‘Chadarangam’ Review

Chadarangam is an intense political drama based on true events produced by renowned actor-producer Vishnu Manchu under 24 Frames Factory. It is streaming now in Telugu along with dubbed versions of Tamil and Hindi on ZEE5.

N.T.Rama Rao (NTR) is the actor turned politician who changed the entire political scenario of Andhra Pradesh from 1983 to 1995. Now it’s Pemmasani Gangadhar Rao (Srikanth), who leaves his lucrative acting career and forms Telugu Kranti Sangam (TKS) to free the state from evil clutches of dynastic rule and extend clean governance to the people of Andhra Pradesh. He wins the elections and becomes the Chief Minister by defeating the INP, the 70-year-old party. 

Now Gangadhar comes across the real threat as he faces dissent from his own ranks with some of the policies instituted by his Government going against the corrupt practices of some of his own party men. Ramakrishna (Nagineedu), who defects from INP to script the victory of TKS, plays the spoilsport and dethrones Gangadhar by hatching a conspiracy. How Gangadhar bounces back with the help of his nephew Bapineedu (Ravi Prakash) and how he checkmates his detractors is the remaining story ofChadarangam.

Srikanth, who has acted in almost 125 films in his career spanning more than 2 decades, gives out a towering performance. His diction, way of dialogue delivery, body language and above all the ease with which he portrays the character of Gangadhar with great authority and authenticity is magnificent. Ravi Prakash who is also a familiar face on Telugu screen got a significant and full-length role to which he does complete justice. 

Nagineedu, another character artiste of repute, performs well and Sunaina as Kranthi, the progressive journalist turned propagandist, also chips in with a dignified performance. Kousalya, Kasi Viswanath, Chalapathi Rao, Ramya Pasupuleti and Jeeva all come out with some splendid performances to makeChadarangam more exciting to watch.

The story, although familiar on the surface, is written in such a way that it has its own freshness and charm. Story writer and director Raj Anantha deserves the accolades not only for scripting such an absorbing story but also for the taut screenplay along with Sarat Palanki.

Dr Paruchuri Gopala Krishna, the veteran scriptwriter who created scripts and stories for many super hit movies of legendary NTR also contributed in creating this script that stands out and his touch of brilliance is evident in many scenes.

The music by Srinivas Sharma, especially the background score, is terrific and those violin interludes are extraordinary. The dialogues by Raj Anantha and Nivas are intense and heart touching to add that extra punch to Chadarangam.

Due to the familiarity of the story, the suspense and thrill elements take a back seat to an extent but it’s not a deterrent as a whole.

The story, which takes place in 2016, shows Andhra Pradesh State as undivided one but in reality, the state got divided in 2014 itself. But this can be ignored in view of the contemporariness of the story.

A definite watch for the performance of Srikanth. Also, Chadarangam, at the outset, conveys a powerful message to people to remain vigilant against corrupt and evil practices in politics that pose a threat to democracy.