In his directorial debut, Srikanth N. Reddy helms the action-draadikeshava movieama film Aadikeshava, an Indian production released in 2023 in Telugu. Joju George, Sreeleela, and Panja Vaissnav Tej play the main parts in the movie. G.V. Prakash Kumar composed the background score and soundtrack, while Dudley and Navin Nooli were in charge of the editing and cinematography. Critics gave Aadikeshava a mixed bag of reviews when it was released on November 24, 2023. While most of them praised the soundtrack and the cast performances—especially those of Vaissnav Tej and Sreeleela—they criticized the film’s direction, writing, action sequences, screenplay, characterization, and predictability. The movie’s performance at the box office was poor.
| Aadikeshava | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Srikanth N. Reddy |
| Written by | Srikanth N. Reddy |
| Produced by | Suryadevara Naga Vamsi Sai Soujanya |
| Starring | Panja Vaisshnav Tej Sreeleela Joju George Vinay Varma |
| Cinematography | Dudley Additional: Arthur A. Wilson Prasad Murella |
| Edited by | Naveen Nooli |
| Music by | G. V. Prakash Kumar |
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Production
companies |
Sithara Entertainments
Fortune Four Cinemas |
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Release date
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| Country | India |
| Language | Telugu |
| Budget | ₹20 crore |
Cast
- Panja Vaisshnav Tej as Balakotayya “Balu”/Rudra Kaleshwar Reddy
- Sreeleela as Chitravathi “Chitra”, Balu’s love interest
- Joju George as Chenga Reddy
- Aparna Das as Vajra, Rudra Kaleshwar Reddy’s sister
- Jayaprakash as Rudra Kaleshwar Reddy’s adoptive father
- Vinay Varma as Vijay Mohan, Minister for Mines and Geology
- Radhika Sarathkumar as Rudra Kaleshwar Reddy’s adoptive mother
- Suman as Maha Kaleshwar Reddy, Balu/Rudra’s biological father
- Sadha as Parvathy, Rudra Kaleshwar Reddy’s cousin
- Sudharshan as Sudharshan “Sudha”, Balu’s childhood friend
- Anand as Chitra’s father
- Tanikella Bharani as Rudra Kaleshwar Reddy’s uncle and Maha Kaleshwar Reddy’s elder brother
- Sudha as Balu’s aunt and Maha Kaleshwar Reddy’s sister-in-law
- Shravan as Aadhikesava/ Real Rudra Kaleshwar Reddy
Release
Aadikeshava was released on 24 November 2023.
Home media
The film’s digital rights were bought by Netflix, and the satellite rights were bought by Star Maa. The film premiered on Netflix on 22 December 2023 in Telugu along with dubbed versions in Tamil, Kannada, and Malayalam.
