Netflix’s first Telugu original film, Pitta Kathalu, is an anthology drama of four short film segments titled Ramula, Meera, xLife, and Pinky. Each of these segments is directed by Tharun Bhascker, BV Nandini Reddy, Nag Ashwin, and Sankalp Reddy respectively. Featuring an ensemble cast of Amala Paul, Ashwin Kakumanu, Eesha Rebba, Jagapathi Babu, Lakshmi Manchu, Ashima Narwal, Saanve Megghana, Sanjith Hegde, Shruthi Hassan, amongst others, the film is bankrolled by Flying Unicorn Entertainment and RSVP Movies. The music and background score is composed by Vivek Sagar and editing is handled by Upendra Varma. Let us see what is in store for the audience watching the first Telugu original from Netflix.

Every segment is unique from one another

Pitta Kathalu starts off with Tharun Bhascker’s Ramula, featuring Saanve, Abhay, and Lakshmi Prasanna in lead roles. Ramula is set in a small town in the Telangana region and showcases the love between Ramula (Saanve) and her boyfriend (Abhay), the son of an ex-MLA. How a local politician named Swaroopakka (Lakshmi Prasanna) uses the young couple for her political purpose forms the rest of Ramula.

The next in the anthology series is Meera. It deals with the trauma faced by a young wife named Meera (Amala Paul) who is married to an elderly person (Jagapathi Babu). This short story is directed by Nandhini Reddy.

The next is X-Life directed by Nag Ashwin. The plot revolves around a young man played by Sanjith Hegde, who is the founder of a futuristic technology company named X-Life. How he uses technology to have control over the world and what are the consequences is all X-Life is about.

The last one is Pinky directed by Sankalp Reddy. The story is about an aspiring writer (Satyadev) who is married but still has an affair with his divorced wife (Eesha Rebba).

All the actors portrayed their parts well

It is interesting to note that Netflix has forayed into Telugu original series where we can expect a new format of story-telling with unique stories. While Pitta Kathalu is the first one for them, we can expect more in the coming seasons. Off the four short stories, each of the stories is very different from one another. Ramula is certainly the pick of the lot with some astounding performances from Saanve and Abhay. Lakshmi Manchu excels in her role as a politician. Amala Paul was riveting in her role as Meera and so is Jagapathi Babu. Sanjith Hegde in X-Life resembles a bit of Nag Ashwin, especially his attire. He was fabulous in that role. Shruthi Hassan surprises us with her act. Satyadev, Eesha Rebba, Srinivas Avasarala, and Ashima Narwal were good in their respective roles.

A job well done by all technicians

Directors Tharun Bhascker, Nandhini Reddy, Nag Ashwin, and Sankalp Reddy did a great job with their respective segments. While the total run time is just above 2 hours, one will not get a feel of watching a movie. All the stories are very engaging and well narrated. The rest of the technicians like the music directors, cameramen, editors, and art department have given in their best. Production values are at their usual best.

WATCH OR NOT

Pitta Kathalu is a well-made first Telugu original anthology series from Netflix. While a couple of stories seem to have an abrupt ending, all of them are engaging. You may watch it at your own discretion.

Directors: Tharun Bhascker, BV Nandini Reddy, Nag Ashwin, and Sankalp Reddy
Writers: Tharun Bhascker, Radhika Anand, Nag Ashwin, and Nanda Kishore Emani
Cast: Lakshmi Manchu, Saanve Megghana, Abhay Bethiganti, Amala Paul, Ashwin Kakumanu, Jagapathi Babu, Shruti Haasan, Sanjith Hegde, Sangeeth Shobhan, Anish Kuruvilla, Dayanand Reddy, Thanmayi, Satyadev Kancharana, Eesha Rebba, and Srinivas Avasarala.
Music: Vivek Sagar, Mickey J Meyer, Sanjith Hegde, Soorya Praveen
Background score: Vivek Sagar, Prashanth Vihari
Cinematography: Niketh Bommi
Language: Telugu

Streaming on Netflix