with its hopelessly complicated plot and violent tonal shifts, it does get better towards the end as we finally understand how to consume the film. Ripupbury could have massively benefited from pushing the limits of its absurdity and truly sinking its teeth into the wackiness of the premise. By the time the film finally understands that it doesn’t have to try too hard to be funny, it reaches its end.