'Rules Ranjann', produced by Divyang Lavania and Murali Krishnaa Vemuri, was released in theatres today (October 6).
Plot:
Manoranjan (Kiran Abbavaram) is a software engineer in Mumbai. Living by his non-negotiable set of rules is his second nature. When his old friend Sana (Neha Shetty) crosses paths with him, he becomes flexible and calls himself 'Pub' Ranjan, much to the disbelief of his colleagues. When Sana moves to Tirupathi after creating romantic feelings in him for her, he rushes to the town from Mumbai to woo her. There, his troubles mount when his wedding is fixed with another woman (Meher Chahal). Can he get out of the bind?
Performances:
Kiran Abbavaram's performance has been diluted by perennially unoriginal and insipid writing. Neha Shetty, after the recent 'Bedurulanka 2012', is average. It takes a special ability to make such a beauty look less than gorgeous. 'Rules Ranjann' achieves it with unexpected competence.
Meher Chahal has been wasted in a stupid role where she has nothing much to talk about or emote. Vennela Kishore is missed sorely in the second half. As a Mumbai-based filmmaker, he is seen cracking jokes on the skin show. Despite the outdated brand of humour, the comedian doesn't irk the audience. That's his special ability, though, not the film's.
Subbaraju plays his kind of role for the nth time. He thinks he is feared while the fact is that he has been fooled around all the while. This time, though, there are no guaranteed laughs. Hyper Aadhi, Viva Harsha and Sudarshan are seen as the male lead's envious friends who pull a fast one without his knowledge.
Ajay, Goparaju Ramana, Abhimanyu Singh and others are also seen in the second half.
Technical aspects:
Dilip Kumar MS's cinematography is one of the weak elements of the movie. One can't even say it is functional, considering the dullness pervading every single frame. The art direction by Sudheer Macharla also adds to the faded visuals on the offer. Sirish Kumar's dance choreography works for the song 'Sammohanuda'.
Composer Amrish's work is, again, not up to the mark. 'Dekho Mumbai' is average and that's only because of the association with singer Adnan Sami. 'Sammohanuda' is salvaged by the genre and the screen presence of the 'DJ Tillu' heroine.
Post-Mortem:
'Rules Ranjann' is the kind of movie where women are compared to items and Swiggy food. The boss in the company wants to be a mix of a Brahmanandam and an Allu Ramalingiah without knowing what acting means. The friends are a$$holes (this is actually the film's only contemporary idea; the rest of the film belongs to the medieval ages).
Director Rathinam Krishna of 'Oxygen' fame doesn't do a thorough character study. Manoranjan is introverted but calls himself a principled rule-maker. That's fine. But his mental makeover is sudden, artificial and forced.
The gags involve a fake blood transfusion con and old men whiling away time playing cards, for example. These would have achieved maturation in the hands of the old Sreenu Vaitla, the old Gopi Mohan and the old Kona Venkat. Here, the scenes feel like the kindergarten version of a certain brand of trend-setting humour we saw in the 2000s.
The idea of blissfully making fun of some Venkatesh-starring melodramas is another example of the film failing its reasonably decent ideas. Also, this is one of those films where the second heroine is unwanted.
Closing Remarks:
'Rules Ranjann' is this week's anti-laughter, anti-commercial release. Enough said.
