Guntur Kaaram

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Guntur Kaaram (full title Guntur Kaaram: Highly Inflammable, meaning “The Spice of Guntur”) is a 2024 Telugu action drama written and directed by Trivikram Srinivas and produced by S. Radha Krishna under Haarika & Hassine Creations. Mahesh Babu stars, in his third film with Trivikram after Athadu and Khaleja, alongside Jayaram, Ramya Krishna, Prakash Raj, Sreeleela, Meenakshi Chaudhary and Jagapathi Babu. Thaman S composed the music. Released on 12 January 2024 for Sankranti, it drew mixed-to-negative reviews that nonetheless praised Mahesh Babu, and it has streamed on Netflix since 9 February 2024.

What the film is about

Mahesh Babu plays Ramana, known as “Rowdy” Ramana, the son of a Guntur chilli-factory owner, Satyam. His mother, Vasundhara, now the state’s law minister, left the family and remarried, and her father, a powerful politician, looms over her career. The film is a family drama about the distance between a son and his mother, mixed with Ramana’s romance with Ammu, the daughter of the family lawyer, and his clashes with old rivals. Wikipedia’s article carries no plot summary, so we keep to this outline drawn from its cast descriptions.

Cast

• Mahesh Babu as Ramana
• Ramya Krishna as Vasundhara, his mother, and Jayaram as his father Satyam
• Prakash Raj as Venkata Swamy, Ramana’s grandfather
• Sreeleela as Ammu and Meenakshi Chaudhary as Raji, Ramana’s cousin
• Jagapathi Babu as Marx Babu, Rao Ramesh as Narayana, Murali Sharma as the lawyer Paani and Rahul Ravindran as Raja Gopal
• Sunil, Vennela Kishore, Easwari Rao and Ajay in supporting roles; Poorna in the song “Kurchi Madathapetti”

How it was made

The film was announced on 1 May 2021 under the working title SSMB28, Mahesh Babu’s 28th film as a lead; the official title came in May 2023. It was first developed as an action thriller with Pooja Hegde as the heroine. Shooting began on 12 September 2022 with an action sequence choreographed by Anbariv, but production paused amid reported disagreements, Trivikram reworked the script into a “family entertainer”, and the first schedule’s fight was scrapped. Pooja Hegde left because of schedule conflicts; Sreeleela, originally cast as the second heroine, became the lead, and Meenakshi Chaudhary joined. A house set costing ₹10 crore was built at Shankarpalli near Hyderabad. Cinematographer P. S. Vinod left after more than half the film was shot and was replaced by Manoj Paramahamsa; Naveen Nooli edited. Filming wrapped on 28 December 2023.

Music

Thaman S composed the songs and score, his fifth film with Mahesh Babu after Dookudu, Businessman, Aagadu and Sarkaru Vaari Paata, and his third with Trivikram. Reviewers praised the background score and soundtrack even when they disliked the film.

Release and box office

Originally due on 28 April 2023, then 11 August 2023 and 13 January 2024, the film opened a day earlier, on 12 January 2024. Reported totals vary: Wikipedia, citing Bollywood Hungama, gives a worldwide gross of about ₹172–212 crore against a reported budget of ₹200 crore, and calls it a below-average grosser.

What critics said

Most reviews faulted Trivikram’s writing but praised Mahesh Babu. Anandu Suresh of The Indian Express (2 out of 5) called the star “the sole redeeming factor in Trivikram’s unnecessarily prolonged film”. BVS Prakash of Deccan Chronicle (2 out of 5) said the script failed to justify the star’s image, and Neeshita Nyayapati of the Hindustan Times called it “a wasted opportunity” in which Mahesh “gives the film his all”. Sangeetha Devi Dundoo of The Hindu described it as “a stale rehash of old stories”.

Where to watch Guntur Kaaram

Guntur Kaaram premiered on Netflix on 9 February 2024 in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi, according to Wikipedia. Availability varies by country, so check Netflix before subscribing. The OTT box on this page has the details we hold.

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