Movie: Ramba Oorvasi Menaka
Rating: 2/5
Banner: Annapurna Studios, Hasya Movies
Cast: Allari Naresh, Surbhi, Rashi Singh, Vishnupriya, Prisha Singh, Vennela Kishore, Naresh VK, Srinivas Reddy, Racha Ravi and others
Dialogues: Nandu Savirigana
Music Director: Chaitan Bharadwaj
DOP: Raam Reddy
Editor: Chota K Prasad
Production Designer: Bhrama Kadali
Producers: Razesh Danda, Nimmakayala Prasad
Written and Directed by: Chandra Mohan Chintada
Release Date: September 4, 2026
Allari Naresh returns to his original forte, comedy, after a long gap. But does his comeback to the genre also mark a return to form?
Let’s find out its merits and demerits.
Story
Rajahmundry-based Soori (Allari Naresh) dreams of becoming a movie star. He firmly believes that his dream can come true if he manages to unlock a magical book that can summon the celestial beauties Ramba (Rashi Singh), Oorvasi (Prisha Singh) and Menaka (Vishnupriya), who are said to grant wishes.
However, Soori’s life takes a turn when his mother falls seriously ill and is admitted to hospital. Amid the chaos and panic, he unexpectedly manages to unlock the mysterious book. The three celestial beauties appear before him, setting off a series of unexpected situations.
Performances
Allari Naresh sincerely tries to recreate the comic energy that worked for him in the past. He delivers the punches and antics with conviction, but the writing does not provide him with enough strong material. As a result, his performance fails to generate the kind of laughs expected from him.
Surbhi, as his love interest, is just okay and has limited screen time with very little to do.
Rashi Singh, Vishnupriya and Prisha Singh look the part as Ramba, Menaka and Oorvasi respectively.
Naresh VK, as a 60-year-old bachelor, and Srinivas Reddy, as the hero’s friend, play familiar comic roles without much novelty. Tarak Ponnappa’s role as a police officer is also formulaic.
Technical Aspects
Chaitan Bharadwaj’s music is routine. The cinematography, editing and production design are adequate but hardly stand out.
This is a film designed primarily as a comedy entertainer rather than a technical spectacle, and the technicians have done enough to serve that purpose.
Highlights
A couple of comedy scenes
Allari Naresh’s sincerity
Drawbacks
2000s-style jokes
Outdated writing
Old-school direction
Lack of freshness
Analysis
Ramba Oorvasi Menaka is the kind of film that reminds us of the comedies E V V Satyanarayana made in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Allari Naresh himself acted in several such films under his father EVV’s direction.
But a lot has changed since then. Comedy has evolved, audiences have changed, and younger viewers are now exposed to newer ideas and different styles of filmmaking.
There is nothing wrong with Allari Naresh reconnecting with his roots and returning to comedy. The problem is that the film itself does not update that formula for today’s audience.
Director Chandra Mohan Chintada, who previously made Radha with Sharwanand, comes up with a narrative that rarely engages and hardly generates laughs. The film repeatedly relies on ideas and references that feel dated.
A good example is the use of the “Already Caution Kiya” dialogue in the background when Allari Naresh and Srinivas Reddy are beaten up by Surbhi. While the phrase became a popular meme, using it in an outdated comic situation does not automatically make the scene funny. It reflects the film’s larger writing problem.
Nandu, who has written dialogues for several successful films recently, also fails to provide the kind of sharp and situational humour this story requires.
The scenes involving Vennela Kishore as Indra, Ajay as Yama and the celestial beauties arriving on Earth all bring back memories of older fantasy comedies. The film does little to reinvent or upgrade these familiar tropes.
Even the spoofs, including “Raashi O Raashi Moosali Daashi,” a reference to the popular OG dialogue, fail to land.
The film also appears to rely on the glamour of the three celestial beauties to appeal to younger audiences, but even that aspect is not used effectively.
Overall, Ramba Oorvasi Menaka is a fantasy comedy with little freshness. The humour is flat, the writing feels outdated and the narration fails to engage.
Allari Naresh makes a sincere attempt to return to his comic roots, but the weak material turns the film into a dull and disappointing experience.
Bottom Line: Outdated
