BOTTOM LINE
No Ramp, All Cramp!
RATING
2/5
CENSOR
‘A’ Certified, 2h 20m
What Is the Film About?
K-RAMP’s story revolves around Kumar, a happy-go-lucky, wealthy and spoiled young man who goes to Kerala for his studies. There, he meets his love interest (Yukti Thareja) and in the process, discovers a personal problem she is facing. The story explores how this affects his carefree lifestyle, what makes him realize his mistakes, how he ultimately changes and how she finds a solution to her own problem. This is the high-level overview of KRAMP’s story.
Performances
Kiran Abbavaraam opens up for the first time through his body language and performance, going all out in his effort. The results are clearly visible on screen and impossible not to appreciate. He shows significant improvement, and this performance, regardless of the film’s box office outcome, will surely help him grow as an actor. His styling also looks good, but more care should be taken in terms of fitness to further enhance his screen presence.
Yukti Thareja looks good on screen and does her part well, though nothing about her performance is particularly memorable.
Analysis
K-RAMP written and directed by Jains Nani opens with a familiar and formulaic setup. The hero is introduced as a spoiled rich brat, and the early fun revolves around his relationship with his father. The attempt to create humor through these elements feels predictable, as does the overall setup.
What still works to an extent in the first half is the steady flow of light humor. The fun is there, though the writing and situations aren’t particularly fresh. The story is set in an engineering college in Kerala, but the director never uses the backdrop effectively. Most characters look and behave like they belong to any regular Telugu college. It makes the Kerala setting feel pointless, except for the fact that the heroine lives there.
The romantic track between the hero and heroine is not vulgar, but it also lacks a smooth landing. There’s a visible effort to force these moments into the narrative, making them feel staged rather than organic. On the other hand, the scenes involving senior actor Naresh, though limited in number in the first half, are outright crass and cross the line in terms of vulgarity. This seems like a deliberate attempt by the director to attract the youth, but it doesn’t work in the film’s favor.
A couple of moments like the Onam song and the fight that follows are also formulaic, failing to add any fresh vibe. That’s a big miss from the director.
When it comes to humor and situations, the entire first half remains a passable affair at best. There’s some entertainment, but nothing impressive from the writing department. The interval twist brings a small spark, but overall, the first half is just watchable, not impressive.
The second half opens with the heroine’s character and the issue she faces, which forms a crucial connection and drives the narrative forward. However, once this thread begins, the loud attempts at comedy become more irritating than entertaining. The character relationships are clumsily written and presented, and the lead’s sudden reversal fails to add any interest.
As is often the case with many films, the message delivered at the end, after so much chaos, feels meaningless. It generates no real emotion and comes across as just another instance of a tired formula: doing everything possible on screen and then dumping the “message” at the finale. This formula has failed repeatedly in numerous films, and unfortunately, KRAMP repeats it here as well.
The director’s attempt to use cuss words through a veteran actor like senior Naresh serves no purpose. Instead of leveraging his acting talent, these moments feel awkward and surprising given his limited screen time. Rather than giving him meaningful material, the film uses him primarily for vulgarity, which only adds to the discomfort. At the very least, during the script review, the hero or the production team should have asked the director why the plot was set in a Kerala backdrop and how the director intended to use it to enhance the story.
Also, the excessive drinking scenes for the hero start to feel overdone. After a point, it stops being entertaining and instead just feels like watching a drunk hero for no reason, which adds nothing to the film.
Overall, K-RAMP has a passable first half, even though the writing and scenes aren’t particularly fresh. But the second half ends up exhausting, with over-the-top loud comedy, cringe-worthy writing, and a pointless message, dragging the film down considerably.
Performances by Others Actors
KRAMP features a couple of talented senior actors, Sai Kumar and Naresh. Sai Kumar as hero’s father delivers his brief role very well. Senior actor Naresh plays the hero’s uncle, but even though his role is short, the writing and presentation make his character feel inappropriate for age and his seniority. Muralidhar Goud as always does a fine job and the Vennela Kishore track is very poor.
Music and Other Departments?
Chaitan Bharadwaj composes the music and while the songs are okay, none of them stand out as a hit. The background score is a mixed bag: some moments complement the scenes well, while others feel overly loud and over the top. Cinematographer Sateesh Reddy Masam does a fair job capturing the Kerala locations neatly and giving the film good visual clarity. Editing by Chota K Prasad could have been sharp in the second half. Production values from Hasya Movies, Ruudransh Celluloid are pretty adequate for a college-set film in Kerala.
Highlights?
Kiran Abbavaram’s attempt at easing into his role
Fun in First half, though not very fresh
Drawbacks?
Second half
Forced, loud comedy
Weak writing
Uneven direction
Did I Enjoy It?
No
Will You Recommend It?
No
Movie Review by M9
U.S. Premiere Report:
#Kramp – No Ramp, All Cramp!
Rating: 2/5
#KRamp first half is passable though nothing feels fresh despite the film being set in Kerala. Loud attempts at comedy and the twist involving the heroine’s character don’t work in second half and the director largely fails to make effective use of the Kerala backdrop.
Senior actor Naresh’s cuss words are not at all appropriate for his age and experience.
On the acting front, #KiranAbbavaram shows noticeable improvement.
Detailed review soon.
— K-RAMP opens with Kiran Abbavaram’s character background, a rich spoiled brat. Stay tuned for the report.
K-Ramp U.S. premiere begins at 6 PM EST (3.30 AM IST). Stay tuned for K-RAMP review and U.S. premiere report.
Cast: Kiran Abbavaraam, Yukti Thareja
Writer – Director: Jains Nani
Producers – Razesh Danda, Shiva Bommak
Banner – Hasya Movies, Ruudransh Celluloid
Co-Producer – Balaji Gutta
Music – Chaitan Bharadwaj
Cinematographer – Sateesh Reddy Masam
Production Designer – Brahma Kadali
Editor – Chota K Prasad
Dialogues – Ravindra Rajaa
U.S. Distributor: Prathyangira Cinemas
K-Ramp Review by M9
