Ranabaali movie: story, reviews and box office of Vijay Deverakonda and Rashmika's famine epic

Ranabaali is one of the top Google searches in Pakistan this week. The film stars Vijay Deverakonda and Rashmika Mandanna, both of whom have big followings among Pakistani fans of South Indian cinema.

What’s Ranabaali about?

The Telugu period action drama, directed by Rahul Sankrityan, is set around 1876 in a village in Rayalaseema, in southern India, against the backdrop of the Great Madras Famine under British rule.

• Vijay Deverakonda plays Ranabaali, a fierce warrior who, according to the story, survived being stillborn and grew up devoted to his village temple.
• Rashmika Mandanna plays his wife, Jayamma.
• South African actor Arnold Vosloo (The Mummy) plays a British official.
• The music is by Ajay-Atul.

As drought and colonial policy push the region into famine, Ranabaali takes on British rule to protect his people.

What critics say

Reviews are mixed:

• The Hollywood Reporter India praised the two leads, the setup, the visuals and Ajay-Atul’s “moving” score, but said the film struggles to combine emotional drama with its high-stakes story. It found the violence so heavy that it often overwhelms the drama, and called the climax predictable.
• Early audience reactions on X praised the scale and the interval sequence, while some found parts slow.

Box office

The film opened in cinemas on Friday, October 16. According to Koimoi:

• India net (day 1): Rs9.25 crore
• Worldwide gross (day 1): about Rs16.67 crore

That’s a modest start. It’s well below Vijay’s previous film Kingdom (Rs17 crore net on day one) and ranks fourth among his post-Covid openings. It also faced tough competition from Rajinikanth’s Jailer 2, which is breaking records in the same week.

Can you watch it in Pakistan?

Indian films aren’t released in Pakistani cinemas, so most fans here will have to wait for the official streaming release. Avoid pirated copies; they’re often low quality and full of malware.

Watch the official trailer below.