Panchathantram

Panchathantram is a 2022 Telugu anthology film written and directed by Harsha Pulipaka and produced by Ticket Factory and S Originals. Built around the five senses, it brings together Brahmanandam, Swathi Reddy, Samuthirakani, Rahul Vijay, Shivathmika Rajashekar, Naresh Agastya and Divya Sripada. Prashanth R Vihari and Shravan Bharadwaj composed the music, and the film was released on 9 December 2022.

What the story is about

Vedavyas is a 63-year-old widower who has retired from All India Radio and lives with his daughter. When he says he wants to start a career writing novels, she disapproves and tells him to stay home and rest; he insists he isn’t done yet. He gets shortlisted for a storytelling contest alongside five young writers, with a publishing contract for the winner, and the crowd and organisers are surprised to see an old man among the finalists. Brushing off the ridicule, Vyas announces his theme: the five senses.

The five stories he tells make up the film. Each is tied to one sense, sight, smell, sound, taste or touch, and to a quest for peace, fear, will, love or tenacity.

Cast and crew

• Brahmanandam as Vedavyas
• Swathi Reddy as Roshni and as Chitra
• Naresh Agastya as Vihari and Sri Vidya Maharshi as Mythri
• Rahul Vijay as Subhash and Shivathmika Rajashekar as Lekha
• Samuthirakani as Ramanatham, with Divyavani as his wife
• Vikas as Shekar and Divya Sripada as Devi
• Uttej as Sambaiah, Praanya P Rao as Roopa and Aadarsh Balakrishna as Chitra’s partner

Writer and director: Harsha Pulipaka. Production: Ticket Factory and S Originals. Music: Prashanth R Vihari and Shravan Bharadwaj.

Reviews

Jeevi of Idlebrain called Panchathantram “a sensible movie made with honesty” but “not good enough to engage in theaters”. The Hindu‘s critic found it uneven, as anthologies often are: “Certain portions of the anthology call for patient viewing while other portions can leave us with a smile.” We have not found box-office figures from a named outlet.

Where to watch Panchathantram

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

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