Rana Naidu Is Our ‘Answer To Wokeness', Say Makers: ‘Sex Not For Titillation'
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Rana Naidu makers - Karan Anshuman, Suparn Verma and Sunder Arron - defend their series against trolls, who called it out for its graphic portrayal of intimacy and violence.
The first season of Netflix's Rana Naidu opened to reactions so strong that perhaps even the makers didn't anticipate. While a certain section of audiences hailed the compelling and intense storytelling revolving around real-life uncle-nephew duo of Venkatesh Daggubati and Rana Daggubati, others criticised it for its bold themes. Despite disclaimers, the series came under scrutiny for its profanity and explicit portrayal of intimacy and gory violence. Venkatesh and Rana's Telugu fans were particularly taken aback to see their heroes in the show.
In fact, the announcement of the second season was met with multiple reports that stated that the makers have decided to tone down the graphical portrayal of sex and violence in it. Speaking exclusively to News18 Showsha, producer Sunder Arron reiterates that the inclusion of such sequences is 'all in the service of the story and the characters'. 'The definition of gratuitous maybe over-the-top for a reaction but that's not what we wanted to do. While it might have been extreme for some viewers, it really was all in the context of the story and the storylines," he says.
So, what can one expect from this new season that's set to premiere on June 13? 'Season two has got so much more emotion, character-building, action and thrill. So, I think the focus of the conversation is going to be on that more than anything else. People are going to be really impressed with the new characters we've brought in and the wonderful cast we've added. They're going to be blown away," he remarks.
According to director Suparn Verma, they decided to milk that aspect of streaming that doesn't call for censorship, which in turn helped them stay true to the milieu they were portraying in the series. 'The characters came from a certain stratum of society. The characters were intrinsically true to who they are. This is a space or a medium where you've the liberty of showcasing characters and stories the way they're meant to be without sugar-coating it too much. There's nothing gratuitous about it," he states.
While he asserts that voyeurism was never the intent, he has no qualms in admitting that the series has made many woke netizens sit up and take note. 'We didn't do it for fun. We never thought that oh, let's see how much we can push it! The scenes were necessary. It [the end goal] was never titillation. That's not us or our cinema. But Rana Naidu is our answer to wokeness. The most politically incorrect character alive is Rana Naidu," Suparn tells us.
Creator Karan Anshuman too wasn't affected by the trolls, but he adds, 'Rana Naidu is still accountable. We hold him accountable for being politically incorrect at a certain level. We, makers, have some sort of a responsibility to make sure that the narrative is balanced. If a character is crossing a certain line, there are repercussions for the character. And by doing that, we're showing that if you aren't a good person, there will be consequences."
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