Released · Telugu film · 2017
MCA
ఎంసిఎ
MCA release date: 21 December 2017 (theatres). Directed by Venu Sree Raam; starring Nani, Bhumika Chawla and Sai Pallavi.
- Film release
- 21 December 2017 · All 2017 films
- Director
- Venu Sree Raam
- Music
- Devi Sri Prasad
- Production
- Sri Venkateswara Creations
- Writing credits
- Venu Sree Raam
- Runtime
- 144 min
- Language
- Telugu
OTT release
No streaming platform is on file for this film.
Film release: 21 December 2017 · all 2017 Telugu films.
Source: the film’s Wikipedia article, checked 25 September 2026. It does not name a streaming platform or date; this page says so rather than guessing.
MCA (short for Middle Class Abbayi, meaning “Middle class boy”) is a 2017 Telugu-language action comedy directed by Venu Sriram and produced by Dil Raju. It stars Nani, Sai Pallavi, Bhumika Chawla and Vijay Varma. Released on 21 December 2017 to mixed reviews, it was a commercial success and was later remade in Hindi as Nikamma (2022).
Story
Nani, a middle-class young man with a photographic memory, lives with his uncle in Hyderabad and resents his brother’s wife, Jyothi, a strict transport officer, for drawing his brother away from him. When Jyothi is transferred to Warangal, Nani is sent along to help her settle in. There he meets Pallavi, who proposes to him on the spot and turns out to be Jyothi’s cousin, and he soon finds that Jyothi’s job has made her some dangerous enemies.
Cast
- Nani and Sai Pallavi in the lead roles
- Bhumika Chawla, whose performance won the SIIMA Award for Best Supporting Actress – Telugu
- Vijay Varma
Music and crew
Devi Sri Prasad composed the songs and score, released by Aditya Music. Sameer Reddy was the cinematographer and Prawin Pudi the editor.
Release and box office
The film opened on 21 December 2017 on more than 900 screens, and was dubbed into Tamil and Kannada. According to the source it grossed ₹28 crore worldwide on its first day and about ₹70 crore by the end of its run, with a distributors’ share of ₹40 crore.
Reception
Critics were lukewarm. Firstpost felt it could have been a lot more, Sify singled out the romance between Nani and Sai Pallavi, The Indian Express said it leaned on the leads’ charm to make up for clichéd writing, and The Hindu called its three versatile performers the saving grace of a partly entertaining film.
Sources: Wikipedia and Wikidata.
Trailer from the official YouTube channel of Dil Raju, published 19 Dec 2017.
Cast of MCA (2017)
- Nani as Nani
- Bhumika Chawla as Jyothi (Nani's Sister in Law)
- Sai Pallavi as Pallavi aka Chinni
- Naresh as Nani’s Uncle
- Rajiv Kanakala
- Posani Krishna Murali as Pallavi’s Father
- Priyadarshi Pulikonda as Darshan (Darshi)
Additional cast
Further acting credits recorded for this film; voice-only and dubbing credits are excluded.
- Vennela Kishore as Boss of Nani's company
- Pavitra Lokesh as Warangal Siva's Mother
- Aamani as Nani’s Aunt
- Subhalekha Sudhakar
- Rupa Lakshmi
Also in the cast (TMDB): Vijay Varma as Warrangal Shiva, Rajeev Kanakala as Nani’s Elder Brother, Ashrita Vemuganti as Medical Doctor.
Character names as listed on TMDB, checked 10 Oct 2026.
What critics said
Reviews cited in the article were mixed, crediting the performances of Nani, Sai Pallavi and Bhumika Chawla but finding the writing routine.
- Firstpost (Hemanth Kumar) said it is not a bad film but could have been a lot more.
- Sify found the romance of Nani and Sai Pallavi the highlight of an otherwise bland commercial film.
- The Times of India (Neeshita Nyayapati) called it good enough for one watch, especially for Nani's fans.
- The Indian Express (Manoj Kumar R) felt director Venu relies on his leads because the writing is unambitious.
- The News Minute (Sowmya Rajendran) described fresh ideas that turn into a routine drama.
- The Hindu (Sangeetha Devi Dundoo) called three versatile performers “the saving grace”.
Box office: the article reports ₹28 crore worldwide on the opening day and ₹70 crore worldwide by the end of its run.
Summarised by Tollywood Desk from the reception section of the Wikipedia article Middle Class Abbayi (revision 1375857143), which cites the reviews named above. Quotation marks show words quoted in that article; no ratings or scores are added here.
Source record: Q39071910 on Wikidata. Dates are those on record and can change; this is not a studio announcement. Spotted an error? Send a correction.