Release Date : March 10, 2023
123telugu.com Rating : 2.75/5
Starring: Venkatesh Daggubati, Rana Daggubati, Surveen Chawla, Abhishek Banerjee, Priya Banerjee, Sushant Singh, Ashish Vidyarthi, Adithya Menon, Mukul Chadda, Rajesh Jais, Rajesh Kumar & others
Director: Suparn Verma & Karan Anshuman
Producers: Sunder Aaron
Music Director: John Stewart Eduri
Cinematography: Jayakrishna Gummadi
Editor: Ninad Khanolkar
Related Links : Trailer
Netflix India has now come up with a crazy web series Rana Naidu which marks the OTT debut of Tollywood actor Victory Venkatesh. Co-starring Rana Daggubati, the show is the Indian adaptation of the American television series Ray Donovan. Directed by Suparn Verma & Karan Anshuman, this Hindi series is now available for streaming in various dubbed versions. Let’s see how the series is.
Story:
Rana Naidu (Rana Daggubati) is a go-to problem solver for celebrities in Mumbai. From Bollywood stars to cricketers, if any celebrity gets entangled in an issue, Rana Naidu is the first person to be approached to resolve the problem. Rana Naidu who stays with his wife and children, also has two brothers, Tej Naidu (Sushanth Singh) and Pawan Naidu, aka Jaffa (Abhishek Banerjee), who also live in Mumbai. However, things take a U-turn when Rana Naidu’s father, Naga Naidu (Venkatesh Daggubati), comes to Mumbai after 15 years of imprisonment. Rana Naidu hates his father to the core. Why does Rana Naidu hate his father? How did Rana Naidu’s life change with the arrival of Naga Naidu? What made Naga Naidu land up in jail? The series has the answers.
Plus Points:
As the title suggests, Rana gets the lion’s share of the screen time, and the actor is at his absolute best in the show. The character Rana Naidu demands a lot from an artist, and Rana did complete justice to the role. From intense screen presence to subtle performance in emotional scenes, Rana does his job brilliantly. The actor doesn’t go overboard and plays his part to perfection.
Victory Venkatesh gets a completely new makeover with the series. Venkatesh is best known for his endearing family dramas, and the audience will be shocked to witness Venky playing a character with grey shades and mouthing foul language. Though it takes time initially to get adjusted to it, Venkatesh proves that he can play any sort of role with conviction. It is a joy to watch Venky in this unusual role.
Venkatesh and Rana’s confrontation scenes though fewer in number, are nice to watch. After Rana and Venkatesh, it is Surveen Chawla who gets the important role. She, as the wife of Rana, performed fairly. The character Jaffa played by Abhishek Banerjee, the promising Bollywood actor, is written well, and the actor gave a superior performance. Others are fine in their respective roles. The last four episodes were a bit interesting and had some good moments.
Minus Points:
The expectations are obvious when a star actor like Venkatesh is making his digital debut. That too, as he is acting alongside Rana Daggubati, the audience is sure to presume that the show will be promising. But the series didn’t live up to the hype completely and fell short of the gigantic expectations.
A simple family story surrounding a crime backdrop that could have been told in a crisp manner is dragged excessively, making things worse. When the story is wafer-thin, it is the screenplay that has to do the magic. But unfortunately, the series is boring for the most part, and the directors failed to write an engaging narrative despite having the best actors by their side.
The sub-plots lack depth and consistency, and the family drama isn’t etched well. There are absolutely no high moments in the show, and the presentation is very flat. The series picks up momentum only in the last few episodes, but it is too late by then as the viewer loses interest. The editing team did a poor job, as the series has many sluggish sequences causing an extreme amount of boredom.
The web shows allow the makers to produce content without any censorship restrictions, and when the adult content or foul language immerses nicely in the narrative, there won’t be a problem. But in Rana Naidu, the skin show and cuss words are used way more than the requirement, irritating the viewers.
Technical Aspects:
The production values are good. The music by John Stewart Eduri is decent, and the background score toward the climax portions is solid. The cinematography by Jayakrishna Gummadi is fair, as the dark crime world is nicely captured through his lens. The Telugu dubbing is excellent. The editing team should have put more effort into their work as the series is tiresome with long sequences.
Coming to the directors, Suparn Verma & Karan Anshuman, they did a below-par job with Rana Naidu. There isn’t enough meat in the story, and hence the series doesn’t give enough scope for the other artists to go all out. The writing is quite weak, and there is not enough drama to elevate the proceedings. If not for Venkatesh and Rana’s brilliant performances, the show would have turned out to be a colossal disappointment.
Verdict:
On the whole, Rana Naidu is a crime action drama that works to an extent. The last few episodes offer a few good moments. Rana and Venkatesh’s earnest performances are let down by writing issues and lengthy runtime. You can still give the series a shot for Venky and Rana but make sure to have your expectations in check.
Note: This series is strictly for 18+ as it has extreme adult content and foul language
123telugu.com Rating: 2.75/5
Reviewed by 123telugu Team