Telusu kada Movie Review — Lacks depth

Telusu Kada sets up a unique and engaging premise in its first half, but the second half falters — lacking emotional gravity and, at times, venturing into problematic territory. While the projection of false masculinity is hardly new to Telugu cinema, it’s surprising to see it surface in a film written and directed by a woman.

Telusu Kada, directed by first-time writer-director Neeraja Kona, starts off fresh and promising. The scenes between Varun (played by Siddu Jonnalagadda) and Anjali (Raashi Khanna) truly click — their chemistry is established in just one well-crafted moment, and the first half sustains that engaging energy throughout. By the interval, the film leaves you genuinely curious about how Varun might find his way out of the situation he’s entangled in.

The second half opens with a crucial scene where Varun reveals something that we expect Anjali would find impossible to reconcile. However, the moment lacks the emotional weight it deserves and unfolds rather matter-of-factly, setting the same un serious tone for the rest of the film. All the scenes involving the three leads — Varun, Anjali, and Raaga (played by Srinidhi Shetty) — come across as unconvincing. While the characterizations of all three feel inconsistent, Anjali’s character is perhaps the most poorly written of them all. Interestingly, in one of his interviews, Siddu Jonnalagadda mentioned that during the shoot, Raashi would often question why Anjali behaved a certain way — and that’s exactly how I felt as a viewer. With no proper justification for her actions, perhaps the makers should have taken those reactions as cues to revisit and refine the story.

What makes this worse is that Varun keeps delivering these clever-by-half lines — dialogues that might work well in isolation but feel completely disconnected from his character’s actions. Some of the problematic exchanges involving estrogen and testosterone project a false sense of bravado for no apparent reason. Another troubling scene features Raashi Khanna once again being preached to — as Varun’s actions are justified to suggest even if he lied, his actions are justified because he wasn’t physically involved with another woman. It’s as if the film implies that loyalty is defined solely by physical intimacy, while emotional disrespect and patronizing behavior are somehow acceptable.

In one scene, Varun — who plays a chef — tells his staff that merely garnishing a dish isn’t enough; what truly matters is the taste. Ironically, the same can be said about the film itself — it looks polished on the surface, but lacks real substance beneath.