Kuberaa is a 2025 Telugu-language crime drama written and directed by Sekhar Kammula. The film has Dhanush, Nagarjuna & Rashmika Mandanna playing the lead roles while Jim Sarbh, Dalip Tahil, Sayaji Shinde, Sunaina, Shravani S, Satyam G, Ajith Lal S, Bhagyaraj, Hareesh Peradi, Saurav Khurana, Ravi Sharma & others are seen in important supporting roles. The music is composed by Devi Sri Prasad while the film is produced by Suniel Narang &
Puskur Ram Mohan Rao under Sree Venkateswara Cinemas LLP & Amigos Creations banners.
Story:
Neeraj Mitra (Jim Sarbh), a wealthy and ambitious businessman, finds a rare oil reserve in the Bay of Bengal. He plans to use it to gain power, wealth, and influence, with the support of powerful leaders. To execute his plan, he turns to Deepak (Nagarjuna), a former honest CBI officer now in prison for refusing to be corrupt. With no other choice, Deepak agrees to help. He assembles a group of beggars from all over the country to carry out the mission quietly. Among them is Deva (Dhanush), a kind and innocent man who has no idea about the dangerous plan. When Deva learns they intend to kill him, he escapes. This sets off a race, with Neeraj and Deepak trying to find him before everything falls apart. On the run, Deva meets Sameera (Rashmika Mandanna), who also gets trapped in this scam. As secrets unfold and loyalties are tested, Kuberaa explores the cost of power and the fight to stay humane in a world ruled by greed & money.
What about on-screen performances?
Dhanush truly is the heart of Kuberaa. He doesn’t just act—he becomes Deva. The way he transforms into a humble, innocent beggar is nothing short of mesmerizing. Every small gesture, every subtle emotion he conveys, shows both his vulnerability and inner strength, making it impossible to think of any actor who can pull off this role with such ease. Also, dubbing his own voice for this role made it more real and genuine. He surely is one of the strong contenders for this year’s National Awards with this performance.
Nagarjuna’s performance in Kuberaa is a breath of fresh air, especially with him taking on a rare, grey-shaded character. As Deepak, he isn’t portrayed as outright evil, but more as a man caught in a corrupt system. He nails the internal struggle of his character with subtlety, capturing the tension between self-preservation and moral conflict. All his scenes with Dhanush are particularly gripping, full of emotional depth, and leave a lasting impact.
Jim Sarbh makes a strong impression as the ambitious and calculating Neeraj. He plays the role with calm intensity, making the character feel smart and dangerous. He is especially superb towards the final portions of the film, where his role gets a decent arc at the end.
Rashmika Mandanna plays a more realtable character as she brings warmth to the story. Her chemistry with Dhanush is good and her role adds a bit of humour, which helps balance the film’s serious tone.
Shravani S, Satyam G & Ajith Lal S leaving a huge impact as the other beggars in the film.
Dalip Tahil, Sayaji Shinde, Sunaina, Bhagyaraj, Hareesh Peradi, Saurav Khurana, Ravi Sharma & all others support the film adequately in their limited roles.
What about off-screen talents?
The story by Chaithanya Pingali & Sekhar Kammula is engaging and has a lot of promise. The way the beggars are trapped into the game of power & money makes up an interesting watch and the whole world building around this plot looks very real and natual with typical Sekhar Kammula making style.
The screenplay is gripping for most parts of the film. Though the film takes time to get into the plot, once the drama begins, things get better, and the first half ends on a thrilling note. The second half bogs down with its pace and a few repetitive scenes, but the entire pre-climax episodes are thrilling. The climax is pretty ordinary and could’ve been better. Also, the emotional bond between Deepak and Deva needed to be explored with more depth, as there was a lot of scope to boost the drama through their bond.
Director Sekhar Kammula does an extraordinary job with the film. He delivers a meaningful film that combines human emotion with social realism. His presentation is very natural, except for a few cinematic liberties that he had taken that didn’t go well with the film. He shifts his genre and gets into a different space with Kuberaa and passes with flying colors.
The dialogues are very well written and add weight to the plot. Espeically all the lines of Dhanush where he talks about the class difference and about the beggars lives are touching.
Niketh Bommireddy’s cinematography stands out, capturing everything from the raw energy of the streets to the wide, imposing shots of the municipality dump yards with stunning clarity and detail.
The songs by Devi Sri Prasad are a big highlight. ‘Poyiraa Mama’ is a timeless song that is very meaningfull in the flow of the film. ‘Anaganaga Kadha’ and ‘Trance of Kuberaa’ tracks also take the narrative forward in a neat manner. His background score too is impressive and lifts the film in all the key junctures.
The edit by Karthika Srinivas is not upto the mark. There are a lot of scenes which could’ve been trimmed, especially in the end portions.
Special mention to production design by Thota Tharani for the real set ups and to all the lyric writers for the beautiful lines.
The production values by Sree Venkateswara Cinemas LLP & Amigos Creations are good.
What’s Hot?
* Dhanush’s Realistic Performance
* Nagarjuna, Rashmika & Jim Sarbh’s Performances
* Emotional Scenes With Good Social Commentary
* Interesting Story & Well Written Dialogues
* Engaging First Half With Good Drama
* Poyiraa Mama Song & Choreography
* Meaningful Songs & Superb Background Score
* Cinematography & Production Values
What’s Not?
* Uneven Pacing
* Stretched Out Scenes
* Lengthy Run Time
* Few Cinematic Liberties
* Weak Climax
* VFX/CGI In A Few Scenes
Verdict: On the whole, Kuberaa is an engaging drama that explores poverty, power, and survival with a realistic & emotional performance by Dhanush. The lenghty run time and the weak climax are a bit of concern but if you can enjoy layered stories with real emotion and great acting, then this one’s worth your time. A sincere attempt from Sekhar Kammula & Team!!
Telugubulletin.com Rating: 3/5