Streaming · Telugu film · 2018
Saakshyam
సాక్ష్యం
Saakshyam release date: 27 July 2018 (theatres). Directed by Sriwass; starring Bellamkonda Sreenivas, Pooja Hegde and Jagapati Babu.
- Film release
- 27 July 2018 · All 2018 films
- Director
- Sriwass
- Production
- Abhishek Pictures
- Writing credits
- Sriwass
- Runtime
- 164 min
- Language
- Telugu
OTT release
Streaming on ZEE5 since 27 December 2018.
Film release: 27 July 2018 · all 2018 Telugu films.
Source: the film’s Wikipedia article, checked 25 September 2026. Only what the source states is shown.
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Saakshyam (transl. Witness) is a 2018 Indian Telugu-language fantasy action film written and directed by Sriwass and produced by Abhishek Nama under Abhishek Pictures. It stars Bellamkonda Sreenivas, Pooja Hegde and Jagapathi Babu. Released on 27 July 2018, it drew mixed reviews but was considered an overall success at the box office.
Story
Viswa, a wealthy NRI and video game designer, falls for Soundarya Lahari and follows her to India. There he gets caught up in troubles involving her family. Over time he comes to see that nature itself has guided him back to his homeland to fulfil a larger purpose. According to the lead actor, the story is built around the five elements of nature: earth, water, air, fire and aether.
Cast
- Bellamkonda Sreenivas as Viswaagna “Viswa”
- Pooja Hegde as Soundarya Lahari
- Jagapathi Babu as Munuswamy, the main antagonist
- Ravi Kishan and Ashutosh Rana as Munuswamy’s brothers
- Rao Ramesh as Tagore, Soundarya’s father
- Jayaprakash as Viswa’s adoptive father; Vennela Kishore as his friend
- Sarath Kumar and Meena in cameos as Viswa’s birth parents
Development
Sriwass pitched the script to Bellamkonda Sreenivas a few months before Jaya Janaki Nayaka (2017) was released, and the actor agreed after the first narration. Sai Madhav Burra wrote the dialogue. The film was launched on 21 May 2017 at Ramanaidu Studios, where V. V. Vinayak sounded the clapboard and Boyapati Srinu directed the first shot. Sriwass called it a multi-genre film exploring five themes. Sreenivas trained in Dubai and learned BMX racing, flyboarding and jet skiing for the role.
Filming
Shooting began at a set in Ramoji Film City in 2017 and moved to a village set in Pollachi, then to Varanasi, Hampi and Hospet. Action scenes in these schedules were choreographed by Peter Hein. The unit filmed in Dubai in December 2017, shot the climax at Ramoji Film City in February 2018, and finished with a 15-day schedule in New York City, the Grand Canyon and New Jersey in April 2018. Arthur A. Wilson was the cinematographer, A. S. Prakash the production designer and Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao the editor.
Music and reception
Harshavardhan Rameshwar composed the score after Devi Sri Prasad was initially reported for the job. On release, critics praised the visual effects, dialogue, lead performances, concept, music and action but criticised the screenplay.
Sources: Wikipedia and Wikidata.
Trailer from the official YouTube channel of Junglee Music Telugu, published 7 Jul 2018.
Cast of Saakshyam (2018)
- Bellamkonda Sreenivas
- Pooja Hegde as Soundharya Lahari
- Jagapati Babu as Munuswamy
- Rao Ramesh
- Ravi Kishan
- Pavitra Lokesh
- పవిత్ర లోకేష్
Additional cast
Further acting credits recorded for this film; voice-only and dubbing credits are excluded.
- Raghu Babu
- Vennela Kishore
- Ashutosh Rana
- R. Sarathkumar
- Jayaprakash
- Annapoorna
- Posani Krishna Murali
- Surya
- Brahmaji
- Krishna Bhagavaan
- Y. Kasi Viswanath
- Hema
- Meena
- Ananth Babu
Also in the cast (TMDB): Bellamkonda Srinivas as Vishwa, Prakash Raj as Narrator.
Character names as listed on TMDB, checked 10 Oct 2026.
What critics said
The article describes mixed reviews that praised the visual effects, performances, music and action, but criticised the screenplay.
- 123 Telugu called it a regular action entertainer with an interesting theme that mass audiences would love.
- The New Indian Express (Murali Krishna C H) praised Bellamkonda's restrained performance, Pooja Hegde and Jagapati Babu's menacing villain.
- The News Minute (Krishna Sripada) summarised it as a fantasy tale of revenge.
- The Hans India (Vyas) singled out the visuals, but found the second half slower than the first.
Box office: the article reports a gross of ₹22.7 crore and calls the film a success.
Summarised by Tollywood Desk from the reception section of the Wikipedia article Saakshyam (revision 1358995741), which cites the reviews named above. Quotation marks show words quoted in that article; no ratings or scores are added here.
Source record: Q43302502 on Wikidata. Dates are those on record and can change; this is not a studio announcement. Spotted an error? Send a correction.