Swaroop Kodur
Indian Express
Most Divergent Takes
- Akhanda 2: Thaandavam (2025)5.0 vs TRM 4.0+1.0
- Kingdom (2025)5.0 vs TRM 6.0-1.0
- Mirai (2025)6.0 vs TRM 7.0-1.0
- The Rajasaab (2026)4.0 vs TRM 3.3+0.7
- Mana ShankaraVaraPrasad Garu (2026)5.0 vs TRM 5.5-0.5
Anaganaga Oka Raju
2026 · Indian Express
Naveen Polishetty strikes good form yet again and shoulders a simple, low-stakes comedy-drama entirely on his own. The story might be predictable all along, but his one-liners come at a breakneck speed, and the gags remain at the optimum level of silly and harmless. But while its blips are easily noticeable, Anaganaga Oka Raju sails through without much damage because of its simplicity.
The Rajasaab
2026 · Indian Express
The Raja Saab is a film whose potential goes grossly unrealised because of an oversight, one that ignores its novelty until very late, as well as a sloppy, outdated approach that simply seems lost from start to finish. Prabhas' affable presence and the film's solid central idea cannot save it from spiraling out of control under the weight of its own ambitions.
Mana ShankaraVaraPrasad Garu
2026 · Indian Express
70-year-old Chiranjeevi is dynamic as ever, and Nayanthara is at her radiant best. But the film makes a low-effort attempt at entertaining us, and only a few parts work well.
Little Hearts
2025 · Indian Express
The jokes start rolling from the word go, the gags are kept in perfect check to never drop the beat, and each character that comes our way is precisely trained to put fun on the screen, and nothing else. It is such silly, jolly good fun that the shortcomings could easily be overlooked.
The Girlfriend
2025 · Indian Express
The Girlfriend becomes a matter of pertinence as it goes about studying the skewed nature of the gender dynamics around us, and for all its other shortcomings, it still beams bright for opting to pursue its study from really up close. It is in this inspired portrayal that Rashmika Mandanna reveals her own evolution as an actor.
Andhra King Taluka
2025 · Indian Express
Mahesh Babu P finds himself entrusted with a juggling act that, although ambitious, grows a little overbearing with time. The film tires itself out after a point, settling for broad strokes instead of digging deep into a single idea of its choosing. Yet Ram Pothineni's performance and the film's exploration of fan devotion and caste dynamics make it an endearing, if flawed, watch.
Akhanda 2: Thaandavam
2025 · Indian Express
The sequel of Akhanda has some amusing, self-aware moments in the first half, before it grows too verbose and chaotic for its own good. While this sets up a fascinating battle at first glance, the film soon gets carried away and resists creating a compelling narrative worth the pitch. What it direly needed was a more purposeful script that didn't want to so heavily rely on its boisterous voice and its equally boisterous leading man.
Kuberaa
2025 · Indian Express
While the Dhanush and Nagarjuna-starrer is not without its share of missteps, the film still holds its own because of a discerning filmmaker and his sincere ensemble cast. If the bloated duration of the film could be overlooked, Kuberaa stands apart from all the cacophony around as a one-of-a-kind 'mass' experience.
3BHK
2025 · Indian Express
Sri Ganesh's film, starring Siddharth, R. Sarathkumar, Devayani and Yogi Babu, is steadfastly sentimental and dense, leaving little room for the mundanities of life to breathe on their own. The contrived nature of 3BHK ultimately becomes a hard-to-ignore flaw and consequently, the film doesn't entirely manage to fulfill its potential.
Kannappa
2025 · Indian Express
Kannappa remains incoherent for most parts, and the disjointed storytelling leaves a lasting dent in it. If the unimaginative world-building, compounded by some high-level hammy acting, becomes its chief shortcoming then the lack of narrative urgency damages things further.
Kingdom
2025 · Indian Express
Despite the painstaking setup, Kingdom never truly tethers us emotionally to its story. Though the film juggles many elements, it never settles on a central thread to bring them into harmony. Kingdom's essence has echoes of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness as well as a potboiler like Yash Chopra's Deewar (1975), yet the Telugu film never finds its footing to take us deeper into its world.
Mirai
2025 · Indian Express
As much as Teja Sajja puts his best foot forward and impresses with his commitment, it is Manchu Manoj who steals the show with his nonchalance and on-screen charisma. Mirai is a smart endeavour in that it knows exactly where it wants to shine, and where it can afford to kick back a little.