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Showing 9 Reviews
List of Rann Reviews
Ratings:2/5 Reviewer:Rajeev Masand Site:IBNLive
For a film set within the world of television news, Rann is embarrassingly ill-researched and contains plot holes the size of craters. Varma threatens to expose the politics of television news, but with his simplistic, misguided approach his film ends up just as sensational as the very channels he points fingers at. Rann is not so much a bad film as it is a boring, predictable one. Varma and his writers borrow the Madhur Bhandarkar-blueprint and give us uni-dimensional characters who are either black or white, seldom grey. Although the film's portrayal of a certain kind of Hindi news journalism may not be far from the truth, it is the film's lazy stereotyping that is tiresome here.What ultimately comes in the way of Rann achieving the potential of its premise is the over-use of cliché in the absence of original writing.I'm going with two of five for Ramgopal Varma's Rann; it's not even average stuff from a filmmaker who's given us so much more. Can we have the old Ramgopal Varma back please?Visit Site or More
Ratings:4/5 Reviewer:Nikhat Kazmi Site:TimesOfIndia
It's gritty. It's grey. And it's greatly topical too. Ram Gopal Varma returns to his let's-dissect-the-real-world brand of cinema with the racy-pacy Rann that might run on predictable lines, nevertheless it makes for a gripping viewing with its behind-the-scenes dekko on the Breaking News, any which way, syndrome that seems to have overtaken certain sections of the media. And, like Satya, Company and Sarkar, which re-visited India's mighty 'n murky underworld through the lens of edgy semi-realism, Rann too rips off the mask of honest reportage from the TRP-obsessed television media that has fallen prey to presenting anything -- mythology, folklore, fantasy and even falsehood -- as news.Where it does score is the way it tells the story: thriller-like, taut and testy. More importantly, it's the performances that pump life and blood into the characters you recognise, lock, stock and barrel.Visit Site or More
Ratings:3.5/5 Reviewer:Taran Adarsh Site:BollywoodHungama
RGV goes into the newsrooms and also behind it and throws light on the politician-industrialist-media nexus. Also, it's an insider's account of how news channels that are greedy for ratings sensationalize stories to grab eyeballs.RANN is a serious film and RGV knows what he's talking this time. It wouldn't be erroneous to state that you recall RGV's SARKAR while watching RANN, even though the two films are as diverse as chalk and cheese. You recall SARKAR because RANN is an equally powerful film that shows a world we've only seen from the exterior. RANN is for those who enjoy serious cinema. It's more for the intelligentsia, for the thinking viewer. Definitely not for those who seek refuge in frivolous masala capers.Visit Site or More
Ratings:2/5 Reviewer:Sukanya Verma Site:Rediff
What can you say about a film where the only thing in place is Amitabh Bachchan's perfectly knotted tie? Also, while Ramu's criticism on sensationalist media is pertinent and understandable, the concern is executed with such superficial, amateurish and half-baked views, it's cringe-worthyThere are a couple of moments in Rann involving a seemingly anonymous call to super tense Sudeep or Big B coming to terms with the humiliating truth about his son are reminiscent of vintage Varma, Then again, a messy climax, witless and uninspired writing and shoddy, detail-free narrative ensure these memories are washed out as soon as they are formed.Visit Site or More
Ratings:2.5/5 Reviewer:Gaurav Malani Site:Indiatimes
To be honest (like the film demands), Rann is not a new story but the news battle setting saves it from getting run-of-the-mill. Rather than a story designed around the media world, Rann is more of the clichéd corrupt politician chronicle (that Bollywood has been narrating since ages) set on the backdrop of the broadcasting business. Though writer Rohit Banawlikar pens some intense dramatic sequences which are deftly directed by Ram Gopal Varma, Rann relies on a very predictable plot. Further the film opts for the most conservative and convenient culmination with a sting operation in the climax. The film does run out of steam, sporadically, in the second half but otherwise Rann is a riveting drama.Visit Site or More
Ratings:2.5/5 Reviewer:Sonia Chopra Site:Sify
Here the tone is self-serious and dark, and the message lost in all the intensity. One is angrier with the film perhaps, because, the subject is so relevant. And Ram Gopal Varma really had a chance to make a film that could carry its message to the film-watching public. Instead, you have black and white characters comprising the usual clique of the righteous man, the villainous politician, and supportive love interest. The film does have its moments. The portions that snatch credibility away from the film are many.The second half has so many characters thrown around, it’s difficult to keep track of the story that has now gone into whodunit mode.The most poignant of all scenes, the finale monologue, has earned the film its stars.Visit Site or More
Ratings:3.5/5 Reviewer:Shweta Parande Site:Buzz18
Of the many films made on the media and its functioning, Rann will go down as one of the best ones. Ram Gopal Varma has brought to life a predictable but powerful script, backed by extremely talented actors and technicians. But the director has taken many cinematic liberties.Rann is serious from the beginning, so the first half is a bit of a drag, when the plot is being established. But post interval, the film is truly gripping. The world of media is depicted more from of what probably director Ram Gopal Varma as well as you and me have observed as viewers. It is not necessarily a well-researched film, but inspired from real happenings a la RGV's Satya or Company.Ram Gopal Varma brings us yet another gripping drama in the league of Sarkar and Sarkar Raj. The performances definitely make up for the flaws in the story. Also watch out for some good scenes and camera angles.Visit Site or More
Ratings:2/5 Reviewer:Aniruddha Guha Site:DNA
The problem with Rann is that, save that one sequence and some interesting moments leading up to it, the film is a drag. At interval point, in fact, you aren't even sure where the film's going. In the second half, when you find out where the film is going, you realise that it isn't really going anywhere at all.If he insists on continuing with his style of filmmaking, the least he can do is ensure that there's a great script to back it up. This one, though, seems to be a rush job.Visit Site or More
Rann just doesn't work.
Ratings:2/5 Reviewer:Anupama Chopra Site:NDTV
Raan is poorly written, badly researched, and deafeningly sensationalist. Rann had the potential to be powerful drama but Varma and his writer Rohit G. Banawlikar fritter away the opportunity with cardboard characters and feeble plotting. There aren't any flesh and blood people here, just types with one defining trait. The narrative is equally flat and full of football-size loopholes. The shrill dialogue doesn't help matters much. Subtlety is not this film's forte.Visit Site or More
