Kapatadhaari

Kapatadhaari (“The One With Many Faces”) is a 2021 Telugu neo-noir thriller directed by Pradeep Krishnamoorthy and produced by G. Dhananjayan, a remake of the 2019 Kannada film Kavaludaari. Sumanth plays a traffic policeman who takes up a cold case, with Nandita Swetha, Nassar and Jayaprakash, and music by Simon K. King. Shot simultaneously in Tamil as Kabadadaari, with Sibi Sathyaraj in the lead, it was released in cinemas on 19 February 2021.

What the story is about

Gowtham is a traffic police officer who longs for more respectable police work. When a child at a nearby construction site finds human bones, Gowtham is drawn into the investigation, and learns that the case was first looked into years earlier by a former policeman, Ranjith Kumar. What he uncovers is best left to the film.

Cast and crew

• Sumanth as Gowtham Kumar
• Nandita Swetha as Swathi
• Nassar as ex-cop Ranjith Kumar
• Jayaprakash as the journalist Kumar
• Sampath Maitreya as Fernandez
• Suman Ranganathan as Ramya
• Vennela Kishore as Gowtham’s colleague on traffic duty

Director: Pradeep Krishnamoorthy, who also makes his acting debut. Producer: G. Dhananjayan (Creative Entertainers and Distributors). Music: Simon K. King.

Making and release

Dhananjayan bought the Telugu and Tamil remake rights to Kavaludaari in April 2019, and filming began on 1 November 2019; Nagarjuna released the motion poster later that month. Sumanth finished dubbing in March 2020. Planned for May 2020, the release was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, then set for 25 December 2020 and for 26 February 2021, before the film finally opened a week earlier, on 19 February 2021.

Reviews

Thadhagath Pathi of The Times of India gave it three out of five, calling it “an engaging thriller that unfolds well”, and liked that its hero is a regular policeman rather than a superhero; he praised Sumanth, Nassar and Simon King’s music. Y. Sunita Chowdhary of The Hindu called it a “well-made thriller” and a “faithful remake” that keeps the suspense but “lacks any emotional connect”. Sakshi (two and a half out of five) praised the execution and performances but wanted a better screenplay and climax, and Eenadu felt only a few of the story’s thrilling elements came through.

Where to watch Kapatadhaari

According to Wikipedia, Kapatadhaari began streaming on Amazon Prime Video on 30 March 2021. We have not checked the current Prime Video listing, so availability in your region may differ.

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