Aadikeshava

Aadikeshava (ఆదికేశవ) is a 2023 Telugu action drama, the directorial debut of Srikanth N. Reddy, produced by Naga Vamsi under Sithara Entertainments with Fortune Four Cinemas and Srikara Studios. Panja Vaisshnav Tej and Sreeleela lead the cast, and Malayalam actor Joju George makes his Telugu debut as the villain. G. V. Prakash Kumar composed the music. The film released on 24 November 2023 and streams on Netflix.

What the story is about

Balu is a carefree young man living with his adoptive parents, roaming around with his friend Sudha and chasing Chitra, who runs a cosmetics company, by getting a job there. When her father threatens him, a chain of events leads Balu’s mother to tell him the truth: he was adopted at the deathbed of his biological mother, and his real father was a Rayalaseema figure whose death is the key to the second half.

Cast

• Panja Vaisshnav Tej as Balakotayya “Balu” / Rudra Kaleswar Reddy
• Sreeleela as Chitravathi “Chitra”
• Joju George as Chenga Reddy
• Aparna Das as Vajra, Rudra’s sister
• Jayaprakash and Radhika Sarathkumar as Rudra’s adoptive parents
• Suman as Maha Kaleshwar Reddy, Balu’s biological father, and Tanikella Bharani as his elder brother
• Sadha as Parvathy, Rudra’s cousin; Sudha as Balu’s aunt
• Vinay Varma as Vijay Mohan, Minister for Mines and Geology
• Sudharshan as Sudha, Balu’s childhood friend; Anand as Chitra’s father; Shravan as the real Rudra Kaleshwar Reddy

Crew and music

• Director: Srikanth N. Reddy
• Producer: Naga Vamsi, Sithara Entertainments, with Fortune Four Cinemas and Srikara Studios
• Music: G. V. Prakash Kumar; the singles “Sittharala Sithravathi” (9 September 2023), “Hey Bujji Bangaram” (11 October 2023) and “Leelammo” (25 October 2023); cinematography by Dudley, editing by Navin Nooli

Release and box office

Aadikeshava opened on 24 November 2023 to generally negative reviews, with critics faulting the direction, writing, action and predictability. Wikipedia describes it as a box-office disaster, the third in a row for Vaisshnav Tej, and lists a budget of ₹20 crore citing OTTPlay; no collection figure is on record from a cited source.

Where to watch Aadikeshava

Netflix bought the digital rights and Star Maa the satellite rights. The film premiered on Netflix on 22 December 2023 in Telugu with Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam dubs. The OTT box on this page shows the current status and its source.

Sources: the Wikipedia article on Aadikeshava and the reports it cites; our own cast, crew, release and OTT records.