Mrithyunjay

Mrithyunjay is a 2026 Telugu crime thriller directed by Sri Hussain Sha Kiran, starring Sree Vishnu as a small-time journalist and Reba Monica John as a police officer chasing a contract killer. It opened in theatres on 6 March 2026 to mixed reviews and streams on Netflix.

What the story is about

Jay is a cheerful journalist whose job is collecting obituary ads, though he dreams of being a crime reporter. When he comes across the death of a man named Achyuth Sharma, he promises the dead man’s daughter Anjali that he will find out who killed her father. At the same time ACP Seetha is investigating a string of murders in the city while her commissioner pushes her to close them as accidents. Their paths cross in the hunt for Saadhu, an elusive and highly intelligent contract killer.

Cast and characters

• Sree Vishnu as Mrithyunjay “Jay”
• Reba Monica John as ACP Seetha Parasuram
• Veer Aaryan as Saadhu, the contract killer
• Baby Uha as Anjali and Baladitya as her father Achyuth Sarma
• Sudharshan as Anji and Racha Ravi as Satthi, Jay’s friends
• Chatrapathi Sekhar as Basheer and Shiju AR as the police commissioner
• Harsha Vardhan as Jay’s boss, Chinna as Seetha’s assistant and Anish Kuruvilla
• Gundu Sudarshan as the postmortem doctor

Crew and music

• Director: Sri Hussain Sha Kiran
• Music: Kaala Bhairava
• Production: Lightbox Media and Picture Perfect Entertainment

Release and reception

Mrithyunjay was released on 6 March 2026. Critics generally liked Sree Vishnu’s composed performance and the set-up, and were less sure about the writing and the ending.

• The Times of India (Sanjana Pulugurtha), three stars: “a solid investigative thriller that relies on curiosity and character rather than high-octane twists”.
• The Indian Express (Yashaswini Sri), 3.5/5: “worth a watch for the performances and the atmosphere”, but the ending does not match the journey.
• The Hindu (Sangeetha Devi Dundoo): builds intrigue in parts, undercut by convenient writing.
• The Hollywood Reporter India (Sruthi Ganapathy Raman): the execution lacks the precision of its crimes.
• Deccan Chronicle (BVS Prakash): falls short on the razor-sharp writing a crime thriller needs.

No box-office figure attributed to a named outlet is on record.

Where to watch Mrithyunjay

Mrithyunjay is available on Netflix in India, according to the TMDB watch-provider listing (JustWatch data). No exact streaming start date is on record.

More Telugu films like this on Tollywood Desk: Missing Meghana, Mareechika, Court: State vs a Nobody.

Sources: the Wikipedia article on Mrithyunjay and the reviews it cites; our own cast, crew, release and OTT records.