Rangasthalam review: Critics wowed by Sukumar's script, Ram Charan & Samantha's performances

The film critics are going gaga over Sukumar's strong script, characterization, Rama Charan and Samantha's performance and the rich production values of the period drama  Rangasthalam. However, they found the movie to be a little slow and dragging narration was disappointing.  

Written by director Sukumar, Rangasthalam is a period drama that is set in the 1980's and the backdrop is a fictional village, called Rangasthalam. The movie revolves around the character of a semi-deaf sound engineer Chittibabu (Ram Charan), who is in love with Ramalakshmi (Samantha Akkineni). How he fights against the powerful landlords to solve the water problem of the villagers forms the crux of the story.

Rangasthalam deals with a story that took place almost 38 years ago. So Creating a rustic village and bringing in the nuances of the 1980s' era and still keeping it real and relatable for today's audience sure posed as a challenge. Nonetheless, Sukumar successfully recreates the era by making sure that the characterization, costumes, sets, dialogues, and situations bespeak every inch of the era that the movie was set in. And this minute detailing has left the critics in awe.

Ram Charan and Samantha Akkineni who have shared the screen space for the first time have delivered stellar performances. Their amazing expressions and chemistry are the highlights of the movie. Sukumar has brought out on the screen the acting brilliance of Jagapathi Babu, Prakash Raj, Aadhi Pinisetty and other pivotal key actors. say the critics.

Mythri Movie Makers have made sure Rangasthalam has great production values, say the critics, who are in love with Devi Sri Prasad's songs and background score, Chandrabose's lyrics, Rathnavelu's camera work, art director Rama Krishna Monika's sets, Ram-Laxman's action, dialogues, and costumes. They are equally impressed with Navin Nooli's editing but trimming some scenes in the second half could have made the runtime crisper.

Rangasthalam has been rated 3.25 out of 5-star rating. We bring you some critics' verdict and ratings for the movie. Continue to see them in the Rangasthalam review round up.

123Telugu Rating: 3.5

Rangasthalam is a gripping village drama which has some electrifying moments throughout. The village set up, human emotions, romance, and Ram Charan's fantastic act as Chitti Babu win you over. The film will be a rage with the masses and the family audience will enjoy it too. If you ignore the slight lengthy runtime and rustic nature, this movie kicks off summer with a bang and ends up as a very entertaining watch this weekend. Go for it as earthy films like these hardly come out in Telugu.

Telugu360 Rating: 3

Rangasthalam is a raw drama backed by Ram Charan's unexpected stellar performance, meticulous artwork to portray 80s ambience of a rustic village. However, terribly dragged overdose of sentiment scenes in second half kills the commercial aspect to an extent. Again in Climax , Ram Charan's brilliant act turns saving grace. Box-office performance depends on how fans embrace this different film from a mass star.

Chitramala Rating: 3.5

The way the first half is filled with the beauty of Rangasthalam village and the village politics aspects is excellent. The first half ends on a promising note and sets the premise perfect for the second half. The second half starts on a slow note but still, there is some new factor in the second half. The film picks up the speed, by the time it reaches the pre-climax and the climax sequence is one of the best works from Sukumar as it ends with a mind-blowing twist.