Movie review 'Ranna’: An unconvincing victory

Director: Nanda Kishora

Cast: Kiccha Sudeep, Prakash Rai, Madhoo, Rachitha Ram, Haripriya, Chikkanna, Sadhu Kokila

Rating: 3 stars

With Nanda Kishora scoring back to back centuries with his first two directorials - Victory and Adyaksha, both high on comedy, he was ‘running’ for a hat-trick. This time, he chose a melodrama with comedy tidbits webbed around a huge star cast including his mentor Sudeep in the lead. However, the director has ‘just managed’ to score a half century in an unconvincing victory. A straight remake of Telugu blockbuster Attarintiki Daredi, this Kannada version is all about hero-centric family drama.

The director has answered his best in defining what heroism is in 151 odd minutes. Somehow the plot, though being a remake, it reminds of several films in the past which runs on the similar line of bringing the most loved person back into family. Ranna, the protagonist is from a filthy rich family and has an emotional job. He lands in Bengaluru, finds a way into the house of the family, which has long stayed from his family due to a painful past.

Nanda has yet again proved that he is a great technician behind the camera but this time ‘that’ magical spark is missing. The first half is a builder which best suits the image of Sudeep, a definite treat for his super fan followers. Insofar others, it is a ‘monotonous’ feel which goes on and on, and in between there are at least half-a-dozen heroic fights with no dearth of punching dialogues, all for the commercial touch with a mass appeal. Haripriya is just filler with hardly any screen space who soon vanishes in no time and Rachitha Ram is the obvious glamour quotient for this family drama. Madhoo who is back in Sandalwood drains all her emotions, and for the stature of Prakash Rai, it is a piece of cake. A couple of songs do lift the tempo. Watch it for Sudeep, in a yet another family patch up role. A song from the movie hit out or get out sounds better to wrap it up.