Telusu Kada Movie Review: A complex, ambitious step in the right direction

It makes sense that one of the recurring musical motif in Telusu Kada is a haunting yet melancholic whistle, a tune that captures the vulnerability hidden behind the ‘strong and composed’ facade Varun puts up. The tune is heavily reminiscent of ‘Papa Meri Jaan’ from Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Animal, another film about a flawed man who prides in his unfiltered demeanor and owns his mistakes and wrongdoings with a borderline-unjustified swagger. The only difference being, the women in Telusu Kada, have a voice. They are allowed to take a stand, albeit temporarily. They are occasionally selfish and confused in their thought process and are allowed to make mistakes.

For the longest time, writer-director Neerraja Kona builds this promise of delivering a truly chaotic universe, where developments remain unpredictable and the film remains emotionally original. These are people and situations we haven’t seen in Telugu cinema, and for once, it won’t be an overstatement to call this a truly novel film. 

Cast: Siddu Jonnalagadda, Raashii Khanna, Srinidhi Shetty, Harsha Chemudu

Director: Neerraja Kona

I was slightly puzzled to see the debutant director rushing through the early portions between Varun (Siddu Jonnalagadda) and Anjali (Raashii Khanna), as she captures the entire ‘blossoming romance’ arc in a brief (and well-produced) song montage. But things fall into place the moment we see Raaga (Srinidhi Shetty) on screen. And with the context of the troubles Varun and Anjali find themselves going through, you know the direction this narrative is headed towards. It comes as a complete surprise but feels equally justifiable. Throughout, the film keeps turning the tables on us in small doses at regular intervals.

The film begins with Varun’s perspective, and we largely stick to that lensing throughout the narrative. And yet there are moments where Raaga and Anjali successfully emerge out of the ‘supporting character’ syndrome, and take a form that defies many of our expectations. Just when we feel Anjali would be relegated to being a flowerpot catalyst, she decides to take charge of her life. Just when we sense the filmmaker being too judgmental about Raaga’s attitude towards marriage and relationships, we are given a glimpse of another chapter from her past that has shaped her conscience. Props to Srinidhi Shetty for portraying Raaga in a way where we remain emotionally invested to her vulnerabilities as much as her selfishness. Despite a sketchy role on paper, Srinidhi holds her own. Raashii Khanna who gets a meatier role, is equally impressive.

On the other hand, Varun is no hero either. He does have a main-character energy going on (another resemblance with Vanga’s Animal) — and yet, his know-it-all self-image is played off cleverly with a funky background music (by Thaman S, who is having quite a year) that almost always captures the dark, twisted humour of the narrative. The film somehow manages to both elevate and poke fun at Varun and his place in this universe he is struggling to take charge of. There comes a point in the story where the three lovers in the equation are constantly thwarting each others’ expectations in both good ways and bad. This is some solid material for a twisted comedy. Harsha Chemudu’s presence adds just the right amount of humour without going overboard. A twisted story like this needs a sane observer, who plays the foil to the fumbling lead players around him, and Harsha is effective. The production values are top-notch, especially Gnana Sekhar VS’ cinematography.

Telusu Kada is undoubtedly outside the regular Telugu film idiom. It is complex and messy in all the interesting and enjoyable ways, and yet it’s not messy enough. Riding high on emotions, this film needed a balanced perspective of all its key players. We get a glimpse of the grey gamut of emotions that both Raaga and Anjali go through after taking the tricky decisions that they do. But after all the narrative play, Telusu Kada is eventually eager to sell us easy solutions. It breaks many barriers and is yet cautious of going all the way. Perhaps these are the perils of making a niche yet star-driven film in the Telugu industry; you can flirt with the boundaries, but only to an extent, no matter how admirable the star is.

Having said that, Telusu Kada couldn’t ask for a better star and driving force than Siddu Jonnalagadda. Here’s an actor who has the right amount of charisma, rawness, and risk-taking ability. Playing Varun, Siddu carries the film through both its dramatic and comic portions. More crucially, he almost sells us on Varun’s emotional baggage and questionable actions, even when the writing comes up short.

Like most relationship dramas that deal with characters making tough and tricky choices, Telusu Kada boils down to that moment of epiphany for a protagonist, where a film has either the audience nodding their heads in approval or staying detached, or befuddled. Neerraja Kona’s debut film, after all the risky territory it explores, chooses to go down an oft-trodden path, where a key decision made in the final act remains familiar but unconvincing. It’s unsatisfying because you can sense it’s driven more by a need to restore the moral balance after all the feather-ruffling.

Telusu Kada had the potential to be much more, but for now, we will take its daring desire to create something original... since that's not something you can say about many contemporary Telugu films.