'Rana Naidu' Season 2 Netflix Review: Venkatesh & Rana Daggubati Return With The Same Fervor

The Netflix Hindi crime thriller family drama series, Rana Naidu, is back for season 2, and if you were impressed the first time around, you will mostly enjoy this one as well. India’s number 1 fixer, as proclaimed by a number of his clients, Rana Naidu is the go-to solution for the ultra-rich to solve problems that cannot be dealt with in legal ways. Rana can do just about anything, from extorting, torturing, and even getting rid of evidence to help his clients from legal trouble. One of the richest families in the country, the Oberois, hire the services of the fixer in this season, although things are never that simple with the Naidu family.

Like always, family is once again at the center of the drama at the beginning of Rana Naidu season 2, as Rana and Naina are shocked to learn that their son, Ani, has been kidnapped by dangerous goons. As Rana rushes to Goa to rescue his son, he learns that the real perpetrator behind the kidnapping is an old acquaintance of his named Rauf Mirza. Six months ago, Rauf had been arrested by Mumbai Police after Rana provided them his location, as the fixer had been working on the orders of OB Mahajan. Despite being in prison at the moment, the dangerous criminal, Rauf, now wants revenge against Rana, because of which he has Ani picked up. One significant change in the plot of season 2, as compared to season 1, is that both the Naidu kids, Ani and Nitya, are much more involved in their father’s life, to the extent that Nitya goes on to play a very central role in the story.

While the children being involved might make for more intense drama, the same occurrence is naturally frowned upon by their mother, Naina, who is simply tired of her husband irresponsibly dragging his problems into their collective lives. Naina wants Rana to have a normal life and carry out the usual duties of a husband and a father, and she is admittedly impressed by his positive change at the beginning of the season. Rana has just cut all ties with OB Mahajan after having worked for the politician for a very long period of time, which, to Naina, is almost like a confirmation that her husband will no longer get involved in vicious crimes. But this is hardly how things work, especially when someone like Rauf Mirza is on the prowl against you, and in order to get hold of money and resources to look for Ani quickly, Rana has to get involved with Viraj Oberoi.

The billionaire founder and owner of India’s biggest film production company, Viraj is filthy rich, with even a historic sword in his possession to flaunt his wealth. Although the series only calls it the Sultan’s sword, the suggestion is that Viraj is the new owner of Tipu Sultan’s sword, considering that Tipu’s words are quoted in the context, and Viraj also mentions that it earlier belonged to Vijay (Mallya, of course). While Viraj wants Rana to work directly under him, the protagonist quickly finds a chink in the billionaire’s armor in the form of his ambitious but overlooked daughter, Alia, and realizes that she can be of much more use to him. Thus, Rana Naidu forms a secret alliance with Alia in the hopes of carrying out ‘one last job,’ which will earn him enough money to retire and settle with his family. 

The three central male characters in this season, Rana, Rauf, and Viraj, have their sets of similarities and differences, but none of them are any deeper or more layered than the ones we saw in season 1. There is hardly any development in Rana, other than the fact that he probably gets angry a little less this time around. Viraj is basically built in the shades of Indian billionaires with no sense of accountability or justice, as he genuinely believes that he can just pay to solve any and every problem. In contrast to the other two, Viraj hardly cares for his family members, and this is what ultimately leads to his downfall. On the other side, Rauf Mirza is an outright villain who does not blink twice before committing the worst kinds of crimes, but the creators try to bring some balance to his character by making him state how he, too, just like Rana, does all that he does only to protect his family and loved ones. However, it must be added that Rauf only says these words, but none of it feels genuine, making him appear very much like a cliched villain of Hindi cinema.

Another change with regard to the first season is the addition of a few more women characters, and most of these women try to take charge of the situations in their lives, but they only play out certain tropes without feeling like living, breathing women. Alia is determined and passionate towards her business, to the point that she, too, just like her father, does not care who or what comes in between herself and achieving her personal goals. Tasneem, the new girl at Tej’s stunt studio and Jaffa’s love interest, boldly expresses her interest in the young man in a manner that is akin to crass desires fantasized by men. A lot happens in the lives of Naina and Nitya, but the point of these developments ultimately feels to be to prove how Rana’s judgments had been correct all along. All these women characters undoubtedly feel like lazy creations by men, and so Rana Naidu obviously still drips with the machismo of its first season. 

Despite the above-mentioned machismo, though, the Netflix series is still not as abhorrent and unlikeable as some of the other Indian action dramas of the similar kind, and we should perhaps applaud the efforts. When it comes to action, which is really the main element of the show, there can hardly be any complaints, as the fast-paced brawl sequences are delivered well, with appropriately swanky camera movements. Following in line with many overseas action films, season 2 also has a shot in which the camera moves downwards as the protagonist clears out every floor of a building, which is particularly fun to watch.

The acting performances are adequately good as well, with Rana Daggubati having mastered the skill of playing the brooding action hero who is desperate to prove himself to his family. Venkatesh brings his own flair and style, with his Naga fantastically switching between comedic scenes of him telling crude jokes and serious scenes of drama and action. Arjun Rampal and Rajat Kapoor, who join the cast this season as Rauf Mirza and Viraj Oberoi, respectively, are as good as always. Despite its obvious drawbacks, Rana Naidu season 2 still makes for a mostly entertaining watch, although one should not keep expectations of any serious plot engagement from it.