Rahul Sankrityan deserves full credit for his research on one of history’s darkest chapters; the blood and sweat is palpable with solid acting from both Vijay and especially Rashmika in a relatively shorter role. But the film doesn’t achieve its full potential due to a visible hangover of Kantara films and a dejavu of savior stories
Starcast: Vijay Devarakonda, Rashmika Mandanna, Arnold Vosloo and others
Genre: Action/drama
Writer and director: Rahul Sankrityan
Additional writer: Pramod Tammineni
Music: Ajay Atul
Cinematographers: Jishnu Bhattarcharjee and Nirav Shah
Producers: Naveen Yerneni and Y Ravi Shankar
Production Company: Mythri Movie Makers
Running time: 2 hours and 58 minutes
Rahul Sankrityan’s Ranabaali is two stories mixed into one. On one hand you have the disturbing Great Madras Famine (between 1876-1878); and the millions of deaths due to the serve drought. On the other hand, there is the zone of historical fiction with a major dash of folklore and devotional touches. This mix by Rahul Sankrityan and Pramod Tammineni leads to an uneven balance. The first half is mostly solid in spite of the caricaturist British characters, but the trouble begins post interval. Ranabaali’s story in simple terms focuses on Vijay Devarakonda’s Singanamala Bobbli. Its majorly about his fight against British exploitation with the backdrop of the catastrophic famine.
One of Ranabaali’s strongest aspects is its world building. Rahul along with his technical team build an immersive world sucking the viewers in. The viewers feel that they are witnessing the drought live making us empathize with the helpless villagers.
Among the technicians Nirav Shah and Jishnu Bhattachatterjee’s cinematography deserves a special mention. A particular mention must be made of an action sequence set in a cave. The visual tone is different in comparison to the other action sequences making the set piece a solid one.
Rahul also does a fine job in creating a formidable antagonist in the form of Arnold Vosloo. Yes the characterization is on stereotypical lines, and the final encounter with a Kantara set up is rather tame. Still Arnold brings in the required ruthlessness and strong authority.
The British characters converse in English for a large part but the director writer team give a solid base for this; as a result, it doesn’t come across as unnecessary.
The biggest ace of Ranabaali though is Vijay and Rashmika. The two actors are successful in bringing their real-life chemistry whether its the lighthearted moments or the more intense ones. A special mention must be of their initial scenes with Rashmika’s Jayamma not letting Singanamala Bobbli come close to her. A reason for that is the man’s rough exterior soon though things change with the two developing a strong bond.
This segment is easily the movie’s best part. Rashmika gets a slightly shorter end of the stick especially in comparison to last years The Girlfriend and Thamma; nevertheless the actress aces it whether it’s the dialect or the overall performance.
Vijay Devarakonda does take a while getting used to in his warrior avatar but soon, he settles down coming up with a suitably fiery act. He particularly shines in an intimate conversation with Rashmika along with a crucial break down portion.
Ajay Atul’s music and background score is in perfect sync with the movie’s emotional beats. The romantic number ‘Endayya Sami’ is the best number of the album.
One of Ranabaali’s major issues is the chosen one trope explored multiple times. Rahul Sankrityen and Pramod Tammineni bring zero novelty here in terms of the protagonist becoming a rebel leader.
The cliched devotional and folklore beats don’t help the matters either. A major hangover of Kantara pulls down the climatic portions significantly. It feels more like aping than anything else.
The violence inflicted on a pregnant woman and children is also problematic. In relation to this two scenes must be mentioned; one involves a conceiving Rashmika, and the second one is a child casually flung into a cooking pot.
Final word: Ranabaali is worth watching for fans of history, but the fictional elements aren’t everyone’s cup of tea.