Ranam- Detroit Crossing

Ranam- Detroit Crossing- Movie Review

“Second chances are sometimes too costly”

A life trapped in endless crimes, a faraway mirage for a better life and the yearning for redemption, Ranam- The Detroit crossing, revolves around this plot.  Ranam is a movie which is technically rich with strong performances and personally to me, an improvement in the superstar/gangster genre movies in Malayalam. Upcoming directors can certainly learn a thing or two from Ranam, about how to make a decent dark gangster movie with brilliant cinematography (Jigme Tenzing is perfection in human form) along with the editing which makes Ranam, comparable to mafia dramas of the West.

Ranam as a movie relies on the strong performances of the central characters played by Prithviraj as Aadhi, a runaway driver and member of an outsider gangster group in Detroit struggling to maintain their relevance, led by Damodar Ratnam played by Rahman.  

It is a pleasure to watch the evolution of Prithviraj as an actor and even as a person throughout these years. He plays Aadhi, the central character who will remind us of all those stages in life where we have been in a situation so painful that it kind of saturates you and makes you settle down in the same pit again and again. Still rarely when there is a hope of redemption, you are helpless but to yearn for it, knowing the hefty price you might have to pay.

A haunting past, a present he never wished for, a future he is not sure of and only one vague chance at making everything better, stuck in this uncertainty, Aadhi is the character that I rooted for throughout the movie played by Prithvi with such masterful restraint.  He makes you feel the pain, confusion, guilt and the fearless decisiveness at the face of ultimate destiny and effortlessly delivers another wonderful performance after the heart-wrenching portrayal of Joshua in Koode.

Rahman, who has already established his craft has played the cold-hearted leader of the gang with perfection. Damodar is composed, cunning and downright cruel when it comes to maintenance of his legacy as a gangster in Detroit where things are slowly going out of his power. With a soft corner only towards his brother Selvam played by Ashwin Kumar, I cannot imagine someone doing the role better than him. Ashwin transforms completely into the mannerisms of a gangster brat so well that he is one of the most authentic supporting casts in the film.

Isha Talwar as Seema justifies her role well except for some forced dialogue delivery spots which fell flat. Although, it was a relief to see her in a different role, as a woman with so many complications, in a land and household foreign to her, struggling to get used to the negligence. She is the typical portrayal of the damsel in distress for the hero of the film to rescue, in all the cliched situations one could imagine. Thankfully Nirmal managed to make even this familiar plotline a bit different in his own unique ways.

Rest of the cast, Nandu as Bhaskar (a close relative of Aadhi), Giju John (as Ahmed Siddique), Shivajith Padmanabhan (as Rajan Kuriakose), Celine Joseph (as Deepika), plays their part well enough. It is them, their situations, their hopeless efforts to survive the plights as immigrants trapped in the present Detroit is what adds to the complexities of the story of Ranam. Nandu’s dialogue, “People think only UAE has immigrants struggling to earn for the better lives of their family back in the homeland” strikes the chords and makes one think of how easy it is for us to believe the imaginary world of a foreign land.

Gripping background music and feel good soundtracks by Jakes Bejoy is another strength of the movie; there is more to look forward to from this budding composer. Ranam is not the best in the gangster thriller genre and certainly has popular clichés, but director Nirmal Sahadev has his own way of storytelling and has thoughtfully crafted the plot and the characters, to keep one engaged. The clever narration by Prithviraj which gives the audience insights into the history of Detroit and the plight of the people in the current scenarios and even into the characters’ background worked well except for certain spots where it felt a bit like the audience were being spoon-fed.

Amidst all its familiar plotlines, Ranam is raw and stand out from all the similar genre of movies I have seen in Malayalam. In short if one must make a gangster movie with a superstar in it, then this is the way how it should be done.

P.S. Picture Courtesy- IMDb, Youtube