The Girlfriend
Romance, Drama (Telugu)
A young woman explores love, compatibility and self-discovery during college, experiencing relationship complexities and personal growth. (more…)
Perfect Family
Family, Drama (Hindi)
Meet the Perfect Family - the lovable Karkarias. Perfect on the outside, but simmering with resentments, insecurities, and old wounds on the inside. When life hits hard, they’re pushed into family therapy, where issues of trust, loyalty, and communication finally (more…)
Gustaakh Ishq
Romance, Drama (Hindi)
Gustaakh Ishq is a heartwarming, quirky tale that explores the complex dynamics of love, art and self-discovery, set against the vibrant backdrop of Old Delhi and the quiet streets of Malerkotla, a city in Punjab. The story follows Pappan, a (more…)
Guild Reviews by Film
Kaisi Ye Paheli
Mystery, Thriller (Hindi)
In a sleepy hill town in northeast India, a lonely mother tries to reconnect with her estranged policeman son by channeling her inner detective to help him solve a murder.
Cast:
Sukant Goel, Sadhana Singh, Rajit Kapoor, Chittaranjan Giri, Rahul Nawach Mukhia, Nishu Dikshit, Rinchen Sherpa, Bindhiya Dhamala, Rajendra Maskey, Ujjaini Deb
Director:
Ananyabrata Chakravorty
Writer:
Ananyabrata Chakravorty
Thu, December 11 2025
Do we think enough about the filler conversations our mothers have with us? The questions usually follow a familiar template, beginning with “How was your day?” and ending with “What was for dinner?” If we set aside the romanticized ideas about moms that cinema projects, these exchanges can sound mundane, even annoying. And yet, in a relationship as pristine in theory as this one, it never feels polite enough to say this aloud.
Sat, November 29 2025
There are a couple of interesting elements in here, chief of them being the strained mother-son relationship, which spirals after the death of the father.
Truth be told, the only reason why I was interested in Kaisi Yeh Paheli is because I wanted to see what Sukant Goel was up to this time, as I had enjoyed his turn in the sadly-truncated Netflix series Kaala Pani. In Kaisi Yeh Paheli, he plays a son who dislikes his mother intensely, sustaining the emotion even when he is tasked with cracking the case of a young woman’s murder.
Sat, November 29 2025
Ananyabrata Chakravorty’s small-town whodunnit has the ideas, but fails to contain its excitement
Conceptually, Kaisi Ye Paheli goes for broke. The 95-minute independent film, written and directed by Ananyabrata Chakravorty, wears the cloak of yet another small-town whodunnit. There’s a death in misty Kalimpong; sullen cop Uttam (Sukant Goel) and his boss, Tamang (Chittaranjan Giri), are flummoxed by the details: a religious girl poisoned by a holy sweet? The theatrical Bondo (Rajit Kapur, always) is summoned from Kolkata by the powers that be; the senior sleuth has a direct line to “Didi,” and behaves like he’s an amalgamation of Byomkesh Bakshi and Feluda in his head. Meanwhile, Uttam’s home situation is complicated — he resents his widowed mother (Sadhana Singh) for various reasons, not least because she constantly recalls their past life and late husband. The mother-son bond is strained, she aches for his attention, so it’s amusing when Tamang and team unofficially recruit her to be part of the investigation because of her passion for Bengali detective novels. Uttam’s colleagues confide in her like sons in their downtime; it’s a quirky touch without the energy of a quirky touch.
Angammal
Drama (Tamil)
In a remote, rustic mid-90s village in Tamil Nadu, a city educated young man feels awkward because his mother is blouseless. This is how she has always dressed. But as he tries to find a solution before his prospective in-laws arrive, a simple problem spirals out of control.
Cast:
Geetha Kailasam, Saran Shakthi, Bharani, Ashand Raju, Thendral Raghunathan, Mullai Arasi, sudahar das
Director:
Vipin Radhakrishnan
Mon, December 8 2025
Angammal is a film that wonderfully showcases how exercising freedom always comes at a cost in a society that values conformity over everything else
Freedom. It is quite an interesting beast because everyone wants it, but somehow they are tuned to keep it caged and away from others who might not have it. This dichotomy is very telling of the human mind and its vagaries. There is always someone who has more freedom than you, and someone who doesn’t have as much. It is supposed to be an absolute unit, but there are enough caveats in freedom to allow oppression of some kind to be perpetuated through avenues like patriarchy, misogyny, and simple conditioning. Director Vipin Radhakrishnan’s Angammal is one such film that shows how exercising freedom always comes at a cost in a society that values conformity.
Fri, December 5 2025
Blending Perumal Murugan’s observational honesty with echoes of K Balachander’s domestic grammar, Angammal becomes a nuanced portrait of pride, gender and generational change led by a superb Kailasam.
In Vipin Radhakrishnan’s Angammal, Geetha Kailasam anchors the tension between the old and the new. Based on Perumal Murugan’s short story Kodithuni, the Tamil film is due for theatrical release this week after premiering at prestigious film festivals last year. It is the beginning of the 1990s, and this very intriguing period is bookmarked by Singaravelan, Roja, Sami Potta Mudichu and more. Pavalam (Saran Sakthi) aka Pavala Muthu and Jasmine (Mullaiyarasi) have their dates in the movie theatre amidst modest snacks and seats as they watch the film less and indulge more either in each other (a bout of make out set to Tamizha Tamizha chorus is hilarious) or in familial matters like the impending visit of Jasmine’s parents to Pavalam’s house to discuss their marriage. Pavalam is the rare and, probably, first graduate from his village — and a doctor at that — and his experiences of the outside world cloud his foundation as he comes to see his mother’s style as an embarrassment.
Thu, December 4 2025
Directed by Vipin Radhakrishnan, Angammal is a stimulating and evocative piece of art that chronicles the life of a matriarch who lives on her own terms. Geetha Kailasam, with an exceptional performance, brings the story to life.
When the spunky Angammal (a brilliant Geetha Kailasam) rides her moped and delivers milk, there’s a spark in her eyes. The spark tells you that she’s leading life by her own rules. But when she’s forced to make certain lifestyle changes after her second son Pavalam (Saran) pushes her to, you see the vitality fading. It shows you how little things that made Angammal the fierce matriarch that she is are not acceptable to the generation that comes after hers. It shows how Angammal, the independent woman, is denied the choice. The choice that made her a flawed, foul-mouthed woman with her own ideals.
Stephen
Thriller (Tamil)
A psychiatrist evaluating a self-confessed serial killer unravels a twisted web of trauma, deceit, and psychological manipulation—only to question if the killer is truly guilty or just another victim in a larger, darker game.
Cast:
Gomathi Shankar, Smruthi Venkat, Michael Thangadurai, Vijayashree
Director:
Mithun
Sun, December 7 2025
What rescues Stephen, and brings it back to its initial sharpness, is the last act with all its revelatory strands. Smartly shot and enacted, the portion is chilling, just the way it ought to be in a film like this.
What do you do when a guy walks into a cop station confessing he has killed nine women? Nothing about the sentence is a spoiler because there’s nothing Stephen (Gomathi Shankar) hides when it comes to the horribly casual ways in which he says he has killed them: this is how I stabbed, this is where I stabbed, he tells the flabbergasted policemen, who can’t understand how this man, who looks like your average person off the street, can be a cold-blooded murderer.
Sun, December 7 2025
Writer-director Mithun Balaji's mystery drama about the psyche of a serial killer starts off promisingly but overexplains itself in the finale.
The psychological thriller Stephen opens with a chase to find a serial killer responsible for murdering nine women. Filmmaker Mithun’s feature twists the tale by revealing the killer early on. The Tamil film is more about Stephen’s past and motives that led him to become a cold-blooded killer. As investigators and psychologists probe into his mind, the movie paints a sympathetic picture until that shocking ending. It’s a switch and bait that almost works.
Sat, December 6 2025
Directed by Mithun Balaji, Stephen is a psychological crime thriller featuring Gomathi Shankar, Smruti Venkat and Michael in key roles. The film delves deep into the psyche of a serial killer and what contributed to it.
The initial frames of Stephen feature a young boy looking up at a giant wheel in awe. Soon, he begins hearing voices of his mother and father asking him to join them on the ride. And when he gets on the giant wheel, it spins. Watching director Mithun Balaji’s two-hour-long Stephen, you understand that the wheel never stops once it begins spinning. Stephen Jebaraj (Gomathi Shankar) confesses to the serial killing of nine women in six months. He surrenders to the police matter-of-factly. Michael (Michael Thangadurai) is entrusted with the job of finding the motive behind the murders. Helping him in evaluating Stephen is psychiatrist Seema (Smruthi Venkat), who, through her conversations with him, uncovers the truth behind the murders.
The Girlfriend
Romance, Drama (Telugu)
A young woman explores love, compatibility and self-discovery during college, experiencing relationship complexities and personal growth.
Cast:
Rashmika Mandanna, Dheekshith Shetty, Rao Ramesh, Rohini, Rahul Ravindran, Anu Emmanuel
Director:
Rahul Ravindran
Writer:
Rahul Ravindran
Fri, December 5 2025
The Girlfriend seems like a direct response to the widespread misogyny of Indian cinema, but it feels disingenuous because it stars someone who has defended that very misogyny. We discuss the unintelligent character that Rashmika Mandanna has been saddled with, and wonder if the only path towards feminism that Indian filmmakers know involves taking a detour via humiliation. We also talk about the film’s on-the-nose storytelling, which undermines its noble intentions, touch upon the patriarchal irony of the film’s pivotal moment, and provide an unrealistic pathway for Mandanna’s redemption.
Fri, December 5 2025
The Girlfriend seems like a direct response to the widespread misogyny of Indian cinema, but it feels disingenuous because it stars someone who has defended that very misogyny. We discuss the unintelligent character that Rashmika Mandanna has been saddled with, and wonder if the only path towards feminism that Indian filmmakers know involves taking a detour via humiliation. We also talk about the film’s on-the-nose storytelling, which undermines its noble intentions, touch upon the patriarchal irony of the film’s pivotal moment, and provide an unrealistic pathway for Mandanna’s redemption.
Sat, November 15 2025
The film explores themes of misogyny and toxic relationships through the story of Bhooma, a college student caught in an unhealthy relationship with Vikram. As Bhooma navigates this oppressive dynamic, the narrative examines deeply ingrained patriarchal norms without resorting to melodrama.
Bhooma is pursuing her Masters in literature at a college and staying in the hostel. A simple girl with solid values, Bhooma is lured — partly by circumstances, partly by other factors which are beyond her control (or not) — into a relationship with college jock Vikram. As the days go by, Bhooma — though doted on by Vikram on the surface (‘on the surface’ being the operative words here) — finds herself trapped in an increasingly toxic relationship that she sees no escape from. Till one day, driven against the wall (or, rather, door) she decides that enough is enough.
Eko
Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Drama (Malayalam)
In the misty hills of Kaattukunnu, an aging woman and her servant boy struggle to survive the ghosts of the past, as the hunt for Kuriyachan — a legendary dog breeder and outlaw — blurs the line between myth, memory, and vengeance, revealing that even in absence, he still rules the hills.
Cast:
Sandeep Pradeep, Vineeth Radhakrishnan, Binu Pappu, Narain, Ashokan, Biana Momin, Sim Zhi Fei, Saheer Mohammed
Director:
Dinjith Ayyathan
Writer:
Bahul Ramesh
Thu, December 4 2025
In a world where human beings thrived like any other mammals, sans languages and every other paraphernalia, would they still qualify as apex predators? When danger appears, our first instinct is to think. A lone man, suddenly confronted by a tiger, would probably scramble up the nearest tall tree. His brain would tick over time for a way to escape. A rock, a branch, or anything that might distract the big cat would become part of his strategy.
Fri, November 21 2025
Dinjith Ayyathan’s ‘Eko’ dives into a world where animals and humans are more connected than you would think, and ends up as a solid mystery thriller thanks to its brilliant screenplay
Pared down to its bare bones, Dinjith Ayyathan’sEko is a story of the search for a missing man, a colourful character about whom infinite chronicles and conflicting accounts are in circulation. To bite into these bare bones is not really the point. It is to savour the whole act of reaching it and revelling in that pleasure. Just like through a dense, deceptive forest with uncharted territory at every turn, the viewer is slowly drawn into this world where not a single character can be fully trusted.
Perfect Family
Family, Drama (Hindi)
Meet the Perfect Family - the lovable Karkarias. Perfect on the outside, but simmering with resentments, insecurities, and old wounds on the inside. When life hits hard, they’re pushed into family therapy, where issues of trust, loyalty, and communication finally explode. With their quirks, chaos, and constant derailing of every session, progress is a miracle. Join them on this hilarious, heartfelt Therapy ka Safar—where life finally meets itself.
Cast:
Neha Dhupia, Manoj Pahwa, Seema Pahwa, Gulshan Devaiah, Girija Oak, Kaveri Seth, Hirva Samir Trivedi
Wed, December 3 2025
The 8-episode drama, streaming on YouTube, is imperfect but compelling enough to subvert a preachy genre
If you’ve watched enough modern Hindi socials over the years, chances are you’re well-acquainted with its red flags. Especially if the themes sound like hashtags: #DysfunctionalFamily, #Therapy, #MentalHealth, #NobodyIsPerfect, #SeekHelp. The preachiness aside, the stories are often designed to offer solutions to everything short of death (or sometimes even that). If not solutions, then righteous advice at the very least. It’s why I both loved and hated Dil Dhadakne Do (and a show like Made In Heaven); the staging of dysfunctionality and cultural quirks are the fun parts, but there’s always a sense that nothing is beyond repair. Every ‘condition’ is curable. The great thing about Perfect Family is that, over 8 fairly long episodes, it puts itself in a position to humanise the hashtags more than feature-length movies do. Its imperfections have character, and even if the intent is tethered to a message of change and higher wisdom, the show feels like more of a journey than a destination. Which is precisely the anatomy of being “fixed” these days; it’s a process with no beginning and ending.
Sun, November 30 2025
Sun, November 30 2025
Perfect Family is an impactful introduction to the importance of therapy, keeping clear of the teaching-and-preaching which could alienate us.
The Karkarias of Delhi are a family who, like all of us, are desperate to project that everything is perfect. Somanth Karkaria (Manoj Pahwa) owns a mithaai-ki-dukaan which is struggling to stay afloat in a time when people are cutting on sugar, and veering towards videshi sweets. A paterfamilias in the old mould, he carries a comfortable paunch, and a sneering attitude of daddy-knows-best whether it comes to his own wife Kamla (Seema Pahwa), son Vishnu (Gulshan Devaiah), daughter Pooja (Kaveri Seth), daughter-in-law Neeti (Girija Oak Godbole) and their two grandchildren, Daani and Daksh.
Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari
Romance, Comedy (Hindi)
Two former lovers in Delhi try to rekindle old flames, leading to amusing mix-ups and deceptions. As chaos unfolds, a new unexpected romance blooms. Who will find their happy ending amid the confusion?
Cast:
Varun Dhawan, Janhvi Kapoor, Sanya Malhotra, Rohit Saraf, Maniesh Paul, Akshay Oberoi, Nishigandha Wad, Neeraj Sood, Abhinav Sharma, Manini Chadha
Director:
Shashank Khaitan
Writer:
Shashank Khaitan
Mon, December 1 2025
The Girlfriend seems like a direct response to the widespread misogyny of Indian cinema, but it feels disingenuous because it stars someone who has defended that very misogyny. We discuss the unintelligent character that Rashmika Mandanna has been saddled with, and wonder if the only path towards feminism that Indian filmmakers know involves taking a detour via humiliation. We also talk about the film’s on-the-nose storytelling, which undermines its noble intentions, touch upon the patriarchal irony of the film’s pivotal moment, and provide an unrealistic pathway for Mandanna’s redemption.
Mon, December 1 2025
Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari is more like a sitcom written by a Dharma committee than a proper movie. We discuss Varun Dhawan’s seemingly stagnant evolution as an actor, Janhvi Kapoor moving in the opposite direction, and Sanya Malhotra and Rohit Saraf happily accepting the paycheque. We also talk about the film’s incoherent narrative, unimaginative plot, and strange lack of confidence.
Tue, October 7 2025
Revolver Rita
Comedy, Action, Crime (Tamil)
A woman must use her intelligence and grit to protect her family after they are unexpectedly caught in the crossfire of gang violence.
Cast:
Keerthy Suresh, Redin Kingsley, Radikaa Sarathkumar, Sunil Varma, Ajay Ghosh, Super Subbarayan, John Vijay, Kalyan Kumar, Suresh Chakravarthy, Sentrayan
Director:
K. Chandru
Writer:
K. Chandru
Mon, December 1 2025
'Revolver Rita', in all fairness, appears to be a film that was found in one of the old Seagate hard disks of a gone era.
There was a time in Tamil cinema when films like Revolver Rita may have been considered “cool”. This must have been around the early 2010s, when the first generation of Tamil filmmakers graduated from the Broadband Downloads School of Modern Cinema. Of course, they all cultivated their tastes with modern classics, but somewhere down the line, films of Tarantino and Guy Ritchie became the most important names in their taste-making. Revolver Rita, in all fairness, appears to be a film that was found in one of the old Seagate hard disks of that era.
Sun, November 30 2025
Directed by JK Chandru, Revolver Rita, starring Keerthy Suresh, Radhika Sarathkumar, and Sunil, is pegged as a black comedy revolving around a crime. The film is neither dark nor funny, just flat as discarded cardboard.
Comedy is tricky business, and to pull it off successfully requires an actor to tick off a huge checklist. One needs to have impeccable comic timing, sense of action and reaction, and spontaneity. Only a handful of female actors have been able to pull off a dark comedy, a niche genre in itself. Has Keerthy Suresh managed to score with Revolver Rita? Let’s find out!
Gustaakh Ishq
Romance, Drama (Hindi)
Gustaakh Ishq is a heartwarming, quirky tale that explores the complex dynamics of love, art and self-discovery, set against the vibrant backdrop of Old Delhi and the quiet streets of Malerkotla, a city in Punjab. The story follows Pappan, a man with a history of failures, who dreams of reviving his father’s legacy.
Cast:
Naseeruddin Shah, Vijay Varma, Fatima Sana Shaikh, Sharib Hashmi, Natasha Rastogi, Rohan Verma, Lilliput (M. M. Faruqui), Shashi Bhushan, Jaya Bhattacharya, Samiksha Tripathi
Director:
Vibhu Puri
Writer:
Vibhu Puri
Mon, December 1 2025
In an age when Hindi cinema has been pilloried as ‘Urduwood’ by right-wing trolls, it’s heartwarming to see Vibhu Puri’s film reclaim and revive the Muslim social.
Despite its shortcomings, one thing that is impressive about Vibhu Puri’s Gustaakh Ishq is that it’s not tentative about what it wants to be. No pretence or excessive self-awareness – often a crutch for films afraid to go the distance, hedging against becoming a laughing stock. In an age when Hindi cinema has been pilloried as ‘Urduwood’ by right-wing trolls, it’s heartwarming to see Puri’s film reclaim and revive the Muslim social film.
Sat, November 29 2025
Sat, November 29 2025
Vijay Varma and Naseeruddin Shah's performances make you look, Vishal Bhardwaj–Gulzar's music is sublime, and both needed a better film.
The pleasure of listening to Naseeruddin Shah say ‘ool julool’, a phrase nearly impossible to translate, the closest being ‘aisa-waisa’, silly, stupid, but not quite. The pleasure of watching Vijay Varma as a lover of Urdu shairi, using his head and heart to woo an old poet and his lovely daughter. And to have all of this wrapped in a film which privileges a love of language, flowery shairi and broken-hearted shayars, mouldering old Delhi printing presses and broke publishers, should have resulted in a film which makes you ache and sigh in the best way possible.
Victoria
Drama (Malayalam)
Victoria, a young beautician in a suburban beauty parlour, decides to elope with her Hindu boyfriend after a fierce clash with her conservative Catholic parents. Amidst the turmoil, a neighbour asks her to temporarily house an offering rooster destined for a festival at St. George church inside the parlour. Juggling the rooster's antics, unexpected clients, and her boyfriend's uncertainty, Victoria grapples with conflicting emotions leading to a day of intense personal and spiritual revelations.
Cast:
Meenakshi Jayan, Sreeshma Chandran, Jolly Chirayath, Darsana Vikas, Steeja Mary, Jeena Rajeev
Director:
Sivaranjini
Writer:
Sivaranjini
Mon, December 1 2025
Written and directed by Sivaranjini, 'Victoria' is a moving drama, peppered with humour.
In Sivaranjani’s Victoria, the most striking moment has more to do with a sound, rather than visuals. It feels like just another day at Victoria’s (Meenakshi Jayan) beauty salon when we hear this, as she waxes the arms of a customer. Until then, we see Victoria maintaining a happy face through it all, as she tries to manage the crowd at the salon with the worries of having to elope with her non-committal boyfriend. But each time Victoria tugs at a waxing strip in her hurry to remove them, the sound we hear is that of slaps falling on Victoria, along with the voice of a man shouting. Until that moment, we see bruises on her face, but the film doesn’t quite explain their origin. And with the sound of each waxing strip getting pulled, we listen in on the taunts being hurled at Victoria for her decision to marry outside of her religion. For women like her, the salon is therapy.
Sun, November 30 2025
Directed by Sivaranjini, Victoria starring Meenakshi Jayan, is a beautiful documentation of a day in the life of being Victoria. The film, mostly centred on women, showcases the everyday aspects and struggles of being one.
Watching director Sivaranjini’s Victoria, there’s a sense of familiarity in the everydayness unfolding on screen. Meenakshi Jayan powers through a tale of silent resilience while dealing with a busy day at work and personal struggles. And Victoria just did a wonderful job of showcasing an all-woman cast, with the men mostly appearing through video calls or through audio.
Thu, March 20 2025
Two Malayalam films that world premiered at the 29th International Film Festival of Kerala in December 2024 share DNA despite employing different milieu and techniques. Fasil Muhammed’s Feminichi Fathima (also screened at the 14th Indian Film Festival of Bhubaneswar) is about the eponymous Muslim housewife in Ponnani in Malappuram and possesses a day-in-the-life narrative. Sivaranjini’s Victoria designs a single day as a series of single takes in the life of Victoria, a beautician at a parlor in Angamaly who is juggling a characteristically busy day at the office and a tenuous period in her personal life. The two films have little in common in terms of setting and visual grammar, but they share philosophies and wrestle with the politics of survival and existence. They focus on women’s labor, the physical strain on their bodies, and the casually developing solidarity with the women around them.
Zootopia 2
Animation, Family, Comedy, Adventure, Mystery (English)
After cracking the biggest case in Zootopia's history, rookie cops Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde find themselves on the twisting trail of a great mystery when Gary De’Snake arrives and turns the animal metropolis upside down. To crack the case, Judy and Nick must go undercover to unexpected new parts of town, where their growing partnership is tested like never before.
Cast:
Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Ke Huy Quan, Fortune Feimster, Andy Samberg, David Strathairn, Idris Elba, Shakira, Patrick Warburton, Quinta Brunson
Director:
Jared Bush, Byron Howard
Writer:
Jared Bush
Fri, November 28 2025
Blends animal puns, political fables and sly humour to attempt the near-impossible — giving snakes the redemption arc history denied them.
Of all the Disney movies over the years with PG-13 racial metaphors and diversity parables, Zootopia 2 faces the most uphill battle there ever was. For it takes on the task of doing the near-impossible: the destigmatisation of Snakes. The fear and distrust of this reptile is so historically and genetically entrenched in human systems that the real-world subtext is almost secondary. In Zootopia 2, the unlikely police pairing of hyper-rabbit Judy Hopps and red fox Nick Wilde try their darndest to unscramble snake propaganda — a pit viper named Gary De’Snake emerges in the mainland, and everyone is terrorised. Except Judy, who trusts that the snake is the good guy whose ‘people’ have been maligned by the ruling family of lynxes. Gary wants to prove that the land was theirs to begin with (duh), and the patent was stolen by the sly lynxes. History students, unite.
Cast:
Ram Pothineni, Upendra, Bhagyashri Borse, Rao Ramesh, Murali Sharma, Satya, Rahul Ramakrishna, VTV Ganesh
Director:
Mahesh Babu P.
Writer:
Mahesh Babu P.
Thu, November 27 2025
Ram Pothineni, Upendra and Bhagyashri Borse impress in this coming-of-age look at how cinema shapes devotion and dream
Some bonds defy rational explanation, like the devotion an ardent fan feels for a film star. What drives someone to go to extraordinary lengths for an actor who may never know they exist? Andhra King Taluka, written and directed by Mahesh Babu P, frames itself as a “biopic of a fan” to explore precisely this question. Through the fictional journey of Sagar (Ram Pothineni), an admirer of superstar Surya Kumar (Upendra), fondly called the “Andhra King”, the film examines how fandom shapes identity and ambition.