Believe it or not, we’ve almost had time travel movies as long as we’ve just had the ability to craft the motion picture.
Now, of course, that’s a bit of an exaggeration. My point is that time travel – in one form or another – has been around in the cinema for well over a century now; and – in that respect – storytellers have tried to plumb the highs and lows of, say, going to sleep in one era while waking up in another. From 1921’s silent era adaptation of A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur’s Court all the way up to the big, big, big crowd-pleasing Back To The Future (1985), audiences have embraced the idea of taking a trip through the years. Why, even the once great BBC franchise of Doctor Who and NBC’s Quantum Leap (both iterations) have aptly demonstrated that there’s ample wiggle room to spin just about any conceivable yarn. So long as scripters can come up with something to say about it, I suspect time travel will remain popular for the foreseeable future; and I’m always on the lookout for some new twist on the old formula to make its way into our collective consciousness.
Still, without belaboring the point, 2024’s Rani Rani Rani may not exactly be that next big thing when it comes to clock-watching. Written and directed for the screen by Rajaram Rajendran, the flick does try to apply the mechanics of temporal manipulation to a decidedly more blue-collar construct: our lead heroine is little more than the average housewife stricken with a kinda/sorta do-nothing husband (in ill health, I might add) who initially wants nothing more than peace of mind in her marital relations. It would seem that the Time Gods had something a bit more elaborate on the agenda, and she finds herself a one crossroad after another in an attempt to right a few things that went awry all in the scope of a matter of minutes.
To everyone’s credit, Rani Rani Rani certainly makes great use of its best asset: actress Tannishtha Chatterjee is a delight to behold, delivering a likeable hausfrau who won’t take no for an answer even at the risk of her own life and liberty.
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters. If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last few paragraphs for the final assessment. If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
From the film’s IMDB.com page citation:
“For Rani, the caretaker at an abandoned factory, in an almost-abandoned Indian village, it’s just an ordinary day, trapped in a struggle for survival between a feckless husband on one hand, and his brother and ruthless sister-in-law on the other. But when she happens upon a group of opportunists seeking to prove the efficacy of their mysteriously-acquired device to a potential buyer, her fortunes seem set to change. All they need is a ‘volunteer,’ and for a small sum of cash she’s lured into their machine. While she emerges seemingly unscathed, a violent turn of events makes Rani realize that changing the trajectory of her life might just be a matter of a second chance, or a third – or maybe just a little more time.”
I’ve often said that the dirty little secret for me when it comes to uncorking yet one more project requiring time travel is that I, too, wish I had that ability … if for no other reason that I could dip back a few minutes and erase some of what was wasted on an inferior idea.
Of course, I don’t mean that as an insult to anyone involved with Rani Rani Rani. While I stand by those words – that there is a huge, huge, huge amount of unnecessary bloat to this one’s nearly 100-minute running time – I can still attest to the fact that when the movie found its proper groove here and there, it worked just fine. The problem remains that those high points are too far apart, heavily spaced out over long sequences of little more than Rani (as played by Chatterjee) walking from one location to the next.
Seriously: there is a L-O-T of walking in this picture.
Now, of course, that’s a bit of an exaggeration. My point is that time travel – in one form or another – has been around in the cinema for well over a century now; and – in that respect – storytellers have tried to plumb the highs and lows of, say, going to sleep in one era while waking up in another. From 1921’s silent era adaptation of A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur’s Court all the way up to the big, big, big crowd-pleasing Back To The Future (1985), audiences have embraced the idea of taking a trip through the years. Why, even the once great BBC franchise of Doctor Who and NBC’s Quantum Leap (both iterations) have aptly demonstrated that there’s ample wiggle room to spin just about any conceivable yarn. So long as scripters can come up with something to say about it, I suspect time travel will remain popular for the foreseeable future; and I’m always on the lookout for some new twist on the old formula to make its way into our collective consciousness.
Still, without belaboring the point, 2024’s Rani Rani Rani may not exactly be that next big thing when it comes to clock-watching. Written and directed for the screen by Rajaram Rajendran, the flick does try to apply the mechanics of temporal manipulation to a decidedly more blue-collar construct: our lead heroine is little more than the average housewife stricken with a kinda/sorta do-nothing husband (in ill health, I might add) who initially wants nothing more than peace of mind in her marital relations. It would seem that the Time Gods had something a bit more elaborate on the agenda, and she finds herself a one crossroad after another in an attempt to right a few things that went awry all in the scope of a matter of minutes.
To everyone’s credit, Rani Rani Rani certainly makes great use of its best asset: actress Tannishtha Chatterjee is a delight to behold, delivering a likeable hausfrau who won’t take no for an answer even at the risk of her own life and liberty.
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters. If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last few paragraphs for the final assessment. If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
From the film’s IMDB.com page citation:
“For Rani, the caretaker at an abandoned factory, in an almost-abandoned Indian village, it’s just an ordinary day, trapped in a struggle for survival between a feckless husband on one hand, and his brother and ruthless sister-in-law on the other. But when she happens upon a group of opportunists seeking to prove the efficacy of their mysteriously-acquired device to a potential buyer, her fortunes seem set to change. All they need is a ‘volunteer,’ and for a small sum of cash she’s lured into their machine. While she emerges seemingly unscathed, a violent turn of events makes Rani realize that changing the trajectory of her life might just be a matter of a second chance, or a third – or maybe just a little more time.”
I’ve often said that the dirty little secret for me when it comes to uncorking yet one more project requiring time travel is that I, too, wish I had that ability … if for no other reason that I could dip back a few minutes and erase some of what was wasted on an inferior idea.
Of course, I don’t mean that as an insult to anyone involved with Rani Rani Rani. While I stand by those words – that there is a huge, huge, huge amount of unnecessary bloat to this one’s nearly 100-minute running time – I can still attest to the fact that when the movie found its proper groove here and there, it worked just fine. The problem remains that those high points are too far apart, heavily spaced out over long sequences of little more than Rani (as played by Chatterjee) walking from one location to the next.
Seriously: there is a L-O-T of walking in this picture.
And that’s the greatest downside to anyone stumbling into this time-bending caper: it’s been done elsewhere, it’s been done better, and it truly brings nothing new to the situation or circumstances.
This isn’t to say that writer/director Rajendran didn’t try. He pads the slim procedural here and there with small scenes that might not exactly move things along efficiently but occasionally look as if they’re meant to flesh out the crew of ‘scientists’ and ‘businessmen’ hoping to exploit this new technology to whatever profitable ends they can achieve. There’s even a big morality speech late in the picture, one that shows the filmmaker didn’t want to take advantage of fringe science without questioning the dangers of mucking up multiple universes. While the speech is good, like everything else in here in just drags and drags and drags on far longer than need be, slowing the forward progress with some rather obvious intellectualism.
FYI: this isn’t Oppenheimer, folks, but Rajendran might have you believing otherwise – albeit briefly – in this significant exchange.
However, Rani Rani Rani – the title matters, folks, in ways you’ll understand after watching – does pose an interesting position for those who like to dabble in such wares: as the lady’s struggles continue to mount, the narrative mostly coalesces around the premise that perhaps all time travel events might wind up in causality loops. (I might be overstating the obvious here, but it’s a small point, so deal with it.) Despite her best efforts, Rani can’t quite seem to fix what ails her as a consequence of going back again and again; and it isn’t until she joins forces with another brave soul that she can finally find some tranquility. Is this meant to be a metaphor that no one should attempt to alter Fate unless it’s with a second pair of hands? Or am I to glean from this development that victims remain powerless to alter the flow of events unless someone else agrees? I’ll likely never know … not that knowing would change my opinion of the project.
(It’s important to remember the film’s opening sequence. Without spoiling it, let’s just say something happens before Rani comes into the story; and I’ve no doubt that it was significant. It arguably demonstrates that – ahem – all may not be as well as we believed it is in the last reel.)
Frankly, if it hadn’t been for the fact that Chatterjee turns in such a solid performance in the second half I might’ve turned this one off early on. It’s definitely a low-budget attempt to capitalize on big ideas, but thirty minutes of unnecessary walking and/or boy-buddy-time just had no purpose of being. Once Chatterjee’s Rani figures out what’s going on, she throws off those shackles of modesty – including her headdress – and rushes headfirst into the business of fixing what’s been inadvertently sent askew. Audiences saw Marty McFly do this in Back To The Future: Part 2 (1989) for great laughs, but thank God Chatterjee is vastly better looking than he was (so far as I’m concerned). Occasionally feisty and willing to mix-it-up when the time is right, the actress made this one much less of a slog than it needed to be and yet somehow still managed to become in all the wrong ways.
Rani Rani Rani (2024) was produced by Rajaram Rajendran. DVD distribution (for this particular release) has been coordinated by the fine folks at Warner Archive. As for the technical specifications? While I’m no trained video expert, I found the sights-and-sounds to be quite good from start-to-finish. Lastly, if you’re looking for special features? Well, you do have the theatrical trailer to look forward to, but that, my friends, is all she wrote.
Alas … only Mildly Recommended.
On one level, it’s honestly quite difficult to recommended Rani Rani Rani (2024) to anyone generally if only because – as a time travel movie – there’s absolutely nothing original attempted in this except for the fact that it was all accomplished with an exceedingly low budget. The premise as is reminds me of other efforts – most especially Timecrimes (2007) which tackles a great deal of these ideas with greater clarity – and it isn’t as if any single performer here really hits it out of the park. But … sigh … yeah, I’m kinda/sorta a sucker for a decent cause/effect procedural; and – in that respect – I’d encourage Science Fiction and Fantasy fans to check this one out. However, I’d also encourage watchers to keep the remote nearby as there’s a ton of footage that can be fast-forwarded through as it’s heavily (HEAVILY) repetitive. Good … but flawed.
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Warner Archive provided me with a complimentary DVD of Rani Rani Rani (2024) by request for the expressed purpose of completing this review. Their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.
-- EZ
This isn’t to say that writer/director Rajendran didn’t try. He pads the slim procedural here and there with small scenes that might not exactly move things along efficiently but occasionally look as if they’re meant to flesh out the crew of ‘scientists’ and ‘businessmen’ hoping to exploit this new technology to whatever profitable ends they can achieve. There’s even a big morality speech late in the picture, one that shows the filmmaker didn’t want to take advantage of fringe science without questioning the dangers of mucking up multiple universes. While the speech is good, like everything else in here in just drags and drags and drags on far longer than need be, slowing the forward progress with some rather obvious intellectualism.
FYI: this isn’t Oppenheimer, folks, but Rajendran might have you believing otherwise – albeit briefly – in this significant exchange.
However, Rani Rani Rani – the title matters, folks, in ways you’ll understand after watching – does pose an interesting position for those who like to dabble in such wares: as the lady’s struggles continue to mount, the narrative mostly coalesces around the premise that perhaps all time travel events might wind up in causality loops. (I might be overstating the obvious here, but it’s a small point, so deal with it.) Despite her best efforts, Rani can’t quite seem to fix what ails her as a consequence of going back again and again; and it isn’t until she joins forces with another brave soul that she can finally find some tranquility. Is this meant to be a metaphor that no one should attempt to alter Fate unless it’s with a second pair of hands? Or am I to glean from this development that victims remain powerless to alter the flow of events unless someone else agrees? I’ll likely never know … not that knowing would change my opinion of the project.
(It’s important to remember the film’s opening sequence. Without spoiling it, let’s just say something happens before Rani comes into the story; and I’ve no doubt that it was significant. It arguably demonstrates that – ahem – all may not be as well as we believed it is in the last reel.)
Frankly, if it hadn’t been for the fact that Chatterjee turns in such a solid performance in the second half I might’ve turned this one off early on. It’s definitely a low-budget attempt to capitalize on big ideas, but thirty minutes of unnecessary walking and/or boy-buddy-time just had no purpose of being. Once Chatterjee’s Rani figures out what’s going on, she throws off those shackles of modesty – including her headdress – and rushes headfirst into the business of fixing what’s been inadvertently sent askew. Audiences saw Marty McFly do this in Back To The Future: Part 2 (1989) for great laughs, but thank God Chatterjee is vastly better looking than he was (so far as I’m concerned). Occasionally feisty and willing to mix-it-up when the time is right, the actress made this one much less of a slog than it needed to be and yet somehow still managed to become in all the wrong ways.
Rani Rani Rani (2024) was produced by Rajaram Rajendran. DVD distribution (for this particular release) has been coordinated by the fine folks at Warner Archive. As for the technical specifications? While I’m no trained video expert, I found the sights-and-sounds to be quite good from start-to-finish. Lastly, if you’re looking for special features? Well, you do have the theatrical trailer to look forward to, but that, my friends, is all she wrote.
Alas … only Mildly Recommended.
On one level, it’s honestly quite difficult to recommended Rani Rani Rani (2024) to anyone generally if only because – as a time travel movie – there’s absolutely nothing original attempted in this except for the fact that it was all accomplished with an exceedingly low budget. The premise as is reminds me of other efforts – most especially Timecrimes (2007) which tackles a great deal of these ideas with greater clarity – and it isn’t as if any single performer here really hits it out of the park. But … sigh … yeah, I’m kinda/sorta a sucker for a decent cause/effect procedural; and – in that respect – I’d encourage Science Fiction and Fantasy fans to check this one out. However, I’d also encourage watchers to keep the remote nearby as there’s a ton of footage that can be fast-forwarded through as it’s heavily (HEAVILY) repetitive. Good … but flawed.
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Warner Archive provided me with a complimentary DVD of Rani Rani Rani (2024) by request for the expressed purpose of completing this review. Their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.
-- EZ
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