Rana Naidu Review: Only glam, no substance

Actor Rana Daggubati teamed up with his uncle Venkatesh for the first time in his career, for the web series Rana Naidu, which has been released today. There have been decent expectations on this series, which has been released on Netflix. With the series marking the OTT debut of Rana and Venky, let’s see how it has turned out to be.

Story:

Rana Naidu is the go-to problem solver for any celebrity in Mumbai. He has a wife and a daughter and has two brothers, Tej Naidu, and Pawan Naidu, also known as Jaffa. Everything seems to be going on well for Rana’s family, but their peace is soon disrupted by the entry of Naga Naidu, Rana’s brother, who has returned to Mumbai from jail, after 15 years. Rana hates Naga and this naturally results in a lot of drama. What happens following Naga’s entry into Rana’s family forms the rest of the story.

On-Screen Performances:

More than Rana, the Telugu audience was more interested to see Venkatesh in Rana Naidu, as he essayed a character that is way out of the kind of characters that the Telugu audience was used to seeing the actor in. Keeping his family image aside, Venky went through a makeover and essayed a character that mouths foul language, and a character full of grey shades. While watching the series, it may be initially a little difficult to swallow Venky in the role, but he does the role with a lot of conviction. While he gives a stellar performance as Naga Naidu, the foul language is a difficult pill for sure.

Rana is in top form as well, in the series. He gives his absolute best in the show. His confrontational scenes with Venky are one of the major highlights of the show, and both the actors bring their best game to the front in these scenes, which are just sprinkled here and there. Rana doesn’t let down his audiences, and he’s subtle and powerful at the same time, proving once again why he is one of the finest actors in the country.

Surveen Chawla, who plays Rana’s wife in the film, is given the bigger part after Venky and Rana, and she does a fine job with what she’s given. Rana’s brothers and the rest of the supporting cast are good enough in their roles.

Off-Screen Talents:

Rana Naidu is a remake of the Hollywood series Ray Donovan, and one would expect the makers to adapt it according to the sensibilities of Indian audiences. And even though the writers seem to have done that to an extent, certain situations, dialogues, and setups seem too far-fetched and drawn out beyond necessity. The story of Rana Naidu is very thin, and this is when the setup and the screenplay should do the talking, and this is where the show falls far too short of any entertainment value. The directors, Suparn Verma and Karan Anshuman have done a sub-par job, with a very boring narrative, and the real excitement only beginning in the latter part of the show, by which, the viewer will be too exhausted to keep up with the entire show. With a stellar cast by their side, there’s a lot that could have been achieved, but all seems to have gone waste with the directors unable to give a compelling story to the audience.

The background music by John Stewart Eduri is good, and the cinematography by Jayakrishna Gummadi is good, with his frames perfectly reflecting the dark tone of the series.

The editing of Rana Naidu is very bad, with the show seemingly dragging on and on unnecessarily. Had the editing been better, the show could have probably been slightly better.

Plus points:

• Rana and Venkatesh’s performances

Minus Points:

• Poor screenplay
• Lengthy pacing
• Boring sequences

Verdict: Rana Naidu had a lot of promise with actors like Rana and Venkatesh leading it. However, with the way the show has been handled, it turns out to be a very tiresome viewing. Rana Naidu can be skipped, unless and until you’re a big fan of Rana or Venky.

Telugubulletin.com Rating: 1.5/5