BOTTOM LINE
Startup Drama Struggles to Take Off
PLATFORM
JioHotstar
RUNTIME
4 Episodes, 78 mins.
What Is the Show About?
Rambabu a.k.a Rambo parts ways with his girlfriend, Sukanya, when he cracks a business deal with her idea and refuses to give her credit. Three years later, Rambo’s startup struggles to stay afloat with a barely responsive staff, poor leadership and scant resources. He and his team stage an act to woo an investor, Yang, who gives her nod for a takeover. Sukanya, her employee, oversees the deal.
Performances
With the show largely relying on slapstick situations for humour, the performances remain functional, at best, delivering what’s needed, but hardly making any strong impression. Abhinav Manikanta tries a little too hard to elicit laughs; his female counterpart, Payal Chengappa, is more at ease with her presence.
Analysis
Rambo in Love is a rare corporate drama in the Telugu digital space, with few noticeable outings in the genre being Hello World (ZEE5), Ee Office Lo (Viu), Arthamainda Arun Kumar (aha) and most recently Vere Level Office (aha). The show may not take the norms of the genre too seriously, but predominantly unfolds at the protagonists’ workplace, bound by a relatable premise.
The show’s premise is broadly ideated around a couple falling in and out of love, whose entrepreneurial dreams come in the way of their relationship. Rambabu (Rambo) takes his girlfriend, Sukanya, for a ride and doesn’t let her have a say in a business deal and breaks up. In a few years, when Sukanya is asked to oversee an acquisition of Rambo’s struggling startup, the duo reconnects.
The episodes also spend some time establishing the families of the protagonists. Rambo feels the pinch as the breadwinner of the house, tolerating an Insta reel-crazy father, a mother lost in her domestic priorities and an easy-going sister. Sukanya, meanwhile, faces a quintessential woman’s problem – being asked to choose a wedding proposal over a flourishing career by an autocratic father.
It’s rather disappointing when directors feel they’ve to dumb down logic in the quest for entertainment; Rambo in Love employs silly tricks to showcase the inner workings of a struggling firm. All that employees in Rambo’s edu-tech startup care for are their impending loans – for a car, a dream house and luxuries. They arrive at work, barely care for the boss, do some casual gossip and leave.
The scenes where Rambo’s employees try to put up a show to ensure investment for their firm are particularly silly. However, when the man uses his ex-girlfriend’s lines to woo his investor, Yang and delivers the goods, you see it gather some momentum again. As Yang entrusts her employee with the paperwork around the deal, it’s no rocket science that Sukanya is back in the reckoning again.
Rambo later does everything to make Sukanya’s life a hell-hole at work, but given her position, she asserts her dominance, and the plot has juicy drama as they settle their scores, albeit officially. The scene where the guy ropes in a local ruffian to invest money in the startup, as a ploy to irritate Sukanya, is completely uncalled for; the government officers come on time conveniently to call it off.
What’s Sukanya’s necessity to sack employees and rope in junior artists to stage an act, even if it’s to displease Rambo? Understandably, the show doesn’t take itself too seriously, but the writing is too loose to care for the proceedings much. As the four episodes draw to a close, the scenario is ripe for strong drama to unfold; there’s pressure on Rambo to sustain his startup, Sukanya has six months to get married, and what better time than now to rekindle their romance?
Performances by Others Actors
In the first four episodes, the scope for the supporting cast to shine remains limited, although Bhargav (Garampalli), Vasu Inturi, Keshav Deepak, Appaji Ambarisha and Roopa Lakshmi fare better among the lineup.
Music and Other Departments?
Saran Raghavan’s title track is catchy to an extent, though the background score doesn’t make much of an impact. Chandu Krrish’s cinematography is helped by a bright colour palette, the vibrant production design and peppy costumes. The dialogues, by (actor) Bhargav, are just okayish. The writing is amateurish, though the premise, crisp runtime keep you invested in the proceedings.
Highlights?
Quirky premise
Lively visuals
Easy, light viewing
Drawbacks?
Slapstick, illogical treatment
Lacks authenticity in the backdrop
Not as funny as it could be
Did I Enjoy It?
Only in parts
Will You Recommend It?
Only if you’re desperate to kill time and crave local content
Rambo in Love Series Review by M9
