In 2018, director Venkatesh Maha made an unprecedented foray into Telugu cinema. C/o KancharapalemOne of the best films of the decade in the industry. after uma maheshwar fierce form and one more episode Modern Love HyderabadThe filmmaker is back Rao Bahadur – A film that Mahesh Babu and Namrata Shirodkar saw enough potential to present. It was released in theaters on 3 July.

Bhuvanam Ramappa Rao Bahadur (Satyadev) hails from a royal family, but is battling liver cancer and psychological disorders in his last days. His doctors are amazed – it is not possible for a late-stage cancer patient who is also an alcoholic to survive this long. His wife Renuka (Deepa Thomas) has been confined to a room for eight years since the death of their second son, Kusumappa.

Fed up with grief, Ramappa has taken hold of the bottle and has lost touch with reality, retreating into his own world. He confides his feelings to his closest friend and family doctor Narayanachari (Vikas Muppala). His elder son Lavanna and domestic help Achchamma (Bala Parasara) are worried about his deteriorating health. But something inside is eating him alive. What happened to his second son? Why doesn’t Renuka come out of that room?

Rao Bahadur Announces its quirks from the very first frame. Set between 1968 and 1991, the film moves through Ramappa’s life – his royal lineage, his ascent to princely status, his love life, his crime and his grief. Venkatesh Maha has constructed the film like a theatrical production, and the magical realism layered through it makes for rich and visually distinctive cinema.

That said, the dramatic setup and magical realism won’t be everyone’s cup of tea. The first half is deliberately rushed – almost deliberately so – and may test your patience. It is only at the intermission that the central conflict is fully revealed, and that’s when Rao Bahadur Really finds its footing. Once that happens, the film deliberately uses its strangeness to deliver a sharp commentary on society’s obsession with lineage, skin colour, oppression and privilege.

Venkatesh Maha pushed the envelope Rao Bahadur – An experimental Telugu film that makes genuine social commentary without being preachy. The messages hit home because they are implicit in the story rather than given in it, and this restraint is the film’s greatest strength.

See also

Entertainment

Exclusive: Aamir Khan, Rajkumar Hirani’s 3 Idiots tentatively titled 4 Idiots, makers look for fourth lead

Whether it’s enough to attract a wide audience is a different question. Experimental films of this nature rarely get the crowd they deserve, and Rao Brave There is no exception. What it does have is a charming central performance from Satyadev, who carries the film almost entirely on his shoulders through multiple looks and a wide emotional register. It’s as much a showcase for them as it is a story.

The runtime is the most glaring flaw of the film – it could have been tightened up a lot to get the message across with more force. The story takes a long time to unravel and by the time it does, some of the impact has been lost. Deepa Thomas, Bala Parasara and Vikas Muppala in their supporting roles keep the slow-paced proceedings steady and interesting.

Rao Bahadur is an honest and bold attempt at art cinema within the Telugu film industry. Its shortcomings are real, but so are its ambitions – and in an industry that rarely bets on movies like this, that alone puts it a step ahead.