With the stamp of a commercial potboiler written all over it, Ram Charan’s Rangasthalam makes no bones about not being different or epic. At the heart of it, it’s a commercial film about the hero’s fight against a corrupt village president.

With not much to tell in a single film for 180 minutes, Rangasthalam spends a lot on establishing the characters, dwelling into a conflict and then diving into a denouement. The foreplay takes a long time before arriving at the sweet spot of the screenplay. At more than 2 hours 55 mins, the film is on the longer side. Quite a few elaborate sentimental scenes need chopping especially in the first half, which drags a bit. You can’t help but feel like watching two long movies at a stretch.

However, the interjection of one or two super-exciting scenes keeps the audience interested. A mass film fan might have wanted a couple of more action blocks. Exploiting Ram Charan and his vitalities to the fullest, director Sukumar provides a drama driven mass entertainer. Ram Charan wears his action garb with consummate elegance. He plays Chitti Babu, a carefree, partially deaf young man. This surely counts as one of Charan’s finest performances, mostly for his body language and the slang. If not for his efforts, it’s doubtful if Rangasthalam would have been half as good.

Sukumar has utilised his core team very well. Not just Ram Charan, even Samantha, Aadhi Pinisetty and Jagapati Babu have been put to good use through interesting character detailing and placing. Samantha gets to don a bold and rooted village girl, something we have never seen her play before. Though one might feel, her slang doesn’t match her looks at first, she soon makes up with her acting expertise.