Review : Rangamarthanda – Watchable tale of a theatre artist

After a six-year hiatus, Krishna Vamsi wielded the megaphone for the movie Rangamarthanda starring Prakash Raj, Ramya Krishnan, and Brahmanandam in the major roles. The film hit the screens today, and let’s see how it is.

 

Story:

Raghava Rao (Prakash Raj) is a theatre artist who has reached greater heights in his profession. For his unprecedented contribution to the art, he is given the title Rangamarthanda. As Raghava Rao grows older, he decides to take retirement from his profession and distributes his wealth among his children, Sri (Shivathmika Rajasekhar) and Ranga (Aadarsh Balakrishna). He, along with his wife Raju Garu (Ramya Krishnan), gets mistreated by his children henceforth. The rest of the story is about the drama that unfolds between Rangamarthanda Raghava Rao and his children.

 

Plus Points:

The job was half done when Krishna Vamsi roped in Prakash Raj to play the titular role. Prakash Raj has brought his whole experience to the table for Rangamarthanda. His performance in the film is no lesser than his spell-binding act in Kanchivaram that fetched him a National Best Actor Award. Imagining an artist other than Prakash Raj in the role of Raghava Rao is difficult. Such is the finesse displayed by the senior actor. It’s been so long since the versatile actor got a chance to present himself to the fullest extent, and Prakash Raj has ensured his performance stays in the hearts for a long time.

The emotions are showcased phenomenally in the movie. The whole second half is filled with many emotional sequences, and the director Krishna Vamsi leaves his mark in this aspect. How will theatre artists who know nothing apart from their profession display their anger or grief? The same has been depicted in a heart-wrenching manner. The climax is a class apart.

Artists who are generally good at doing comedy would also be equally good in emotional scenes, and Brahmanandam proves the same again with Rangamarthanda. Having the legendary comedian in a role with a wide variety of emotions is another biggest advantage of the film. While Brahmi makes us laugh in a few scenes with some witty punches in the first half, his exceptional performance in the second hour will make the audience’s eyes watery. An emotional scene between Prakash Raj and Brahmanandam in the second half, followed by another touching and single-shot scene, will leave the audience in a flood of tears and amusement.

Ramya Krishnan as a homemaker ably supported Prakash Raj and played her role to perfection. Shivathmika Rajasekhar is natural in her role, adding depth to the proceedings. Anasuya Bharadwaj, Rahul Sipligunj, and Aadarsh Balakrishna are very good in their respective roles.

The struggle that the actors undergo to amuse the audience is depicted stunningly through the voiceover of Megastar Chiranjeevi. Chiru’s excellent voiceover makes the audience glue their eyes to the screens from the title cards itself. The movie touches upon many important aspects which are part and parcel of everyone’s lives. There is also a beautiful and relevant message in Rangamarthanda.

 

Minus Points:

While the emotions presented are lovely, the tale resembles older films like Samsaram Oka Chadarangam. For someone who has not watched these kinds of movies, the story will be good, but for others, the narrative becomes familiar, and hence the film becomes predictable sometimes.

The first half moves at a slow pace, and there are a few lag scenes in this hour. The editing team could have trimmed the film further to keep the proceedings fast-paced. A bit of old-fashioned presentation is visible at times. In addition, there is a bit of inconsistency in the narrative.

 

Technical Aspects:

Maestro Ilaiyaraaja gave beautiful songs, and a few would reverberate in the ears even after the movie. The party song composed by the Maestro was too good, and it was fun watching Prakash Raj dancing. The cinematography by Raj K Nalli is decent. The production values are fair. The editing work is okay. Dialogues penned by Aakella Siva Prasad are clap-worthy and make one think.

After a long time, director Krishna Vamsi showcased his mark through Rangamarthanda. He played his cards right and portrayed the emotions in a stunning manner. The even best thing is the situational humor. The drama in the second half will strike a chord with family audiences. The casting was on point, and the way Krishna Vamsi extracted performances from every artist is commendable. But as mentioned earlier, scenes can be guessed in advance, and the movie sometimes becomes slow.

 

Verdict:

On the whole, Rangamarthanda is a watchable tale of a theatre artist. The movie rides high on the stunning performances of Prakash Raj and Brahmanandam and the drama in the second half. But the predictability factor and sluggish narration will spoil the experience to an extent. Nevertheless, Rangamarthanda can be given a shot for its emotional quotient.

123telugu.com Rating: 3/5

Reviewed by 123telugu Team

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