‘Family entertainers’ are one of the most reliable genres in the Telugu film industry that guarantee success, at least to some extent. Betting on this, director Gireesaaya, who is also credited with the story and screenplay, has churned out Ranga Ranga Vaibhavanga. The film stars actors Vaisshnav Tej and Ketika Sharma in the lead roles.
The story of the film was revealed in the trailer itself. Rishi (Vaisshnav Tej) and Radha (Ketika Sharma) love each other but don’t talk to each other. They are neighbours, and share the same birthday including the time of birth. Their fathers are best friends. They were destined to be together – a little too filmy? Well, let’s just go with it. But if everything was as smooth as this, there won’t be a story, right? So, of course there is a conflict. A decade ago when Rishi and Radha were in school, they end up slapping each other over a fight and vow not to talk to each other. When and how the made-for-each-other couple get back together forms the rest of the story.
While all filmmakers aim to make a successful film, Gireesaaya apparently did not want to take any chances, so he borrows scenes from old blockbusters like Manasantha Nuvve, Love Story and several others familiar to Telugu audiences, and uses them as a template to evoke the same emotions instead of writing an original story. There is no thought that went into the making of this movie and at worst the writing is simply poor. Sample this: Rishi is in deep sleep and dreaming when his brother, Balu, ruins this by whacking him on the head. A furious Rishi gets up and chases his brother. There is no pause in this chase, but suddenly Rishi has shoes on. While the scene continues. Why? Because in the following scene, the director has written that Radha, as a prank, tries to tie his shoelaces together. I don’t know if the actors or anyone from the crew questioned the logic at least while filming this scene.
Ranga Ranga Vaibhavanga is a mishmash of older Telugu films that does not offer anything new to the audience. The film is like a TV soap, even if you missed it for a month, there is so little progress that you can still follow it. And how ironic that they use a popular soap reference to evoke some laughter.
As is the norm with ‘family entertainers’, the movie has many characters, but they are merely supporting roles without any characterisation. We do not know anything about them. They exist just so the story progresses. Like a cliched ‘friends gang’ there are a couple of people whose sole purpose is to unite Rishi and Radha. Phew.
The weak story and poor screenplay tested my patience. More than that, my overpowering emotion was anger. Does Gireesaaya really take the audience for fools?
Vaisshnav Tej’s performance is irritating, honestly. He struggles to be at ease in most scenes. The constant references of him belonging to the ‘Mega family’ by dancing to Chiranjeevi songs is off-putting. The preachy dialogues do not help either. Ketika Sharma tries to fit in this world, but she is terribly miscast. There is absolutely no chemistry between the two leads. In this superficial world created by Gireesaaya, their performance is just as superficial. Music composer Devi Sri Prasad does his best to keep this dull film engaging.
Why is it that Telugu directors want to exploit nostalgia instead of writing fresh material? If it was Thank You a few days ago, this week it is Ranga Ranga Vaibhavanga. I seriously hope that the filmmakers give some credit to the audience and not undermine their intelligence.
Disclaimer: This review was not paid for or commissioned by anyone associated with the film. Neither TNM nor any of its reviewers have any sort of business relationship with the film's producers or any other members of its cast and crew.