A thriller with no compelling storyline

There is no redemption for this remake of the 2013 hit series 'Ray Donovan'

Rana Naidu

Telugu (Netflix)

Director: Suparn Verma, Karan Anshuman

Cast: Venkatesh, Rana Daggubati, Surveen Chawla

Rating: 2/5

Rana Naidu flatters to deceive right from the first few scenes. It begins promisingly with a close-up shot of a bottle of champagne in an ice bucket being carried by a room service boy in the lift of a star hotel. A sense of foreboding is palpable. But within minutes it gets farcical as the same bucket is used to smuggle stolen sperm (yes, you are reading it right) with a possible intention to blackmail a celebrity.

From there on, there is no redemption for this hugely publicised web series, a remake of the 2013 hit Ray Donovan, starring real-life uncle and nephew - Venkatesh and Rana Daggubati.

The demons are in the uneven writing, but the real devils are its directors who fail to pivot the narrative on the tested elements of suspense and drama. As a result, the series meanders from one case to another without actually engaging the viewers. The other major setbacks are the dialogues punctuated with unnecessary expletives and scenes of bad sex which are far too many.

The main character Rana Naidu is your stereotypical go-to fixer in the big bad world of Bollywood. His clients include superstars to business magnets and powerful politicians. He is happy plying his trade without any scruples and leads a happy life with his wife and two children. But his father’s (Naga Naidu) early release from prison and his re-entry into their family has a seismic effect.

‘Rana Naidu’ is slick and stylish with high technical inputs, but what is lacking is real substance and a compelling storyline.