Rana Naidu Review: Created and co-directed by Karan Anshuman and Suparn Verma, the series is produced by Sunder Aaron under the banner Locomotive Global Inc. It is based on the 2013 crime show, Ray Donovan, and adapted by Ananya Mody. The screenplay is written by B. V. S. Ravi and Karmanya Ahuja, and the dialogues are by Vaibhav Vishal. There are 10 episodes in total, with a runtime of about 47-50 minutes each.
The ensemble cast of Rana Naidu Netflix includes Rana Daggubati as Rana Naidu, Venkatesh Daggubati as Naga Naidu, Suchitra Pillai, Gaurav Chopra as Prince and Surveen Chawla as Naina Naidu in lead roles. Along with Sushant Singh as Tej Naidu, Abhishek Banerjee as Jaffa Naidu, Ashish Vidyarthi, Rajni Basumatary as Nyla, Adithya Menon as Marcos Dcosta, Ashwin Mushran as Farzad and Tenzin Dalha as Arjun in supporting roles.
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Rana Naidu Review
Set in Bombay, where glitz meets grime, Rana Naidu does the dirty work for the city’s top power players, making the problems of the city’s celebrities, superstar athletes, and business moguls disappear. This taut drama unfolds when his father, Naga, is unexpectedly released from prison, setting off a chain of events that shakes the Naidu family to its core.
To define Rana in a few words, we could say he is a literal lifeguard for all his high-profile clients, despite how corrupt or antagonistic they might be. He profits from the stupid mistakes people make by getting them out of the mess, as a saviour. But if you look at his personal life, then it’s even a bigger mess than he can ever handle.
While he hates his father to the guts, he has a loving and amicable relationship with his brothers, Tej & Jaffa. It could be because he had to take on the role of a father figure at a young age while the real one was nowhere to be found. That’s why he provides his family with everything they need, but also quality time. His work keeps him away from home & slowly pulls him away from them.
Since the series is adapted from the show Ray Donovan, you will find many similarities in the story, except for the obvious cultural differences. However, if you squeeze down all 7 seasons of the American series into a 10-episode show, this is what you get. Despite having vast storylines, the creators are not able to bring out the same gripping essence.
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The biggest difference is how the characters feel incompletely sketched out, almost codependent on Rana to take the plot forward. Whereas in the original series, every character has a story of their own going parallel with other plotlines & has a significant arc over time. In terms of actors, no one can deny that they have a great cast at hand, even the young cast members don’t seem awkward at any point. But the loopholes in the story take away everything.
As the series starts with a client story which creates problems in his marital life, but by the middle episodes, there’s no sign of those people, who were the biggest nuisance in his life. Without properly tying up the end of one chapter, they move on to the next or introduce characters, but they vanish in the middle.
Like the character of Tenzin Dalha comes & goes randomly, whereas he could have been effectively used to create more layers in the story. Nor do they provide any explanation for their past family tragedy, but we, as an audience, have to pretend like we know it all & even be sympathetic.
Another thing that irked me a lot is how crudely the women are treated in the show. On one hand, the dead women in their lives are every character’s motivation to do better in their present. But the women who are alive & with them for good are nothing more than an accessory and are being exploited. I mean, there are many ways to show someone is a ‘gangster’ or twisted up in the head without taking it out on the other sex.
Final Thoughts
I would watch the series only for the actors and nothing else. Venkatesh Daggubati is a delight to watch despite his toxic and manipulative character. He portrayed a perfect prototype of how manipulative people can trick anyone into liking and doing anything for them. In fact, I would take a bullet for him if he had asked.
Rana Daggubati’s character required a stoic demeanour & he does his best to portray it, along with the dynamic action scenes. Apart from them, Sushant Singh and Abhishek Banerjee are the only decent characters who would make you root for them, but the lack of character arc doesn’t work in their favour or overall for the show. Similarly, Surveen Chawla’s skills were restricted by the stereotypical character, when in fact she could have played a bigger role in the grand scheme of things.
Rana Naidu is currently streaming on Netflix.
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