Arjun Menon of Rediff.com gave 2.5/5 stars and wrote, "The reluctance to own the romantic tragedy at the heart for superficial thrills prevents Thandel from truly rising".Read at source
Thandel 2025 
Synopsis
Thandel
Thandel (lit. 'Captain of the boat') is a 2025 Indian Telugu-language romantic action thriller film written and directed by Chandoo Mondeti. Produced by Bunny Vasu under Geetha Arts, and starring Naga Chaitanya and Sai Pallavi.
- Director
- Chandoo Mondeti
- Studio
- Geetha Arts
- Run time
- 152 min
- Language
- Telugu
Reviews
5 Indian-media reviews, grouped by reception.
Critics' consensus
Mixed
Critics' aggregate for Thandel is 62/100 from 5 scored critic/publication reviews.
Synthesized by AI (gpt-5-codex-omdb-enricher) from 6 source-backed reviews — verify against the linked sources.Common praise
- performances
- music
- visual craft
- emotional impact
Positive 5
Avad Mohammad of OTTPlay gave 3.5/5 stars and wrote, "On the whole, Thandel is a deeply moving romantic drama, elevated by outstanding performances from Naga Chaitanya and Sai Pallavi.Read at source
Avinash Ramachandran of The Indian Express gave 2.5/5 stars and wrote, "But the fact that there was space for just one love story to bloom rather than 22 life stories to come to life is why Thandel is a lovely romance that doesn’t go all the way because it falls short of becoming an effective drama".Read at source
Paul Nicodemus of The Times of India gave 3.5/5 stars and wrote, "Thandel is an engaging romantic action drama that delivers on its promise.Read at source
Rachit Gupta of Filmfare gave 3.5/5 stars and wrote, "DSP's music and Shamdat Sainudeen's cinematography are highlights of Thandel.Read at source
Media & trailers
Verified video records attached to this title.
Details
Soundtrack
- Bujji Thalli Javed Ali
- Namo Namah Shivaya Anurag Kulkarni, Haripriya
- Hilesso Hilessa Nakash Aziz, Shreya Ghoshal
- Aazaadi Nakul Abhyankar
Technical specs
- Run time
- 152 min
- Language
- Telugu
- Country
- IN
- Director
- Chandoo Mondeti
- Studio
- Geetha Arts
Trivia
- Thandel is based on a real-life incident from 2018 involving the capture of a fisherman from Srikakulam by Pakistani forces in international waters.
- The film was released in theatres on 7 February 2025 after being postponed from its initial January Sankranthi schedule.
- Major portions of the film were shot in Visakhapatnam, Srikakulam, and Udupi starting in December 2023.
- A dance sequence for the song 'Namo Namah Shivaya' was shot with a budget of ₹4 crores involving 900 trained dancers.
- The film grossed over ₹100 crores worldwide, making it the fifth highest-grossing Telugu film of 2025.
- Post-theatrical streaming rights for the film were acquired by Netflix for ₹40–45 crore, with streaming beginning on 7 March 2025.
