Rani: The Real Story

Rani: The Real Story is a 2023 Indian Malayalam-language investigative mystery thriller film written and directed by Shankar Ramakrishnan and jointly produced by Vinod Menon and Shankar Ramakrishnan under the banner of MagicTail Works Productions and co-produced by Jimmy Jacob of June Ventures. The film has an ensemble cast of leading actors, like Indrans, Guru Somasundaram, Maniyanpilla Raju, Ashwin Gopinath, Ashwath Lal, Bhavana, Niyathi Kadambi, Honey Rose, Urvashi, Anumol, Maala Parvathy, alongside Krishnan Balakrishnan, Ambi Neenasam, Ramu Mangalapalli, and Athira Sreekumar in supporting roles.

The music and lyrics were composed by Mena Melath, and the original background score was done by Jonathan Bruce. The cinematography and editing were handled by Vinayak Gopal and Appu Bhattathiri.

Principal photography began on Sep 26, 2022. The filming took place in and around Thiruvananthapuram and was wrapped up on Oct 31, 2022. The post-production works were done at Chitranjali Studio. Rani: The Real Story was released on Sep 21, 2023.

Synopsis
Rani: The Real Story tells the story of a mysterious housemaid accused and framed for the high-profile murder of the powerful MLA Dharmarajan, but strongly defended by three families for whom she works, in the border town of Dharmapuram.

Cast

 * Bhavana as Teacher
 * Niyathi Kadambi as Rani
 * Indrans as Bhasi
 * Guru Somasundaram as MLA Dharmarajan
 * Urvashi as Sheela
 * Honey Rose as Nimmi
 * Maala Parvathy as Maheshwari
 * Maniyanpilla Raju as DSP Reghu
 * Anumol as Sona
 * Krishnan Balakrishnan as CI Soman
 * Ashwin Gopinath as Aby
 * Ambi Neenasam as Charles
 * Aswath as Vinayan
 * Ramu Mangalappaly as Lalji

Production
The title of the film was officially announced on Mar 7, 2023. The official first-look poster was launched by Manju Warrier through her social media handles.

Filming
The makers started the principal photography on Sep 26, 2022 with the switch-on ceremony and completed it on Oct 31, 2022. It took 33 days to complete the shoot. The major shooting was completed in Thiruvananthapuram. The post-production of the film started in June.

Release
The film was released on Sep 21, 2023. The official trailer and the release date have been announced by Mohanlal through social media handles.

Critical response
Gopika Is of The Indian Express wrote Shanker Ramakrishnan's Rani: The Real Story is the story of women taking their destinies into their own hands. A watchable film that could have been much much better if the screenplay, as well as the dialogues, were worked on.

Music
The music and lyrics are composed by Mena Melath and the original background score is done by Jonathan Bruce. The music rights were acquired by Goodwill Entertainments.