Rana Daggubati has chosen an interesting drama with the film Aranya. It is a trilingual project that is released in Tamil as Kaadan. However, the Hindi version which is titled Haathi Mere Saathi release has been stalled due to prevailing circumstances. Prabhu Solomon has directed Aranya which takes up a novice plot of human-animal conflict. The film got released today amid decent expectations.
Story: Narendra Bhupathi (Rana Daggubati) who is in his fifties firmly believes that an ecological balance should be maintained. He shares a great bond with the wild animals. Narendra Bhupathi was born and brought up in the Chilakalakona forest in Vizag. The problem arises when a forest officer (Ananth Mahadevan) plans to build a mega township amid the forest and also builds a 60 KM wall that prevents Elephants to go to their drinking premises.
The rest of the story is all about how Rana Daggubati stands ahead in this conflict and solves the huge problem.
Performances: Aranya can be said as Rana Daggubati’s one-man show. He has completely unlearned himself and we will see a new Rana Daggubati in this film. Rana Daggubati as Narendra Bhupathi has given a completely honest performance. Be it his looks or performance, Rana is excellent at giving out a completely new picture. He has given noteworthy performance in the climax sequences.
Vishnu Vishal has got a short role and he is okay. Ananth Mahadevan plays the baddie onscreen and his role is not etched well. The rest of the cast is fine in their limitations.
Technicalities: Aranya’s sound mixing should be given first praise. The sound mixing is so good that all the voices in the forest were captured very well. The music by Shantanu Moitra is excellent as well. The next technical aspect we should mention is the cinematography. The visuals are stunning. The visual effects are fine as well. Production values are excellent.
Prabhu Solomon has picked up an interesting storyline. He has taken a burning issue. The idea is fine but the execution falters big time. The narration is flat. There are some uninteresting subplots that can be avoided. They haven’t added any value.
Analysis: Keeping aside the brilliant technical aspects and Rana’s inspiring performance, Aranya has nothing much to offer. Prabhu Solomon has taken up a burning issue which is good and tried to be honest to the narration but the execution is not impressive at all. The climax sequence is not believable at all. Not realistic. Overall, Aranya is a not-so-appealing drama that you are looking out for.
Rating :2/5 ( Narration falls flat )
