What do you expect when a director like SS Rajamouli who has made powerful movies like Magadheera, Simhadri, Chatrapathi and Vikramarkudu claims to make a totally different film?
What do you expect when the director chooses to make a movie with a comedian instead of his regular action heroes like NTR Junior, Prabhas, or Ravi Teja? What do you expect when in the trailer you see the hero stating he is unlike the earlier protagonists of SS Rajamouli?
With questions like these and many more, Maryada Ramanna has kept the Telugu movie fans awaiting its release. The movie which released all over the world last week definitely doesn’t disappoint.
SS Rajamouli portrays the traditions and hospitality of Rayalaseema, a different facet of the Seema that no director has ever thought of. Of course, these faction groups also retain their thirst for blood and vengeance which forms the basis of the movie.
Without ever getting preachy, the story shows how archaic and outdated the concepts of rivalry and revenge are through an interesting storyline that keeps you completely engaged. To convey such a message, a movie would need an actor who doesn’t carry the regular action hero image and the director rightly chose comedian Sunil to do the job.
Sunil plays Ramu whose father is killed in a faction group brawl in Kadapa and his mother brings him up in Hyderabad, away from all the blood and gore of Kadapa.
Twenty-eight years later, Ramu comes back to Kadapa to sell the land and make some money that he desperately needs. However he is awestruck when he discovers that the rival group who killed his father is still waiting to kill him.
Ramu accidentally knocks on the door of the rival group head Ramineedu (Nagineedu) asking him for help to sell his land. Ramineedu gives him a warm reception before he realises that Ramu is the son of his enemy who had killed his brother.
Ramineedu believes in traditions and considers it inappropriate to kill an enemy who is a guest in his house. Ramineedu and his sons try to get Ramu out of the house so that they can kill him. Realising this, Ramu tries his best to stay in the house making one pretext after another.
Ramineedu’s daughter Aparna (Saloni) who meets Ramu on their way to Kadapa thinks that Ramu is trying to stay back as he is in love with her. The cat and mouse race between Ramineedu, his sons and Ramu keeps you engaged before you realise that the Ramu finally steps out of the house and the movie reaches its climax.
The climax is perhaps the only drawback in the entire movie as the director opts to take the clichéd path of emotions and love.
Sunil perfectly fits the bill as the innocent guy who comes back to sell his land and make money. This is a very good role for Saloni and she excels as the girl who falls for Ramu. Newcomer Nagineedu who plays the patriarch of the enemy camp is impressive and Brahmaji does a good job as Aparna’s cousin.
Some scenes like the one revolving around Ramu’s old cycle make up for the lack of a separate comedy track.
Music by M.M. Keeravani is good with the songs Raye Saloni and Ammayi Kitiki Pakkana standing out.
Overall, Maryada Ramanna is a whiff of fresh air that keeps the viewers engaged and offers them clean entertainment. SS Rajamouli emerges a winner showing that he can make good movies without huge budgets and big star cast.
Critic: Raghu Chaitanya
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