 |
Rangasthalam
Rangasthalam links:
• Videos
• Pre release function
• Press meet
• Posters
• Photos
• Set photos
• Working stills
Jeevi
rating: 3.25
Punchline: Adorable Chittibabu
Genre: Action
Type: Straight
Banner: Mythri Movie Makers
Runtime: 179 minutes
Censor Certificate: U/A
Release date: 30 March, 2018
Theater watched: Serra Theaters, Milpitas, USA
Cast: Ram Charan, Samantha, Jagapathi Babu, Aadhi Pinisetti, Prakash Raj, Anasuya, Pooja Hegde, Brahmaji, Naresh, Rohini, Ajay Ghosh, Jabardasht Mahesh, Shatru, Poojitha Ponnada, Kadambari Kiran, Naveen Neni .etc
Music: Devi Sri Prasad
Cinematographer: Ratnavelu
Art: Ramakrishna-Monika
Action: Ram-Lakshman
Lyrics: Chandrabose
Editor: Naveen Nuli
Story, Screenplay & Directed: Sukumar
Producers: Naveen Yerneni, Y Ravi Shankar & Mohan (CVM)
Rangasthalam links: |
Chittibabu (Ram Charan Tej) has hearing issues and belongs to a poor family in a village called Rangasthalam. The president (Jagapathi Babu) of the village is getting elected unopposed for the past 30 years. He keeps exploiting people of the village through Government schemes. Kumar Babu (Aadi Pinisetti) is elder brother of Chittibabu. He works in Dubai and is on vacation. Rest of the story is all about what happens when educated Kumar Babu stands up against atrocities of the president.
Ram Charan: Chittibabu is a kind of character that if the actor fails by 1%, the character ends up being a stupid character. Sukumar’s characterization and Ram Charan’s performance made Chittibabu character an endearing one. His body language, expressions, dialogue delivery and dialect are perfect. His comedy timing is flawless and often reminds us of Chiranjeevi’s. Ram Charan transformed into the raw character of Chittibabu with consummate ease. His histrionics are terrific in the last 20 minutes of the film.
Others: For the first time, we see deglamorized Samantha in a straight Telugu film. She exudes rustic charm coupled with cute innocence. Samantha shows what she is capable of as an actress. Aadi Pinisetti plays the positive role with conviction. Jagapati Babu dons a character that is menacingly different. He is excellent. Prakash Raj plays a vital role in a natural way. Anasuya surprises us all with her ease by playing the role of Rangammatha. She has to walk on a sword’s edge as an actress. She maintained the right balance. Pooja Hegde provides the much needed entertainment relief towards climax with her dance in Jigelu Rani song. Brahmaji impresses though he is seen in 3 scenes. Other actors like Naresh, Rohini, Ajay Ghosh, Jabardasth Mahesh, Shatru, Poojitha Ponnada, Kadambari Kiran and Naveen Neni have done well.
Story - screenplay - direction: This is Sukumar’s first village subject. He has made sure that all the characters are different and characterization is original. Having an hearing impaired character as lead role and making it lovable is a tough task and Sukumar makes sure that there is consistency in characterization. The way he inserted ‘snake’ angle for hero character tells us the creativity aspect of Sukumar. It’s not shown in anywhere on screen, but becomes a part of Chittibabu’s journey. The comedy generated out of scenes that project ‘moratuthanam + chevudu’ is very classy. Story of the film is about uprising against a feudalistic president who exploits village people. But there is something more to it and you will realise when you watch the film. Sukumar should have taken care of pre-climax episodes. They are very raw and excessively lengthy. 
Other departments: Devi Sri Prasad comes up with one of his best works for Rangasthalam. All songs are good. He should have used Shiva Naagulu voice for Aa Gattu song in film. It’s disappointing to listen DSP voice as we are already tuned to Shiva Nagulu voice through jukebox. Background music is outstanding and it adds a lot of value to the scenes. Cinematography by Ratnavelu is excellent and he maintains rustic mood to visuals throughout the film. The visuals after the accident in the introduction episode are artistic (camera, sound and action choreography). Action sequences are choreographed well in a realistic manner though some of the fights are lengthy. Dialogues are pretty good. Art direction is excellent and it takes us to 80’s. Editing by Naveen Nooli is fine. Production values by Mythri Movie Makers banner are extraordinary.
Analysis: First half of the film is good. Second half gets a little slow. And climax is satisfactory. Sukumar who has done brainy and class films so far has attended a mass subject for the first time. He brings in gritty rawness to characters and scenes. The biggest plus of the film is Chittibabu character and the way Ram Charan performed that character. Chittibabu is most the powerful and most adorable hero character on Telugu screen in the recent times. Sukumar’s characterizations, DSP’s music, great casting (especially Samantha, Anasuya and Jagapathi Babu) and Ratnavel’s cinematography makes it a good experiences to watch. However, pre-climax episodes might not be liked by some people and film appears slow and stretched in the 2nd half. On a whole, Ragasthalam is a film that should be watched to adore Chittibabu character.