With Rangasthalam, Ram Charan 'the actor' finally arrives — long overdue after SS Rajamouli's career-defining Magadheera

As we know, back in 2009, SS Rajamouli undoubtedly gave Ram Charan the perfect push with Magadheera, post the actor’s debut Chirutha. The actor fit the bill and gave an impressive performance, riding horses and fighting evil in full filmy grace. [caption id=“attachment_4409053” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Rangasthalam. YouTube[/caption] All this, a little after his first movie Chirutha which frankly did nothing but showcase the star kid that he is. For years after that, Ram Charan formed a fan base for himself, danced his heart out and pulled off a few action dramas here and there, but none of it really made him look at the way he did in  Rangasthalam , his career-best opening at the box office. And a well deserved one at that. The star kid has finally given a stellar performance, nearly nine years after his debut. That too in a film that is not just about the hero, as opposed to many Telugu entertainers. Ram Charan as Chitti Babu is subtle, fun, emotional and all things adorable. Rangasthalam is not just the story of the male lead but every single person of his village. And among an ensemble cast and the many stories entwined in this revenge drama, Ram Charan shines by delivering the most down-to-earth character he has ever portrayed and yet leaving way for almost every single supporting actor to shine. Why we feel a need to highlight this is obviously because of the blueprint that Telugu cinema follows when it comes to such plots, where power politics comes in the way of villagers and farmers. But director Sukumar manages to pull off an age old formula in a rather different way and gives Ram Charan the well deserved space to perform. Charan makes us laugh with an impeccable comic timing and shows love for his people, love, family and almost everyone, oh so gracefully! For an average Telugu cinema goer like me, it was in the interval that the impact of this film and Ram Charan’s screen presence sank in. It is a pleasant surprise to watch a drama like this unfold, with no punch lines, over-the-top dance sequences and crazy stunts. It is very much 1985 and our lead boy is not trying too hard, and that is exactly what works in favour of Rangasthalam. There are parts of this revenge saga that get dragged a bit, but we are still up on our seats, wanting more as Ram Charan delivers a career-best performance. We are constantly waiting for Chitti Babu to come up with his antics and crack a joke or two. Be it in the midst of blood shed or romancing the beautiful Samantha Akkineni aka Rama Lakshmi, Ram Charan does justice in most frames; all this without actually forming the central lead of this plot. That truly is rare. A lot of credit for this goes to Sukumar, for pulling off a very smart screenplay which highlights every character, be it Anasuya and Charan’s Chitti Babu and Rangammatta’s goofy friendship, Aadhi Pinisetty’s big brother role, Jagapati Babu’s ‘President garu’ and almost every role that we witness on the big screen. Probably every time we walked out of a Ram Charan film, be it Magadheera or the very successful Dhruva, we have always talked about the package that it was. Dhruva certainly proved the Charan is a director’s actor and he could pull off exactly what was required to. Even Charan’s Orange, though not successful at the box office, was praised by many for being a film with its heart almost at the right place. And not to forget, the many box office disasters or rather avoidable projects like Yevadu, Bruce Lee and _Rach_a to name a few, where Charan has proved his mettle nonetheless. All through the string of duds, Charan remained a star. In a remote area in Karnataka, merely a day after watching the film, I found almost every Telugu person around me, discuss one thing, actually two — Rangasthalam and Chitti Babu. Chitti Babu was a joy to watch and made us want to go back to the theater. And Rangasthalam was a film that did justice to the genre and for having one of the best traditional playlists in recent times. Any opinion on Rangasthalam cannot go without highlighting Devi Sri Prasad’s contribution. It is because of the music composer’s blockbuster album and intriguing background score that many aspects of the film work. His folk compositions and Chandra Bose’s lyrics are not only addictive but make Rangasthalam what it is and bring out Ram Charan in the raw avatar that we see. Ram Charan puts an end to constant comparisons with father and superstar Chiranjeevi. Though the film also reminds us of the actor that his dad was, Ram Charan in Rangasthalam, as the boy with a hearing impairment, is nothing we have seen before. The actor in the ‘star’ is finally here.