Rama Rao on Duty movie review – off-track duty

Starring: Ravi Teja, Divyansha Kaushik, Rajisha Vijayan, Venu Thottempudi.
Director: Sarath Mandava
Producer: Sudhakar Cherukuri
Music Director: Sam C. S.

Mass Maharaja Ravi Teja has come up with a new movie Rama Rao on Duty. The movie’s promos are promising. Ravi Teja looked confident about the product. Let us see how the movie is.

Story:
Rama Rao on Duty is set up in the 90s. Rama Rao (Ravi Teja) is a deputy collector who works as MRO on deputation. One day, he meets her ex-girlfriend (Rajisha Vijayan) who says that her husband has gone missing and seeks his help. Rama Rao decides to dig deeper and finds some shocking truth. It is all related to Red Sanders smuggling. What does CI Murali (Venu Tottempudi) have to do with it?

Can Rama Rao do justice to the victims? Who are the actual culprits?

Performances:
Firstly, this is not Ravi Teja’s cup of tea. We have seen him in energetic roles and we are accustomed to that. It is hard to see Ravi Teja in a subtle role. Though he does his best, we can’t digest Ravi Teja in such a dull role. He is sincere in his approach though.

Both the heroines Rajisha Vijayan and Divyansha Kaushik have too little to do in the movie. They are alright. Venu Tottempudi’s role looked promising but had no substance. Nasser, Rahul Ramakrishna, Naresh, Pavitra Lokesh, Tanikella Bharani, Prithvi, and others have performed on a decent note. John Vijay who played the antagonist hasn’t got a strong role.

Technicalities:
The music by Sam CS is alright. His songs are passable but haven’t been placed correctly in the movie which hampers the flow. Especially, the songs in the second half. His BGM is remarkable. The editing could have been a lot better as the uneven narration gives us the lag feeling. It can be crispier.

The cinematography work is fine. The visuals are decent. The production values are okay. Coming to the director, Sharat Mandava has taken up an issue and tried to narrate it in an honest manner. The problem is he tried to balance a mass hero-like image of Ravi Teja in this content-driven role. Sadly, Sharat Mandava couldn’t do justice to both aspects. The dialogues could have been a lot better.

Analysis:
The uneven narration is the major drawback of this serious drama. Ravi Teja looks lost in this film. His image is wasted. Everything in the movie is dull and boring. Rama Rao on Duty has nothing to offer even for the fans as Ravi Teja has underplayed his character a lot.

Rating: 2/5