Review: ‘Rarandoi Veduka Chudham’ is a pale imitation of ‘Ninne Pelladata’

Rarandoi Veduka Chudham takes a lot of inspiration from the 1996 romantic drama, Ninne Pelladata. From the premise (a woman from an influential family elopes) to Naga Chaitanya’s ringtone (Yeto Vellipoyindi Manasu), the 2017 film tries to pay respects to the classic.

The romantic episodes in Ninne Pelladata were punctuated with soulful songs and enjoyable comedy. Two decades later, Naga Chaitanya comes up with a version that doesn’t allow romance to bloom as his intentions are not clearly understood by Bhramaramba (Rakul Preet).

Rakul Preet as a naïve young girl, who turns into a misguided bride-to-be, either laughs or cries throughout the runtime. Her character doesn’t move beyond these borders. While this doesn’t stop her from doing a decent job, it would be better if directors stay away from making caricatures out of female leads.

Chaitanya puts his best leg forward in a role which reminded me of his father’s romantic films. He stands out in one particular scene where he gets mad at Rakul Preet’s innocence, saying – he’s fed up with her. He does it carefully and neatly. Without going overboard, he delivers on-point. He couldn’t have pulled it off a couple of years ago. It’s a sign that he’s come a long way from the Josh days.

While Nagarjuna had a big family in Ninne Pelladata, in Rarandoi Veduka Chudham, it’s Rakul who gets to experience all the ‘tamasha’ that a joint family offers. The leading women in both films move to cities to pursue their higher education (flight training in case of Tabu, and MBA for Rakul).

Chalapathi Rao, now famous for his misogynistic statements, dons the hat of Rakul’s granddad. He played Nagarjuna’s father in NP. Aren’t these salient points enough to draw parallels between the two? Can these parallels alone take RVC to the top? Not necessarily! Can Chaitanya make action and romance work if a powerful script is given to him? Certainly!

Jagapati Babu seems to be the go-to person to play rich dads (Srimanthudu, Nannaku Prematho, and Winner) and doesn’t disappoint. He also gives tough competition to the young men on-screen with his suaveness. Sampath, Vennela Kishore, and the rest of the gang are picked up to play to their strengths.

The problem with the film is not in the casting department. It’s in the basic idea of the story. How can slogans of love be raised by the youth when there’s no romance to make our eyes tear up nor any emotional struggle to make us sympathize with the characters?

RVC’s music is like a burger you don’t know what to do with. You don’t want to throw it away at the first glance, or the first bite. So, you go for another bite, and then another, and then another, and then you’re not sure whether you’re eating it because you like it, or because you don’t want to waste it. For a film filled with weddings, family gatherings, and one-sided romance, Devi Sri Prasad lets his listeners down a bit.

Kalyan Krishna has directed two films so far – Soggade Chinni Nayana and Rarandoi Veduka Chudham. He’s only a two-film-old director, but he’s shown his niche with family dramas. The families in his films may not possess the magic of Krishna Vamsi’s class; nevertheless, he brings the breeze of small towns to the big screens. That’s a refreshing change. And, maybe, someday he’ll make a nice small-town-meets-metropolis romance film.