Ranga Ranga Vaibhavamga Disappoints on Many Levels
Ranga Ranga Vaibhavamga is yet another example of a film that can have everything going right – the actors, the formula, good team – but without a soul of its own
Two best friends (Chanti and Ramudu) are so close to each other that they build similar houses side by side and live with their families, celebrate festivals and good times together. Their wives give birth to a boy and girl on the same day at the same time. From the time they hold hands as six-month-olds, their affection grows into love until one day when a misunderstanding brings in ego and they stop talking to each other. They continue to love each other while they grow up to be Panja Vaishnav Tej and Ketika Sharma. By the time they begin to speak to each other, their families break apart, and now it is up to the two lovers to bring together the families and end the story on a happy note. Senior actors Naresh and Prabhu act as the fathers, with a bunch of other actors playing the other children, friends and family, not to mention Subba Raju on the other end playing the villain with a dash of comedy. Naveen Chandra gets a plum role playing the angry brother of the heroine, an IITian, who aspires to be a politician, and you wonder at times whether he is good or bad.
In the absence of a strong villain or a great premise for a revenge drama, this can be slotted into the romantic film genre with a whole lot of family drama thrown in. However, by not employing much original thought, ‘Ranga Ranga Vaibhavamga’ falls short of a tender romance or even an engaging family drama. Instead, it appears to be poor attempt to stitch together scenes and situations that fail to tell a convincing story, and many times they keep reminding you of older films and popular scenes, making you wonder if its an inspiration, or a spoof or just mere laziness on the part of the film maker.
Director Gireeshaaya did have an opportunity, even if he stuck to the formula well. Instead he ends up creating a piece of cinema that is a tiring ordeal to watch. That said the film has its bright moments, but alas they shine in bits and parts and fade away in this predictable, and even outdated drama. At the risk of sounding too harsh, one can say that the film will successfully serve as a portfolio for Ketika albeit in an eye-rolling kind of portrayal of the leading lady.
DSP’s music was pleasant, but there’s nothing that creates an impression or stays with you. Cinematography makes for a pleasant watch, visually.
‘Ranga Ranga Vaibhavamga’ is yet another example of a film that can have everything going right – the actors, the formula, good team – but without a soul of its own, it will fail to connect with the audience at any level.
