What’s
unforgiving
about
Season
two
is
the
way
the
ever-so-entertaining
Venkatesh
Daggubati
is
under-utilised,
complains
Mayur
Sanap.
I
didn’t
mind
the
first
season
of
Rana
Naidu.
As
the
Indian
adaptation
of
the
American
show
Ray
Donovan,
it
was
an
interesting
mix
of
stylish
thriller
and
‘mass
cinema’
energy,
with
a
flashy
acting
showcase
for
Rana
Daggubati
and
Venkatesh
Daggubati.
The
Daggubatis
are
back
as
the
Naidus,
an
estranged
father-son
duo
who
shares
a
love-hate
relationship.
The
sequel
is
just
as
flashy.
If
the
first
season
was
all
about
fighting
with
the
family,
Rana
Naidu
2
is
about
protecting
that
family.
In
a
welcoming
change,
the
overkill
of
cusswords
and
sexually
explicit
scenes
are
toned-down.
Yet,
Rana
Naidu
2
ends
up
being
a
downer
mess
despite
a
very
good
cast
doing
their
best
to
hold
it
together.
The
show
picks
up
where
we
left
off
in
the
last
season.
After
parting
ways
with
OB
Mahajan
(Rajesh
Jais),
Rana
(Rana
Daggubati)
promises
his
wife
Naina
(Surveen
Chawla)
to
give
up
his
life
as
‘fixer’
—
a
one-stop
solution
for
the
richie
rich
to
clean
up
their
dirty
deeds.
Things
get
sinister
when
Rana’s
past
enemy
Rauf
Mirza
(Arjun
Rampal)
returns
and
haunts
him
for
their
old
beef.
This
pushes
Rana
to
go
back
to
his
old
ways.
He
strikes
a
deal
with
Alia
Oberoi
(Kriti
Kharbanda),
a
savvy
business
mind
who
bids
for
a
cricket
team
to
start
over
from
her
family’s
loss-making
film
business.
This
strains
her
relationship
with
her
father
(Rajat
Kapoor)
and
brother
(Tanuj
Virwani).
At
home,
Rana
is
confronted
by
Naina
about
the
suspicion
of
his
affair
with
Alia.
The
growing
detachment
makes
Naina
confide
in
her
friend
Naveen
(Dino
Morea),
who
comes
with
his
own
ulterior
motive.
There
are
also
Rana’s
brothers
Tej
(Sushant
Singh)
dealing
with
his
past
and
Jaffa
(the
scene-stealing
Abhishek
Banerjee)
trying
to
find
his
feet.
If
Rana
Naidu
had
a
mostly
linear
stortyline
focusing
on
the
father-son
dynamic,
Season
two
packs
multiple
plot
threads
that
connect
to
the
central
narrative
of
Rauf’s
threat
for
Rana.
But
the
writing
is
decidedly
mediocre.
Karan
Anshuman,
and
co-directors
Suparn
S
Varma
and
Abhay
Chopra
go
after
a
tired
premise
with
all-too-familiar
elements
of
suspicion,
scheming,
and
vengeance.
It
is
stylish
and
visually
impressive
throughout,
but
at
eight
episodes
of
an
average
of
50
minutes
each,
it
feels
mostly
an
empty
exercise
of
style
over
substance
without
the
necessary
dramatic
cohesion
to
keep
us
engaged.
Rana
Daggubati
is
once
again
solid
as
the
protagonist
of
the
show,
but
he
is
achingly
one-note
without
any
new
layers
or
revelations
to
his
character.
Arjun
Rampal
is
suitably
deadpan
as
the
baddie
who
shows
no
remorse,
no
ache.
The
most
enjoyable
of
all
is
Kriti
Kharbanda’s
scheming
woman
who
is
just
so
nonchalant
about
her
nasty
ways.
‘Maine
aaj
tak
tumhare
jaise
kamina
nahin
dekha,’
A
character,
who
just
got
deceived,
says
to
her.
She
retorts,
‘Kamini,
sir,
kamini.
Get
your
gender
right.’
It’s
a
delicious
character
and
Kriti
plays
her
with
complete
relish.
What’s
unforgiving
about
Season
two
is
the
way
the
ever-so-entertaining
Venkatesh
Daggubati
is
under-utilised.
The
senior
Daggubati
gets
into
his
brazen,
brassy
mode
as
Naga
Naidu,
but
his
character
fizzles
out
in
the
proceedings,
offering
barely
anything
of
value
in
this
season,
leaving
a
sense
of
letdown.
Rana
Naidu
Season
2
streams
on
Netflix.
Rana
Naidu
Season
2
Review
Rediff
Rating:
