Naa Saami Ranga

Naa Saami Ranga (transl. “My Goodness Gracious”) is a 2024 Telugu period action drama starring Nagarjuna, with Allari Naresh, Raj Tarun, Ashika Ranganath and Shabeer Kallarakkal. It is the directorial debut of choreographer Vijay Binni and an official adaptation of the 2019 Malayalam film Porinju Mariam Jose. It released on 14 January 2024 for Makar Sankranti and drew mixed-to-positive reviews. Our record lists a running time of 146 minutes.

What the story is about

The story opens in 1963 in the village of Ambajipeta. Kishtayya, an orphan, is taken in by his friend Anji and Anji’s mother, and the two boys grow up as brothers. When the mother dies, her creditor Varadaraju tries to take their house in repayment, until Peddayya, the village’s local leader, steps in and settles the debt, earning Kishtayya’s lifelong loyalty. Kishtayya also falls for Varadaraju’s daughter, Varalu.

By 1988 Kishtayya is still unmarried, living with Anji’s family and still in love with Varalu, who loves him back but will not marry him. When he steps in to protect a young villager, Bhaskar, from the men of a rival village headman over Bhaskar’s love for the headman’s daughter, he is drawn into a feud that comes to a head over the Sankranti festival. The rest is best left to the film.

Cast

• Nagarjuna as Kishtayya
• Allari Naresh as Anji, Kishtayya’s younger brother
• Raj Tarun as Bhaskar, Kishtayya’s friend
• Ashika Ranganath as Varamahalakshmi “Varalu”
• Mirnaa Menon as Manga, Anji’s wife
• Rukshar Dhillon as Kumari, Bhaskar’s love interest
• Nassar as Peddayya, Kishtayya’s father figure
• Shabeer Kallarakkal as Dasu, Peddayya’s youngest son
• Rao Ramesh as Varadaraju, Varalu’s father
• Madhusudan Rao as Veerabhadrudu, Kumari’s father
• Harsha Vardhan as SI Thirupatayya
• Shakalaka Shankar as Bhaskar’s brother-in-law

Crew and music

The original story is credited to Abhilash N. Chandran. M. M. Keeravani composed the songs and score, his 17th film with Nagarjuna; Dasaradhi Sivendra shot the film and Chota K. Prasad edited it. It was produced by Srinivasaa Silver Screen with Annapurna Studios. The Times of India, reporting on the sale of its non-theatrical rights, put the budget at ₹20 crore.

Reviews

Paul Nicodemus of The Times of India gave it 3.5/5 and called it “a triumphant comeback” for Nagarjuna in commercial cinema and “a wholesome family entertainer”. Neeshitha Nyayapati of Hindustan Times praised the music, acting and camerawork and called it “a no-nonsense rural drama”. OTTplay’s Avad Mohammed (3/5) found the story routine but the star cast, comedy, fights and colourful visuals enough for “a time-pass watch”. The least impressed was Vivek MV of The Hindu, who felt the remake “plays it safe and misses the point of the original”.

Where to watch Naa Saami Ranga

The film premiered on Disney+ Hotstar on 17 February 2024, about a month after its Sankranti release. Our OTT record takes that from the film’s Wikipedia article rather than a platform listing, so confirm on the app before watching.

Sources: the Wikipedia article on Naa Saami Ranga and the reviews and reports it cites, linked above; our own cast and crew records.