Narappa Review: This engaging movie is immersive from start to finish- a story centered around Narappa (Venkatesh) and his family’s overwhelming challenges to protect their farming land from a land greedy businessman Panduswami (Aadukalam Naren). While most of the villagers succumb to Panduswami, Narappa’s creates agony for him as he refuses to part with his land.
Narappa is a master in maneuvering difficult situations, however, his elder son Munikanna (well played by Karthik Rathnam) won’t to bow down to the bully. Munikanna’s rightful demand for respect and right to life is too much to ask for in a village, where a person’s worth is decided based on his or her caste.
Munikanna’s resistance is met with brute force and cruelty and Narraapa’s cry for justice falls on deaf ears. When police, village elders, and courts fail to give justice to his family, Narappa accepts his fate and tries to move on to ensure the safety of his other children. His younger son Sinabba (Rakhi), however, is not ready to accept this injustice like his father. His impulsive act, where he tries to mete justice his own way, puts his entire family in danger. It falls on Narraapa’s shoulder to protect his son — he can either continue to play meek or wake up the sleeping monster inside him.
Narappa is brilliant like Asuran and Venky Mama is a fan’s delight
Narappa, which is the official remake of Tamil hit Asuran, is brilliantly presented by Srikanth’s and he has leveraged the skill of his lead actor Venkatesh to lead the story in a compelling manner. Even the other characters and performance of actors in the film are quite brilliant and set the tone of the film from beginning to the end.
Narappa thrives in its rustic and raw setting. The terrain in the movies lends a lot of charm to the narrative. The vast forest, cliffs and arid land play a crucial role in the chase and escape.
Watch Narappa online here
Beginning with the basic premise that deals with the evils of a caste-driven society, and exploitation of lower castes, and acts of unwarranted violence, the director has kept the integrity and remained faithful to the original. And that’s what Srikanth film is so enjoyable to watch. Venkatesh as always leaves a terrific impact and his fans would love to watch their hero deliver yet another brilliant film.
The performances of everyone in the film adds to Narappa’s brilliance. Venkatesh as an impressive middle-aged man keen to save his family, Rao Ramesh brings to life a lawyer advocating social change, and as ever Nasser, blends in beautifully. Ammu Abhirami and Aadukalam Naren play their parts from the original, both doing their best to replicate emotions as before.
Priyamani as the fiery Sundaramma is predictably good, her grief and flashes of anger equally believable. Karthik Rathnam and Rakhi as the two sons also hold their own, making us care about this family and its fate.
Narappa is the Telugu remake of Vetri Maaran’s 2019 film Asuran, one of Dhanush’s biggest hits and a film that led to a lot of debate and conversation around land rights, caste and oppression. While the film was hailed for presenting the ugly reality of caste, it was also criticised for glorifying violence on screen and elaborately showing the humiliation of already marginalised groups. The remake, directed by Srikanth Addala, comes two years later and one is left asking why it had to be made at all.
Narappa is streaming currently in Amazon Prime. It is worth watching.