Telusu Kada

Telusu Kada marks the directorial debut of stylist Neeraja Kona, and she has taken the subject of surrogacy and set it amidst an urban backdrop. This aspect is quite new to Telugu cinema and has not been tried before, which itself makes Telusu Kada special in the first place. Having said that, the execution is not that great in the second half. The first half effectively portrays the breakup of Siddhu's marriage and his struggles to start a family. Additionally, the concept of surrogacy is introduced without any issues. All these aspects make the first half end on a thumping note. But it is the second half that goes haywire with a lack of proper clarity.

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.

The narrative lacks clarity to hold the interest of the audiences, especially the second half as it features many illogical and contradictory dialogues and scenes.

‘Telusu Kada’ is a strong debut for Neerraja Kona, with bold themes, solid performances, and a fresh take on contemporary relationships. While a clearer presentation of its ideas and deeper emotional resonance could have elevated it to an epic exploration of modern love, the film instead leaves the audience with a question: in the battles of the heart, whose ego truly dominates — testosterone or estrogen, or were we expected to figure that out ourselves?