Vedam

Vedam (meaning “Chant”) is a 2010 Telugu hyperlink drama written and directed by Krish (Radhakrishna Jagarlamudi) and produced by Shobu Yarlagadda and Prasad Devineni under Arka Media Works. Its ensemble cast includes Allu Arjun, Manoj Manchu, Anushka Shetty, Manoj Bajpayee, Saranya Ponvannan, Nagayya, Deeksha Seth and Lekha Washington; M. M. Keeravani composed the music and Gnana Shekar V. S. shot it. Released on 4 June 2010 to critical acclaim, it won four Filmfare Awards, including Best Film, and the Nandi Award for Best Feature Film.

What the story is about

Five people from very different worlds converge, on New Year’s Eve, on the same hospital in Hyderabad. Vivek, an aspiring rock star from Bengaluru at odds with his military family, misses his flight to his first big concert and sets off by road. Saroja, a sex worker in Amalapuram, plots her escape from her abusive pimp, Rattamma, with her friend Karpooram, a trans woman. Ramulu, an elderly weaver from Sircilla deep in debt, comes to the city with his widowed daughter-in-law Padma, who has agreed to sell a kidney to free his grandson from a landlord. In the Old City, Rahimuddin Qureshi, still scarred by a riot that cost him his unborn child, is preparing to leave the country. And “Cable” Raju, a broke cable operator from the Jubilee Hills slums, is pretending to be rich to win a wealthy girl, Pooja, and needs money fast for a New Year’s party.

Cast

• Allu Arjun as Anand Raj, “Cable” Raju
• Manoj Manchu as Vivek Chakravarthy
• Anushka Shetty as Saroja
• Manoj Bajpayee as Rahimuddin Qureshi
• Nagayya as Ramulu and Saranya Ponvannan as Padma
• Deeksha Seth as Pooja and Lekha Washington as Lasya
• Nikki as Karpooram
• Ravi Prakash as ACP Shivaram, Brahmanandam as Brother Bairagi, Raghu Babu as Dappu Subani and Posani Krishna Murali as a police inspector

How it was made

Krish told Idlebrain.com that the film began with an image from a dream of an old man walking with a child, which became Ramulu’s story; he first narrated it to cinematographer Gnana Sekhar on a drive from Guntur to Hyderabad. A second strand about a film crew became the story of the rock band, the title came to him while writing at the lyricist Sirivennela’s home, and the climax was inspired by the 26/11 attack on the Taj Hotel in Mumbai. The five lead characters are based on the five elements. Krish planned to produce it himself under First Frame Entertainment before Arka Media took it on. He had considered playing Karpooram himself, but Anushka suggested her make-up artist Nikki for the role; she also cut her fee by 30% because the budget was small. Nagayya was a newcomer.

Music

M. M. Keeravani’s songs, with lyrics by Sirivennela Seetarama Sastry, Sahiti, E. S. Murthy and Keeravani himself, were launched on 3 May 2010. Sunitha’s “Egiripothe Entha Baguntundi” and Sirivennela’s lyrics for “Now or Never” were nominated for Filmfare Awards.

What critics said

The Times of India called it a “path-breaking movie” that “arrives like a breath of fresh air”. Rediff said it “has set a benchmark in Telugu cinema”, and later named it among the best Telugu films of 2010. Idlebrain.com urged audiences to “watch it and encourage good/meaningful cinema”. Film Companion has listed it among the 25 greatest Telugu films of the decade.

Awards and remake

At the 58th Filmfare Awards South, Vedam won Best Film, Best Director for Krish, Best Actor for Allu Arjun and Best Actress for Anushka Shetty. It won the Nandi Award for Best Feature Film (Gold), with a Special Jury Award for Nagayya, and CineMAA jury awards for Anushka, Krish and Nagayya. Krish remade it in Tamil as Vaanam (2011).

Where to watch Vedam

Our OTT record lists Vedam as streaming on Aha, based on the platform’s own listing (checked 26 September 2026). Availability, audio languages and subscription terms vary by country, so check the platform before subscribing. The OTT box on this page has the current link.

Sources: the Wikipedia article on Vedam and the reviews and articles it cites, linked above; Wikidata; our own cast, crew and OTT records.