A1 Express

A1 Express is a 2021 Telugu sports drama directed by debutant Dennis Jeevan Kanukolanu, starring Sundeep Kishan, who also co-produced it under his Venkatadri Talkies banner, and Lavanya Tripathi, with Murali Sharma and Rao Ramesh. A remake of the Tamil film Natpe Thunai (2019), it is about corruption and nepotism in sport, and was billed as the first Telugu feature built around hockey. It was released in theatres on 5 March 2021.

What the story is about

Sanju is a carefree young man whose only ambition is to move to France. A trip to Yanam changes his plans when he falls for Lavanya, a hockey player trained by Murali, a kind-hearted retired soldier who coaches a local team. A corporation, backed by the state’s sports minister, wants the ground where Murali’s players practise, and Murali finds out it plans a polluting factory there. The only way to save the ground is for his team to beat the Vizag side in a match. While picking his players, Murali discovers that Sanju was once captain of India’s under-21 team before he was banned from the game, and asks him to play. Sanju refuses, and the reason why is the story the film goes on to tell.

Cast

• Sundeep Kishan as Sundeep “Sanju” Naidu
• Lavanya Tripathi as Lavanya Rao
• Murali Sharma as Coach Murali
• Rao Ramesh as the sports minister
• Priyadarshi Pulikonda as Darshi
• Rahul Ramakrishna as Rahul
• Posani Krishna Murali as Sundeep’s uncle
• Satya as Sundeep’s cousin

Director: Dennis Jeevan Kanukolanu. Music: Hiphop Tamizha. Production: People Media Factory, Abhishek Agarwal Arts and Venkatadri Talkies. Runtime: 138 minutes.

Making of the film

Sundeep Kishan announced the project in October 2019 as his second production after Ninu Veedani Needanu Nene (The Times of India). The cast trained for a month at the Begumpet Hockey Stadium in Hyderabad, and Lavanya Tripathi, announced as the heroine in December 2019, trained intensively before her scenes. The shoot, halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, resumed in September 2020, and the final schedule was filmed in October 2020 at the Mohali International Hockey Stadium, where key scenes of Chak De! India were shot.

Hiphop Tamizha, in his third Telugu film after Dhruva and Krishnarjuna Yudham, reused most of his Natpe Thunai tunes, adding one new track, “Amigo”. The first single, “Single Kingulam”, sung by Rahul Sipligunj, came out on 12 February 2020 and became one of the year’s popular Telugu songs.

Reviews

Reviews were mixed. Neeshita Nyayapati of The Times of India called it “a predictable, often-told tale, but … a much-needed one”. Karthik Keramalu of Film Companion found it “entertaining in its own mundane way” but wished it had aimed higher. Sangeetha Devi Dundoo of The Hindu called it a mixed bag, torn between serious sports drama and popcorn entertainment, while The Hans India said the hockey angle made it “a good watch” despite its drawbacks. The Indian Express saw a “lost opportunity”.

Box office

The film opened with a gross of over ₹1.5 crore on its first day, according to Sakshi Post and Telugu Cinema, and over ₹5 crore across its opening weekend, as Mint reported in a piece on cinemas picking up after the pandemic.

Where to watch A1 Express

We do not have a confirmed streaming listing for A1 Express on file. If we verify one with a platform, it will appear on this page.

Sources: the Wikipedia article on A1 Express and the reviews and reports it cites, linked above; our own cast and crew records.