KA

KA is a 2024 Telugu fantasy thriller directed by the duo Sujith and Sandeep for Srichakraas Entertainments. Kiran Abbavaram plays a dual role, with Nayan Sarika and Tanvi Ram, and Sam C. S. composed the songs and score. Released for Deepavali on 31 October 2024, it drew positive reviews and became the biggest hit of Kiran Abbavaram’s career at the time.

What the story is about

One night a masked man sends his men to bring him two people, Abhinaya Vasudev and Radha. Vasudev wakes up in a dark room facing a strange clock etched with symbols, and his masked captor starts questioning him about a letter addressed to someone called Abin Shaik that Vasudev is supposed to have read.

The story then moves back through Vasudev’s life. Raised in an orphanage, he grew up with a habit of reading other people’s letters, looking in them for the family affection he never had, and it led him to become a postman in Krishnagiri, a village ringed by mountains so high that it falls into shadow at three in the afternoon. There he falls for Satyabhama, his boss’s daughter, and starts to notice that girls have been disappearing from the village. How these threads connect to the masked man and his questions is the mystery the film unravels.

Cast and crew

• Kiran Abbavaram in a dual role, including Abhinaya Vasudev, the postman
• Nayan Sarika as Satyabhama
• Tanvi Ram as Radha
• Achyuth Kumar as Ranga Rao, Satyabhama’s father and Vasudev’s boss
• Redin Kingsley as Subbu, Vasudev’s friend
• Kota Jayaram as Gurunadham Master
• Ajay as Gurunadham’s son-in-law and Sharanya Pradeep as his adopted daughter

Directors: Sujith and Sandeep. Production: Srichakraas Entertainments. Music: Sam C. S., with audio rights sold to Saregama.

Release and reviews

The theatrical rights were sold for ₹10 crore, and Dulquer Salmaan’s Wayfarer Films picked up the Malayalam dubbing rights. Because of the crowded Deepavali weekend, the Malayalam, Hindi and Tamil versions came out later, on 22 November 2024.

Srivathsan Nadadhur of The Hindu wrote that its shortcomings “pale in comparison with the ambition in the writing and technical finesse. It is a thriller with a difference”. Sashidhar Adivi of Times Now gave it three out of five, calling it “an interesting take on the thriller genre, blending suspense and philosophical ideas”.

Box office

According to OTTPlay, KA grossed more than ₹50 crore in its theatrical run; Wikipedia, citing the same report, gives over ₹53 crore worldwide, describing it as one of the highest-grossing Telugu films of 2024 and, at release, Kiran Abbavaram’s biggest hit.

Where to watch KA

The Telugu version began streaming on ETV Win on 28 November 2024, and the dubbed versions are on Amazon Prime Video, according to Wikipedia. We have not checked current listings, so availability may differ.

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