Streaming · Telugu film · 2022
Acharya
ఆచార్య
Acharya release date: 29 April 2022 (theatres). Directed by Koratala Siva; starring Chiranjeevi, Ram Charan and Pooja Hegde.
- Film release
- 29 April 2022 · All 2022 films
- Director
- Koratala Siva
- Music
- Mani Sharma
- Production
- Konidela Production Company, Matinee Entertainment
- Writing credits
- Koratala Siva
- Runtime
- 154 min
- Language
- Telugu
OTT release
Streaming on Prime Video since 20 May 2022.
Film release: 29 April 2022 · all 2022 Telugu films.
Source: the film’s Wikipedia article, checked 25 September 2026. Only what the source states is shown.
Platform information and historical dates do not guarantee current access in every country. Availability, audio languages and subscription terms vary by location; check the platform before subscribing.
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Acharya (meaning “Teacher”) is a 2022 Telugu-language action drama written and directed by Koratala Siva and produced by Konidela Production Company and Matinee Entertainment. Chiranjeevi plays the title character, with his son Ram Charan, Pooja Hegde, Sonu Sood and Jisshu Sengupta. Released on 29 April 2022, it drew strongly negative reviews and was a box office bomb.
Story
Dharmasthali and the neighbouring hamlet of Padaghattam are temple towns in the Siddhavanam forest, bound by their devotion to the goddess Gattamma. Dharmasthali suffers under Basava, a tyrannical municipal chairman who plans to hand its land to a pair of brothers for mining. Acharya, a Naxalite, arrives in the town disguised as a carpenter and begins to fight back, and the film gradually reveals his connection to the people of Padaghattam.
Cast
- Chiranjeevi as Acharya
- Ram Charan as Sidhha, a role of about 40 minutes filling most of the second half
- Pooja Hegde as Neelambari, opposite Ram Charan
- Sonu Sood and Jisshu Sengupta
- Regina Cassandra in a special song; Mahesh Babu provided narration
Development and casting
The film was launched on 8 October 2019 as Mega152, Koratala Siva’s first film with Chiranjeevi, and the title slipped out when Chiranjeevi mentioned it at an audio launch in March 2020. It was reported to draw on the Naxalite movement in Srikakulam led by Subbarao Panigrahi. Trisha was first cast as the heroine but left over creative differences; Kajal Aggarwal replaced her, but her scenes were ultimately cut. A cameo planned for Ram Charan was expanded into a full role.
Filming and music
Shooting began in January 2020 and was interrupted twice by the pandemic. A 20-acre temple-town set was built, and schedules took place at Ramoji Film City, Rajahmundry, Maredumilli and the Singareni coal mines at Yellandu, with most of the shoot finished by August 2021. Mani Sharma composed the music, Tirru was the cinematographer and Naveen Nooli the editor.
Release and reception
After several postponements, including one to avoid clashing with Ram Charan’s RRR, the film was released on 29 April 2022 and began streaming on Amazon Prime Video on 20 May. Critics attacked the story, dated screenplay, visual effects, direction and editing while praising Chiranjeevi and Ram Charan. According to the source it grossed ₹78 crore against a budget of ₹140 crore, the worst box office result of Koratala Siva’s career.
Sources: Wikipedia and Wikidata.
Cast of Acharya (2022)
- Chiranjeevi as Govind / Acharya
- Ram Charan as Siddha
- Pooja Hegde as Neelambari
- Sonu Sood as Basava
- Jisshu Sengupta as Rathod
- Kishore Kumar as Villager
- Nassar as Adanna
- Saurav Lokesh as Vikram
Additional cast
Further acting credits recorded for this film; voice-only and dubbing credits are excluded.
- Ravi Prakash as Sivudu
- Tanikella Bharani as Priest
- Satyadev Kancharana as Shankar
- Raghu Babu as Drug Supplier
- Vennela Kishore as Acharya's Disciple
- Benarjee
- Ajay as Vedanna
- Getup Srinu
- Raja Ravindra as Basava's Henchman
- Mahesh Babu as Narrator
- Regina Cassandra as Mandakini in "Saana Kastam" Song
- Sangeetha Krish as Dancer in a Festival
- Shatru
- Ravi Kale
Also in the cast (TMDB): Kishore as Basava's Aide, Banerjee as Bose, Pavan Tej Konidela as Delinquent Student, Naveena Reddy as Village Girl, Praveen as Villager.
Character names as listed on TMDB, checked 10 Oct 2026.
What critics said
The article describes negative reviews that criticised the story, screenplay, visual effects, direction and editing, while praising the lead performances.
- The Times of India (Neeshita Nyayapati) felt it lacks the soul needed for a story built on dharma.
- India Today (Janani K) called it an outdated story in which the father-son duo try their best.
- The Hans India blamed an unimpressive narration by Koratala Siva.
- The Indian Express (Manoj Kumar R) called it “a snooze fest” that even its leads cannot lift.
- The Hindu (Sangeetha Devi Dundoo) found the scenes between Chiranjeevi and Ram Charan endearing but the film utterly boring.
- The News Minute (Sowmya Rajendran) was puzzled that such casting went into so tedious a story.
Box office: the article reports a worldwide gross of ₹76 crore over the run and estimated losses of ₹84.14 crore, making it a commercial failure.
Summarised by Tollywood Desk from the reception section of the Wikipedia article Acharya (2022 film) (revision 1375259112), which cites the reviews named above. Quotation marks show words quoted in that article; no ratings or scores are added here.
Source record: Q96371440 on Wikidata. Dates are those on record and can change; this is not a studio announcement. Spotted an error? Send a correction.