Kuberaa

Kuberaa is a 2025 action drama directed by Sekhar Kammula, shot simultaneously in Telugu and Tamil, about a homeless man from Tirupati who is used as a front in a huge financial scam. It stars Dhanush, Nagarjuna, Rashmika Mandanna and Jim Sarbh, opened in theatres on 20 June 2025, runs 181 minutes, and has streamed on Prime Video since 18 July 2025.

What the story is about

Neeraj Mitra (Jim Sarbh), a Mumbai businessman, wants to cash in on an oil reserve found in the Bay of Bengal and needs to move vast sums of money without leaving a trail. He turns to Deepak Tej (Nagarjuna), a former CBI officer jailed for refusing to bend to corruption, who reluctantly agrees to help. Deepak’s plan is to recruit beggars from across the country and set up shell companies in their names. One of them is Deva (Dhanush), a gentle, naive man from Tirupati who has no idea what he has been drawn into. When Deva realises he is in danger and runs, the hunt for him drives the rest of the film; we stop at the set-up here.

Cast and characters

• Dhanush as Deva
• Nagarjuna as Deepak Tej
• Rashmika Mandanna as Sameera
• Jim Sarbh as Neeraj Mitra
• Hareesh Peradi as R. Siddappa, a minister, and Saurav Khurana as Robo
• Sayaji Shinde as SI Ashok Godbole and Jayaprakash as Narayan Gaikwad
• Nassar as an orphanage caretaker, with Sunaina and Dalip Tahil

Crew and music

• Director: Sekhar Kammula, who co-wrote the screenplay with Chaithanya Pingali
• Production: Sree Venkateswara Cinemas LLP and Amigos Creations
• Music: Devi Sri Prasad (songs include “Poyiraa Mama” and “Anaganaga Kadha”)
• Cinematography: Niketh Bommireddy; editing: Karthika Srinivas; production design: Thota Tharani

The film was announced by Dhanush in June 2021 and was known first as D51 and then DNS before taking the title Kubera in March 2024. The spelling was later changed to Kuberaa after a producer said he already owned the title Kubera. Filming ran from early 2024 to April 2025 in Hyderabad, Tirupati, Goa, Bangkok and Mumbai.

Release and reception

Kuberaa was released worldwide on 20 June 2025 and was well reviewed, with Dhanush’s performance singled out and the long runtime and climax the main complaints. Avad Mohammad of OTTPlay (4/5) called it “one of the best Telugu films in recent times”, and Paul Nicodemus of The Times of India (3.5/5) described it as “a brooding, introspective take on wealth and morality”. BH Harsh of Cinema Express (3.5/5) called it “a bold stroke of filmmaking”, while Janani K of India Today (3/5) felt the pre-climax and climax “feel a bit rushed”. Sangeetha Devi Dundoo of The Hindu said it “falls short of being a gamechanger” but praised it as a brave film.

On box office, The Indian Express reported ₹13 crore net in India on the first day. Reported worldwide lifetime figures range from ₹115 crore (Hindustan Times) to ₹132 crore (The Hans India). The Telugu version did well, while the Tamil version underperformed, which Sekhar Kammula himself acknowledged in an interview with Hindustan Times.

Where to watch Kuberaa

Kuberaa streams on Amazon Prime Video. It started streaming on 18 July 2025 in Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam and Kannada.

More Telugu films like this on Tollywood Desk: They Call Him OG, Court: State vs a Nobody, Arjun Son of Vyjayanthi.

Sources: the Wikipedia article on Kuberaa and the reviews it summarises; box office from The Indian Express, Hindustan Times and The Hans India; our own cast, crew, release and OTT records.