Raana (2022) [Hindi-Kannada]

Raana an aspiring Police Office enters Bengaluru City. He’s all set to marry Priya. Kapaali is killed under mysterious circumstances. Raana is blamed. He sets out to find the real killer.

Raana (Shreyas Manju), an aspiring police officer, is hustling as a cab driver in Bengaluru. His world revolves around his girlfriend Priya (Reeshma Nanaiah) and a few friends (played by Ashok and Girish Shivanna) as he awaits a document clearance from the police department. Kapali (Mutant Raghu) and Soori (Mohan Dhanraj) are the city dons. When Kapali gets attacked mysteriously, it leaves Soori enraged and on the lookout for the culprit. Raana accidentally gets caught in the crossfire.
Review: Aspiring cop and cab driver Raana accidentally crosses paths with underworld dons Kapali and Soori. Soori uncovers the weapon used to attack Kapali inside Raana’s cab. Soori now wants to avenge the attack on Kapali by killing Raana. Priya insists he stay off the radar for a while. But Raana returns to the city only to find out that the notorious don is still on the lookout for him.
Will Raana escape? Will he secure his dream job as a police officer? Will Soori discover who actually attacked Kapali? The answers to these questions form the crux of the story.
The film, directed by Nanda Kishore, is, however, a typical run-of-the-mill story with cliched narrative, fights, stunts, and dialogue. The same old tale of friends coming to the rescue of the hero while he asks his lover to leave the city and other predictable twists at the end make the film flimsy. The cinematography, however, is a big blessing. So is the music by Chandan Shetty, which adds tempo to the screenplay.
Samyukta Hegde’s item number is a visual treat, but it feels misplaced. The action choreography at some places is brilliant, but the movie fails to bring in any novelty points.
Shreyas’s performance, albeit good, could have been better. Reeshma doesn’t have much of a role in the film aside from being the hero’s love interest. Kote Prabhakar plays an important part, but Ugramm Manju’s cameo appearance doesn’t add much value. Most of Raana’s cast members have given an average performance.