Ramba Oorvasi Menaka Movie Review

Devilokam, Yamalokam, and socio-fantasy backdrops are nothing new to Telugu cinema. But as times change, the tastes of audiences also change. Keeping aside the trends of this generation, the film that has come to the screen with a story from around fifty years ago is Ramba Oorvasi Menaka. Suribabu (Allari Naresh) from Rajahmundry has a magic book from his grandfather’s time at home. His uncle (Naresh Vijayakrishna) believes that if a proper rangoli is drawn on it, Rambha, Urvashi, and Menaka will descend from Indralokam and fulfill all the wishes. Suri, who has the dream of becoming a drama artist and keeps going around the town taking loans, has been trying to bring those celestial beauties for twenty-five years.

In this process, his childhood classmate Chinni (Surabhi), who comes as an orphanage warden, gets introduced, while local police inspector Appala Naidu (Taraka Ponnappa) troubles Suri because he cannot tolerate the affection she shows towards Suri. At the same time, Suri’s mother falls ill, and the story progresses amid such dramatic developments. So, did those three celestial beauties really appear? Did they help Suri overcome his difficulties or push him into more troubles? The rest of the story is about that.

Positive Points :

Allari Naresh’s Timing: Despite doing diverse roles, Allari Naresh has shown his mark when it comes to comedy timing. The way he carried the character of ‘Suri’ even in serious situations, and the effort he put into the mother sentiment scenes that come towards the end, are a plus for the film.

Naresh – VK Combination Comedy: VK Naresh, who entertains with characters similar to Pelli Kani Prasad, has a few scenes with Allari Naresh that bring good laughs in theatres, along with his dialogues and expressions.

Some Entertaining Scenes: The way Suri’s character is established at the beginning of the film, the comedy that revolves around the magic book, and some fun scenes that follow after the celestial beauties come down from Indralokam to Earth feel okay.

Performance of Technical Team: The background score provided by Chaitan Bharadwaj feels decent. Ram Reddy’s camera work is good, and he has showcased the locations attractively with very natural visuals. The production values maintained by Rajesh Danda and Nimmakagalla Prasad are rich.

Negative Points :

Outdated Storyline: Director Chandramohan Chintada has made this film by taking routine elements from socio-fantasy films that have been seen many times in the past. Today’s generation audience is not interested in watching such old-fashioned stories.

Weak Narration: The biggest weakness of the film is its narration. The director completely failed to write enough magic into the fantasy point he chose and a treatment that provides laughs throughout.

Underwhelming Title Roles: Raashi Singh, Vishnupriya Bheemineni, and Prisha Singh, who played the divine beauties descending from Indralokam, fail to impress in any way. Instead of making them look like celestial beauties, the way those characters are presented feels as if they were selected for recording dances in the climax.

Boring Second Half: Although the first half somehow moves along, the second half causes severe boredom for the audience. Unnecessary stretched-out scenes and silly drama make the screenplay move very slowly.

Final Verdict:

A few comedy scenes that bring laughs here and there, along with the performances of Allari Naresh and VK Naresh, are the saving graces of this film. However, the uninteresting narration and boring screenplay damage the film’s result. For those looking for regular commercial entertainers, this film provides a moderate time-pass.

Tagline: An outdated fantasy experiment.. a boring time machine!