Sreekaram

Sreekaram (transl. “Inauguration”) is a 2021 Telugu drama about a software engineer who turns to farming, directed by debutant Kishor B and starring Sharwanand and Priyanka Mohan, with Sai Kumar in a pivotal role. Kishor wrote the script and Sai Madhav Burra the dialogue; it was produced by 14 Reels Plus, with music by Mickey J. Meyer. After a pandemic delay it released in theatres on 11 March 2021. Our record lists a running time of 132 minutes.

What the story is about

Karthik is a cheerful software engineer who sends money home to clear his father’s many debts. Chaitra, who has loved him since college, keeps trying to win him over, but he seems uninterested. Just as Karthik is promoted to manager at his company’s US branch and the family’s debts are finally paid off, he makes a decision that stuns everyone: to give up the job and go back to farming in his village. There he runs into Ekambaram, the village zamindar, who has his own designs on the villagers’ land.

Cast

• Sharwanand as Karthik
• Priyanka Mohan as Chaitra
• Rao Ramesh as Kesavulu, Karthik’s father
• Sai Kumar as Ekambaram
• Naresh as Ramana, Karthik’s uncle
• Murali Sharma as Murali, Chaitra’s father
• Aamani as Janaki, Karthik’s mother
• Sri Gouri Priya as Bujji, Karthik’s sister
• Brahmanandam as Venky, Karthik’s friend
• Chandra Mohan as Chandram
• Giri Babu as Anantha Raju, Ekambaram’s father-in-law
• Satya and Sapthagiri in supporting roles

Making of the film

The film is based on Kiran Abbavaram’s short film of the same name. In October 2018 it was reported that 14 Reels’ Ram and Gopi Achanta had approached Nani to play a farmer for a debut director, but Sharwanand took the part. The film was launched with a puja on 30 June 2019, with director Sukumar clapping the first shot; Priyanka Mohan joined in July and shooting began in Hyderabad in August 2019, with village scenes planned near Anantapur and Tirupati. The last leg, due in March 2020, was halted by the lockdown and completed in a 20-day schedule in Tirupati after filming resumed in October 2020. J. Yuvaraj shot the film and Marthand K. Venkatesh edited it.

Mickey J. Meyer’s songs include “Bhalegundi Baalaa”, written and sung by Penchal Das with Nutana Mohan, released by Lahari Music on 9 November 2020.

Release and reception

Sreekaram was first meant for Sankranti 2020 but moved to avoid clashing with Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo and Sarileru Neekevvaru. A 24 April 2020 date was then lost to the pandemic, and the makers discussed a direct OTT release before opting for theatres in March 2021. A Tamil-dubbed version was released under the same title.

Y. Sunitha Chowdhary of The Hindu called it a “routine film on farming” whose good intentions needed a better plot and screenplay. Thadhagadh Pathi of The Times of India gave it 3/5, calling it “an honest attempt to shine light on the plight of the farmers in our country”, though he felt it should have been more realistic. We have found no reliably sourced box-office figure.

Where to watch Sreekaram

We do not have a confirmed streaming platform for Sreekaram on file. The OTT details on this page will be updated when a platform’s own listing confirms it.

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