Just like instant noodles, director Rathinam Krishna's comedy-drama is served hot and uncooked on your platter!
A poster of the film 'Rules Ranjann'. (X)
Rules Ranjann (Telugu)
Manoranjan aka Ranjan (Kiran Abbavaram) works as a techie in Mumbai with his hard set of rules. But he won’t realise the void inside him until a beggar (Makarand Deshpande) notices it. His backstory pops up.
Ranjan’s crush Sana (Neha Shetty), who was once his classmate in Tirupati, flatters him with her looks. But Ranjan doesn’t make any move.
Both take different paths after BTech. When they bid goodbye to each other, they forget to exchange their contact numbers.
After nearly a long spell, Sana appears before Ranjan out of the blue in Mumbai. He is so awestruck that while catching the Mumbai local train, he forgets where his office is located.
Now he has only one thing in mind — to impress Sana in the best possible way. He breaks his rules for Sana.
How did the drama unfold after their meeting in Mumbai? How does Ranjan track Sana in his hometown? Rules Ranjann answers these questions.
Kiran Abbavaram in ‘Rules Ranjann’. (X
The story of Rules Ranjann chugs off with Mano Ranjan, who works for a software giant in Mumbai.
For the first few minutes, the story looks refreshing, with Kiran playing the role of a techie.
The first half dishes out good comedy between Vennela Kishore and Kiran Abbavaram. The scenes featuring Vennela Kishore who often brings a companion to his flat at night are hilarious.
Kiran gets pissed off often because of Vennela Kishore’s avocation for girls. In the process, “Rules” Ranjan turns into “Ruthless” Ranjan, then into “Pub” Ranjan, and later into “Romantic” Ranjan.
The punchlines are sober in a way that sends out a feeling of irritation after some time.
The comedy tracks in the second half and the characters that chip in at regular intervals give you a feeling as if you’re watching a lengthy Jabardasth show.
The love track between Kiran and Neha is somewhat bearable. And that’s because of the ravishing looks of Neha Sshetty. The “Sammohanuda” song has certainly earned her a name.
Rathinam Krishna’s directorial ‘Rules Ranjann’. (X)
Almost all the scenes in the film looked so dry except for the Vennela Kishore track. The love-at-first-sight at college, the hero meets the heroine at Mumbai railway station, and the pre-climax is bland.
Rules Ranjann is riddled with too many punchlines. Although it initially entertains with Vennela Kishore portraying the character of the Bollywood casting director, the comedy track later really peels off.
There is no proper sync between the dialogue and the characters. With not-so-organic comedy, it looks like director Rathinam Krishna was in a hurry to wrap up the film.
Just like instant noodles, the comedy-drama is served hot and uncooked on your platter!
The son of prominent producer AM Rathnam, Rathinam Krishna earlier tried his hand at producing films and was busy overseeing his father’s movie business for over a decade.
Now, he has come up with Rules Ranjann after a long hiatus. His last film, Oxygen (2017) starring Gopichand, tanked miserably at the box office.
Neha Sshetty and Kiran Abbavaram in ‘Rules Ranjann’. (X)
You feel like why Kiran Abbavaram couldn’t ace a few characters like this one. His emotions and facial expressions are not so natural.
It appears like Kiran performed as if someone was threatening him from point-blank range.
His body language looks so unease, except for the romantic track. It’s awful to see an experienced actor uttering the dialogue so bland and flat. He should focus on his craft.
Neha Sshetty is impressive as Sana. She looks as bold as she appeared in most of her characters in her earlier films. Sana speaks her heart out. You can’t help but praise her performance in the “Sammohanuda” song.
Vennela Kishore, as Bollywood director, delivers a good performance. His combination sequences with Kiran Abbavaram are hilarious in the first half.
Viva Harsha, Hyper Aadhi, and Sudarshan appear in the second half. Their punchlines should usually make you laugh. Instead, they bore you.
Looks like the director wanted to try something new but it didn’t materialise as he expected.
Music by Amrish is appreciable; it’s quite obvious from the hype that the “Sammohanudu” single got on social media.
Dulip Kumar’s cinematography is passable. However, you may wonder why the makers compromised with some crucial visuals while showing Mumbai and Tirupati.
Rathinam Krishna still has to tie up his laces if he has to compete with the talented lot.
Rules Ranjann makes you laugh with pauses. It would have been a great television soap getting stretched years and years, had the script been landed in the laps of any small screen director.
(Views expressed here are personal.)
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