Allari Naresh is known for his comedy films, as he started his career with the genre and continued with the genre for many years. Later, he changed gears and acted in some serious films. Now, he is back to his strong zone of comedy with the latest Ramba Oorvasi Menaka. Production house Annapurna Studios has produced the film along with Hasya Movies, while Chandra Mohan Chinthada is the director. Surbhi, Raashi Singh, Vishnu Priya, VK Naresh and many other actors are part of the film. There have been several films based on Lord Indra, Lord Yama, and the celestial beauties Ramba, Oorvasi and Menaka. Interestingly, Allari Naresh himself has done a few films with similar concepts. After a gap, he has once again come up with this fantasy comedy. Did this film give Naresh the much-needed break? How is the story and the film? Here is the verdict.
Director: Chandra Mohan Chinthada
Cast: Allari Naresh, Surbhi, Raashi Singh, Vishnu Priya, VK Naresh, Srinivasa Reddy, Vennela Kishore and others
Soori (Allari Naresh) has wanted to become a hero since childhood and takes over the drama company run by his father. There is a magical book, and if he unlocks its pattern, the famous celestial beauties Ramba, Oorvasi and Menaka will come down to Earth and grant whatever he wishes. Soori doesn’t want to work hard and is always looking for an easy way to achieve his dreams. He keeps trying to unlock the pattern in the book with the help of his uncle (VK Naresh) and friend (Srinivasa Reddy).
Meanwhile, his mother falls sick and is hospitalised. She needs an operation, or else she may not survive. Soori finally cracks the pattern, and Ramba (Raashi Singh), Oorvasi (Vishnu Priya) and Menaka (Prisha Singh) come down to Earth. However, in all the confusion, Soori cannot ask them for anything and requests them to return the next day. The three celestial beauties come back the following day, but there is a twist — they have lost their powers.
What does Soori do when the three beauties no longer have their powers? Will his mother survive? Lord Indra (Vennela Kishore) has cursed the three beauties, leading to some unusual situations. At the same time, Soori’s childhood friend, a police inspector (Tarak Ponnappa), wants to take revenge on him and is waiting for Soori to make a mistake. How Soori manages all these situations and what happens in the end form the crux of the story.
Director Chandra Mohan Chinthada has written a story that is not new, as similar subjects have already been made in Telugu. He has taken the same outdated concept, and the bigger problem is that he has narrated it in an old-fashioned manner, with several outdated jokes. The first half an hour is unbearable, as the director spends too much time establishing the protagonist and showing how he is trying to bring the celestial beauties to Earth.
When you narrate a story based on a subject that has already been explored several times, you need to come up with an updated version. But here, the director completely fails to do that and simply relies on the same old story without bringing anything fresh. There are some boring scenes, and even the spoof on Pawan Kalyan’s OG does not work well.
The title of the film is Ramba Oorvasi Menaka, but the director fails to present these characters in an effective way, as they have only limited space in the film. More importantly, there is no strong emotional track, except towards the end, where the mother sentiment works to some extent.
Apart from that, the film offers very little, as many of the jokes and punch dialogues are outdated and fail to generate laughs. Nandu Savarigana, who has written dialogues for several successful films earlier, fails to provide strong punch dialogues for Ramba Oorvasi Menaka. VK Naresh’s character is poorly written, and whenever he appears on screen, his portions become irritating, especially since he has played similar roles before.
There are a few other comedians as well, but the main problem is the poor writing. Allari Naresh, VK Naresh and Srinivasa Reddy create some mischief after the three celestial beauties come down to Earth, but the comedy falls flat and fails to generate enough laughs. The narration is also not engaging, as the film moves from one scene to another without creating much interest. The climax portions are comparatively better, mainly because of the mother sentiment.
When it comes to performances, Allari Naresh does his role sincerely, but since his character is not designed properly, there isn’t much he can do. The same applies to the other actors. Vennela Kishore manages to provide a few laughs here and there. Vishnu Priya, Raashi Singh and Prisha Singh look good in their roles. Surbhi doesn’t get much to do, as she appears only in a few scenes. The music is below average, while the cinematography is also just okay.
Finally, Ramba Oorvasi Menaka is supposed to be a fantasy comedy, and with better writing and a fresh approach, it could have been an entertaining film. But because of its outdated writing and narration, the film falls flat. Naresh had said that he wanted to hit a six on his home ground, but unfortunately, he couldn’t even get off the mark with this one.