 "Netflix 'Rana Naidu Season 2’ Review")
Director: Karan Anshuman, along with Suparn S. Varma and Abhay Chopra
Cast: Rana Daggubati, Venkatesh, Arjun Rampal, Kriti Kharbanda, Surveen Chawla, Sushant Singh, Abhishek Banerjee and Dino Morea
Not just Rana Daggubati, but Venkatesh, joined by Arjun Rampal, adds finesse to Netflix’s Rana Naidu Season 2. The presence of these two actors has made the show bearable and has added a few layers to it; otherwise, Rana Naidu was all about fight, gore and sex. But the show no doubt lives up to the hype, and I must say Season 2 is slightly better than Season 1.
Rana Naidu (Rana Daggubati) has a dysfunctional family, and all the members of his family are equally weird, just like him. Though he considers himself to be the most sorted, he has his dark sides too. Season 2 adds to the chaos of family, power, and personal demons.
Rana Naidu is a story about a family, but barring just a few scenes, it fails to connect with the normal people of our country. But then, why are we even expecting it from Rana Naidu when we all know that the show is all about high-octane drama and eccentricity?
But we cannot deny uncle-nephew duo Venkatesh Daggubati and Rana Daggubati along with Arjun Rampal as the villain, add to the chaos. Rana Naidu, created for India by Karan Anshuman, along with Suparn S. Varma and Abhay Chopra is a high-octane crime drama. Adding to the crime are Rajat Kapoor and Kriti Kharbanda, who are equally ruthless and cunning like Arjun Rampal and Rana Daggubati.
Unlike season one, where women had very little role to play, Kriti Kharbanda , plays the role of an equally sharp and self-assured business woman, Alia Oberoi. And a woman being self-assured is not a bad quality you see. Though often it is looked at as arrogance, this quality is way different from it. Here Kriti’s character manoeuvres a lot of things and gets Rana to her side. She is an ambitious woman who wants to take over the family and has the caliber to do it. Aditi Shetty as Jaffa’s (Abhishek Banerjee) girlfriend has a powerful role too.
But the Indian film industry’s understanding that smoking and infidelity are qualities of a woman’s progressiveness is taken a step further by the character played by Surveen Chawla. One of the scenes shows that since she got to know that her husband cheated on her, she went ahead with another man in search of affection. Seriously, how frivolous can this be?
But despite all the machismo of Rana Naidu, the show is packed with intense action and complex drama. Netflix’s Rana Naidu Season 2 is a one-time watch, but it deserves every bit of your time; binge-watch it or sit through all eight episodes at one go, just the way I did. But will Rana Naidu’s last fight save him from the clutches of the police? To find that out, you will have to watch the full show.
Rating: 2 and half out of 5
WATCH the trailer of Netflix’s Rana Naidu Season 2 here:
Lachmi Deb Roy is the Entertainment Editor of Firstpost, Network18. She reviews films and series with a gender lens. She is a 'Rotten Tomatoes' certified critic. Her interviews are called 'Not Just Bollywood' because she takes a huge interest in world cinema. She has been the winner of the prestigious Laadli Media and Advertising Award for Gender Sensitivity for two consecutive years, 2020 and 2021. OTT over theatrical releases is her preference unless and until it's a King Khan film. She takes interest in fashion, food and art reviews too.