Rana Naidu
Rana Naidu is an Indian action crime drama television series on Netflix directed by Karan Anshuman and Suparn Verma. On 19 April 2023, the show was renewed for a second season.
Production
Development
The series was officially announced on 21 September 2021 by Netflix media press release.Filming
Principal photography commenced from October 2021. The series was officially wrapped up shooting in May 2022.Marketing
In September 2021, a short clip from the series was released from the Netflix Tudum event. The series official teaser was released in September 2022. The official released on February 15, 2023.Release
The series is streaming on Netflix from March 10, 2023, in both Hindi and Telugu languages.Reception
Sangeetha Devi Dundoo for The Hindu wrote "Beneath all that dressing up of sex, alcohol and expletives, Rana Naidu has an undercurrent of pathos. Cinematographer Jayakrishna Gummadi uses warm and dark tones to accentuate the grim atmosphere, aided by John Stewart Eduri's background score."Raghu Bandi for The Indian Express wrote "The overall story-broken family working hard to come together-actually suits Indian sensibilities. But the way it is treated is not to everyone's taste."
Saibal Chatterjee for NDTV rated 2.5 stars out of 5 and wrote "As a series of ten episodes of an average of 50 minutes each, it had the potential for significant tonal variations. A lot of it remains unrealised because the show never quite breaks into a canter. Parts of Rana Naidu are monotonous."
Deepa Gahlot saw a mix of violence and sex in the series and wrote for Rediff.com in her review "Profane language is now par for the course for series about gangsters and a liberal sprinkling of cuss words do not even register anymore. But even so, the overuse of the 'G' word is simply annoying."
Vijayalakshmi Narayanan for The Free Press Journal rated the series 1 star out of 5 and wrote "With cusswords and sexually explicit scenes hitting you like a ton of bricks, you'd have to wonder how 'Rana Naidu' was approved for viewing despite 'College Romance', a relatively harmless show about youngsters, facing a legal notice from the Delhi High Court for 'obscene and vulgar' language."
Deep Haider of India Today rated the series 2.5 stars out of 5 and wrote "Rana Naidu could have been a welcome relief from the worldwide wokeness that has afflicted our creative spaces. It does not."
Udita Jhunjhunwala of Scroll.in wrote "It appears as though the creators directed Rana Daggubati to be one-note. If so, he's aced it. He rarely smiles and barely gives his rage a break. In the moments when Rana Naidu quietly, but visibly, masks his judgement or extends a compassionate gesture, you feel a connection with him, but briefly."
Haricharan Pudipeddi for Hindustan Times wrote "Rana Naidu takes the whole family dynamics and gives it a sinister twist. Here's a family that's more flawed than one can even imagine."
Sanchita Jhunjhunwala of Zoom TV rated the series 4 stars out of 5 and wrote "A well written and directed series is one which has a balance of what it tells us it has to offer. As a crime drama, there's just enough crime going on and at the same time, there's also a lot of drama - be it the family, the kids, or the politics, among other things."