Goutham Muniraju Rathna

The movie is the personification of its title and it would end up being very problematic for its themes if the title of the movie is lost sight of. It is entrenched throughout the movie that this is about a man who physically lives in a republican society but mentally lives in a society where he considers himself an Alpha. ALPHA, a concept that has withered away with time, through changing societies and its people but something that exists within the animal kingdom to this day but Humans are no strangers to it. We literally are the descendants of what was once an alpha driven society, even our kingly society ran on the very concept and Ranvijay completely personifies it. He behaves the way he does, talks the way he does because of his convictions, his childhood and his economic background; he is everything a Prince growing up in an archaic state would become. His character is a direct peek into our animalistic past. And what would happen when an Alpha like him begins to live in a modern republic? Ranvijay becomes a problem and grossly misunderstood because of his actions that in ancient times would’ve been a showcase of masculinity and something that women of those times would ogle over. But travel back to modernity, yes, his character is absolutely problematic and shouldn’t exist but as a character within the world created by Vanga, if his motivations and mental space are understood, you’re in for an absolute treat. Vanga does not hold back under any circumstances to showcase Ranvijay as a masculine personification that embraces alpha characteristics unabashedly. There is clear contrast between Ranvijay and rest of the characters around him, he is clearly a misfit amongst men and women who still consider themselves living in an organised society, it is glaringly evident throughout the movie, especially through his relationship with his wife Geethanjali. This might be as a result of a neglected childhood and his economic background that always saves him from having committed crimes that would’ve turned stark for men unlike him. It fuels his motivations, he becomes an Alpha when his father, who he considered an Alpha was never to be seen around. He embraces it to the skin. Absolutely justified as to why he treats his women the way he does. His mother, his sisters, all child bearers and absolutely submissive to men, who he considers the weaker gender, needing constant protection and he grows up with such convictions. He tries subjecting his wife to the same but she breaks shackles, there are strong women here too, who question, who resist. Vanga is not trying to tell a story about an ideal man but a flawed man in a flawed but organised society and that’s a dangerous mix. The antagonist too is an Alpha Male who needs religion as a guise to live with multiple women, to keep them under control but Ranvijay on the other hand is not apologetic about having a sexual relationship with another woman, but would retaliate if the genders were reversed. Ranvijay is a case study and I understand why he is being misunderstood. That’s where the problem stems from. If the title of the movie is lost sight of, suddenly the entire movie becomes absolutely problematic. There are multiple such narratives throughout the movie that oozes alpha instincts and thinking but in his mental space, it is neither toxic nor regressive. It itches your convictions and that’s brilliant writing. It’s not mockery but almost an inverted mirror that undoes everything that a modern society establishes and that is chaos alright and that is where the fun lies.