Oct 08, 2026 7:58pm IST

‘Ranabaali’ Trailer: Vijay Deverakonda Huffs, Puffs and Looks Bloody Menacing, But Doesn’t Make An Impact

Urmimala Banerjee

Senior News Editor

The trailer of “Ranabaali” is out. Vijay Deverakonda, Rashmika Mandanna and Arnold Vosloo’s movie is coming to theaters on Oct. 16. A period drama, the movie traces the revolt of a local ruler against the oppression of the British when a famine had made life difficult for Indians in South India. The trailer begins with a touch of divinity and mythology, something we are seeing in every second film in current times. This is the introduction to the legendary warrior, Ranabaali played by Vijay Deverakonda. The opening is eye-catching with its suspense, glimpses of native culture and a production design that does justice to the setting and milieu. 

Period epics are supposed to take audiences on an emotional ride along with serving action, drama and a scale that enthralls. “Ranabaali” seems to have the scale and action but there is no emotional hook whatsoever. Vijay Deverakonda has a deadly stare but it lacks the dread the character is supposed to inspire.

Rashmika Mandanna as Jayamma serves a cuteness that is similar to what she has done in multiple films. The banter seems totally out of place given that it is a film about a king who is on a mission. 
 

There is a lot of gore and some of it should make viewers flinch. From throwing a baby into a cauldron of boiling water to beheadings in a marketplace, the makers are true to the current template of tentpole films. Even the gore fails to engage as the leading man and villain come across as hugely caricaturish. In fact, Arnold Vosloo will remind you of the baddies of masala movies of the 1980s and 1990s. “Ranabaali” is a commercial entertainer so the mass elements are understandable. However, the intensity is sorely lacking for what is positioned as a movie celebrating revolution, valor and courage. 

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