Ranabaali review: Vijay Deverakonds's film is battle cry on paper, lullaby on screen

Vijay Deverakonda has a pattern. Not a genre, but a familiar cycle: an exciting director-hero combination gets announced, the trailers promise a comeback, the audience starts hoping again, and then the film arrives in theatres and fails to live up to the hype. Liger, Family Star, Kingdom—his filmography has seen several comeback attempts, but the comeback itself is still missing. With Ranabaali, the pattern continues.Set against the backdrop of the Great Madras Famine of 1876–78, Vijay Deverakonda plays Singnamala Bobbili Ranabaali, a fierce warrior from Rayalaseema who fights British oppression to protect his people. Rashmika Mandanna plays Jayamma, his emotional anchor, while Arnold Vosloo appears as the ruthless British antagonist, Sir Theodore Hector. Drawing from the folklore surrounding Bhadramallanna, the film attempts to blend history, action, and mythology. The ambition is certainly there. The execution, unfortunately, starves to death. The film opens with a burra katha narration and the legend of Ranabaali’s birth, immediately creating the feeling of watching an epic. But the excitement doesn't last long. Within the first 15–20 minutes, the screenplay begins to lose steam, settling into a repetitive cycle of suffering, British oppression, and revenge. The interval and the portions that follow briefly hint at the film's potential, only for the momentum to fade again. The biggest problem is the film's rhythm. Even the hero's introduction fight builds towards a high, only to end just when you're ready to cheer. This becomes a recurring problem throughout the film: scenes build anticipation but are cut short before delivering the expected pay-off. The audience barely gets time to savour one high before the next begins, while the melodrama seems to occupy every available moment. Instead of creating a satisfying rhythm between action, emotion, and quieter moments, the film keeps pushing for intensity until it becomes exhausting. It knows how to build anticipation but rarely how to reward it.The emotional turning point involving Jayamma and the wife of a man Ranabaali has killed is another missed opportunity. The scene is supposed to make him confront the consequences of his actions and change the course of his fight. It should be heartbreaking, forcing both the character and the audience to reconsider his heroism. Instead, it plays out like a generic dramatic sequence, failing to deliver the emotional impact the story desperately needs. The so-called twists are no better, with most predictable from a mile away. Technically, however, Ranabaali has plenty going for it. Cinematographers Jishnu Bhattacharjee and Nirav Shah give the film striking visuals, while Shivam Rao Nagasani's production design and Archana Rao's costumes convincingly recreate the period. The scale, detailing, and research are evident in almost every frame. The irony is that the film looks like an epic but rarely feels like one. It creates a convincing world without making us emotionally invest in what happens inside it.Vijay Deverakonda once again puts everything into his performance. His physical transformation, mannerisms, and commitment are evident, but a strong performance needs a strong character to support it. We see Ranabaali fight, suffer, and protect his people, yet rarely understand the inner struggles that shape him or witness meaningful growth. His heroism relies more on physical strength and divine blessings than on the choices he makes.Rashmika Mandanna brings warmth and humour to Jayamma, and her chemistry with Vijay is among the film's more engaging aspects. Ishwari Rao and the supporting cast do their best, but the writing limits their impact. The personal moments offer welcome relief from a film so busy trying to feel grand that it often forgets to make its characters feel real.There are also moments when Ranabaali reminds you of other films. Its period-action setting recalls Captain Miller, while its blend of folklore and larger-than-life heroism brings Kantara and Thangalaan to mind. Some moments even carry shades of Rajinikanth's Baba.Influences are not necessarily a problem, but a film needs an identity of its own. Here, the historical and mythological elements never fully come together. The folklore-inspired climax arrives almost 30 minutes after the film seems to have reached its ending, feeling less like a natural culmination and more like an attempt to tap into the trend of mythology-driven spectacles.The British antagonists present another problem. Their Telugu-dubbed dialogues make them easier to follow but also undermine the period setting's authenticity. Arnold Vosloo has a commanding screen presence, yet his character is largely reduced to looking threatening and opposing the hero. He looks the part; the screenplay gives him little else to do.Ajay–Atul's music is another disappointment. A film built around a larger-than-life warrior needs a score that elevates its action and intensifies its emotional moments. Here, the music rarely delivers the impact the scenes demand. Director Rahul Sankrityan deserves credit for bringing an overlooked chapter of history to the screen on such a grand scale. There are flashes of a compelling film, supported by committed performances, impressive visuals, and an interesting central idea. But repetitive narration, underwritten characters, predictable twists, relentless melodrama, and uneven music prevent that potential from becoming a satisfying cinematic experience.For Vijay Deverakonda, Ranabaali is another missed opportunity. Ranabaali has the scale, ambition, and occasional flashes of brilliance, but it lacks the one thing a film about a fierce warrior and a people's rebellion needs most: a pulse. In the end, it feels less like a battle cry and more like a lullaby for the audience who walk in for an action spectacle.- Ends