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Rashmika Mandanna and Vijay Deverakonda will reunite for Ranabaali months after their rumoured wedding in February.
On the occasion of India’s 77th Republic Day on Monday, actors and fiancés Vijay Deverakonda and Rashmika Mandanna took to social media to announce their next film together, Ranabaali, which is slated to release in cinemas on September 11, a little over six months after their rumoured February wedding.
What’s Ranabaali about?
Initially titled VD14, Ranabaali’s title was unveiled with the first glimpse on Monday. Set in 19th-century India, the film is inspired by real historical events that took place between 1854 and 1878. The video portrays the brutality of British colonial rule and depicts the suffering caused by imperial policies and officials during the period.
The glimpse depicts regions pushed into drought and devastation, while setting the stage for the emergence of a legendary hero from what is described as a “cursed land”. Vijay Deverakonda appears in a fierce and commanding avatar as Rana Baali, showcasing a striking new look. The actor wrote in the caption that Ranabaali was called a “savage” by the British, but he’s actually a forgotten freedom fighter.
Team behind Ranabaali
Ranabaali is helmed by Rahul Sankrityan, best known for directing another popular period drama, Shyam Singha Roy (2021). That film, set in the backdrop of the Kolkata of the 1970s, starred Nani in a dual role which cuts across generations and time periods. Also starring Sai Pallavi, the film earned Rs 65 crore at the box office. Rahul has previously collaborated with Deverakonda in the 2018 horror comedy Taxiwaala.
Mythri Movie Makers, headed by Naveen Yerneni and Y. Ravi Shankar, has produced Ranabaali. The production house behind blockbusters like Mohanlal and Jr NTR-starrer Janatha Garage (2016), Ram Charan-starrer Rangasthalam (2018), and Allu Arjun’s historic Pushpa franchise, has also backed Deverakonda and Rashmika’s Dear Comrade and Deverakonda and Samantha Ruth Prabhu’s 2023 romantic comedy Kushi.
Ajay-Athul, popular music composer duo, have scored Ranabaali. They’re the force behind popular Hindi albums like Singham (2011), Agneepath (2012), Dhadak (2018), and Zero, and Marathi films like Sairat (2016) and Ved (2022). Hollywood actor Arnold Vosloo, best known for playing the memorable antagonist Imhotep in Stephen Sommers’ blockbuster action adventure fantasy franchise The Mummy, will be seen as the chief antagonist, Sir Theodore Hector, in Ranabaali.
Vijay and Rashmika reunite
Ranabaali will also reunite Vijay and Rashmika, who plays Jayamma, after their past memorable films like Parasuram’s 2018 romantic comedy Geetha Govindam and Bharat Kamma’s 2019 action romance Dear Comrade. Last year, the two actors also got engaged in a hush-hush ceremony. While they haven’t confirmed further developments officially, they’re rumoured to tie the knot next month in February.
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As Ranabaali is slated to release in cinemas on September 11, that would make it their first film together as a married couple. Only a little glimpse of their PDA was seen at the success meet of Rashmika’s last release, Rahul Ravindran’s romantic drama The Girlfriend, in Hyderabad when Vijay gently kissed her hand.
