Pitta Kathalu

Pitta Kathalu (“Short Stories”) is a 2021 Telugu anthology of four short films directed by Tharun Bhascker, B. V. Nandini Reddy, Nag Ashwin and Sankalp Reddy, and Netflix’s first Telugu original film. Produced by RSVP Movies and Flying Unicorn Entertainment, it has an ensemble cast including Shruti Haasan, Amala Paul, Jagapathi Babu, Lakshmi Manchu, Satyadev and Eesha Rebba. It premiered on Netflix on 19 February 2021.

The four stories

• Ramula: in a small Telangana town, a young woman, Ramula, is stopped from jumping off a bridge after a break-up by a local politician, Swaroopakka, who offers her a plan for testing, and if need be ruining, her vain boyfriend. Directed by Tharun Bhascker.
• Meera: Meera, a pregnant mother of two, lives with a suspicious, abusive husband, Vishwa Mohan, who knows she is having an affair, and a gift at their tenth anniversary party sets him off.
• xLife: Vik, a young tech mogul whose virtual-reality platform X-Life has billions of users, has his system hacked by an old college friend just as he becomes drawn to Divya, a member of his kitchen staff.
• Pinky: an up-and-coming writer, Vivek, is in a committed relationship but is having an affair with his ex-wife, Pinky.

Cast

• Ramula: Saanve Megghana as Ramula, Abhay Bethiganti as Ram Chander, Lakshmi Manchu as Swaroopakka
• Meera: Amala Paul as Meera, Jagapathi Babu as Vishwa Mohan, Ashwin Kakumanu as Shiva
• xLife: Shruti Haasan as Divya, Sanjith Hegde as Vik, Sangeeth Sobhan as Neel
• Pinky: Eesha Rebba as Pinky, Satyadev as Vivek, Srinivas Avasarala as Harsha, Ashima Narwal as Indu

Directors: Tharun Bhascker, B. V. Nandini Reddy, Nag Ashwin and Sankalp Reddy. Music: Vivek Sagar, Mickey J. Meyer and Sanjith Hegde with Soorya Praveen. Runtime: 150 minutes.

Reviews

Critics agreed that the anthology was uneven, and that Ramula was the best of the four. Baradwaj Rangan of Film Companion summed it up: “Two films work. Two don’t,” with Tharun Bhascker’s Ramula the standout for taking “big risks with form”. Neeshita Nyayapati of The Times of India found it hard to fault the rural tale, saw flaws and predictability in the three urban stories, but called it “refreshing to see Telugu cinema tell tales of real, damaged relationships (and women) on screen without judgement”. Hemanth Kumar of Firstpost gave it three out of five, calling it “a mixed bag” but “a step in the right direction”, with women who are “largely in control of their own lives”.

Where to watch Pitta Kathalu

Pitta Kathalu was made for Netflix and premiered there on 19 February 2021, according to Wikipedia. We have not checked the current Netflix listing, so availability in your region may differ.

Sources: the Wikipedia article on Pitta Kathalu and the reviews it cites, linked above; our own cast and crew records.