Rana Naidu- Can do Anything, everything!

Superheroes are a thing of the past. Psst, who needs a figure that wears undergarments over the pants? We had our desi Ranvir Singh outdoing [overdoing] the act. 

Post the exit of Robert Downey Jr in his Iron Man suit, even the Marvel universe is scattered. Hence, you need a fresh face, a fresh act where there is only one hero and the rest are all Thanos. Therefore, Rana Naidu -starring Rana Duggubati and D Venkatesh with an ensemble cast, in an incredible series of fixes, fixings and fixtures. 

Rana Naidu is a fixer who can fix everything except his family WhatsApp group and his own emotional baggage.

Rana Naidu is a modern-day superhero [for some, especially the ones in dire need to wash off their dirt and get their blood-stained upholstery looking clean]. 

His superpower? Well, Rana Naidu can do anything and everything, including braving the Mumbai traffic even without flying or a spider's web. He rather got a human web which includes two of his widely popular henchmen, needy clients, and a motor-mouth father, played outstandingly by D. Venkatesh. No phoolon sa chehra here, no D Rama Naidu, but an ensemble of interesting characters.

The modern-day hero, like all superheroes, is essentially a fixer—he sets things in accordance with his personal ambitions and machinations, serving shrewd clients. Surveen Chawla plays his " we agree to disagree" wife, after Netflix's Decoupled, who is now [cliched] coupled with Rana Duggubati, making things even worse for the " Rana can do anything" husband. Still, Rana "Can" Naidu ends up doing almost everything. 

The best part of the series is that it is addictive, even though it has severe OTT complex like using foul language, forced west-inspired intimate scenes and high decibel profanity and typical- we are urbane class tones that often soften in front of the rustic Telugu references- Venkatesh throws in and out. Baigna! Naan khatai and the ilk. 

Some dialogues are well seasoned with wit, charm, whereas some are like Soanpapdi recycled from gangster flicks. Season 2 looks like a heavily exchanged gift that ends up with the original sender. 

Season 2 has a seasoned Arjun Rampal playing Rauf. His introduction starts with an awesome act, but proceeds to a stereotypical Jhuggi don towards the end, so much so that you are happy when his character is settled and dusted. 

I have watched both seasons and would love to see S3. Ray Donovan may wait. I am happy with the Telugu adaptation in Hindi. 

If you thought Netflix Rana Naidu was going to be an answer to Ray Donovan, you were right, but only if Ray Donovan had a joint family, a jailbird father with a passion for reels and more emotional baggage than the airlines' Lost and Found counter.

The show positions him as a fixer from the outset. Still, most of the time, he seems to be fixing what every Indian middle-aged man seems to be fixing, like Wi-Fi, nosy neighbours, and his father's habit of oversharing family things on social media, mid-life crisis and a sulking family over his forever angry looks.

He ends up creating more scandals than fixing ones. Come on, Rana Naidu, You Can Do better in S3.

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Numerounity

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