Telusu Kada Review: A Boring Love Triangle with a Twist

Director: Neeraja Kona

After the debacle of Jack, young actor Siddu Jonnalagadda once again finds himself stuck in an insipid plot revolving around a childless couple and surrogacy. Though Siddu tries hard to salvage the film with his quirky dialogues and a few steamy moments, the dull screenplay and dated narration undo his efforts.

A 28-year-old woman (Raashi Khanna) getting overly excited about surrogacy as if she’s never heard of it before — that’s how the scenes unfold in this predictable triangular love story. Siddu seems to have lost his script sense post the DJ Tillu franchise, picking one weak story after another. Telusu Kada feels loosely inspired by Salman Khan’s Chori Chori Chupke Chupke, which also dealt with the surrogacy theme and made few changes here and there.

Among the cast, KGF fame Srinidhi Shetty gets a better-written role with shades of grey, while Raashi Khanna plays the stereotypical housewife burdened by guilt over her infertility and desperate to keep her husband (Siddu) happy. Director Neeraja Kona relies on a wafer-thin plot about a dejected lover confronting his past, but her uninspired screenplay and flat humour (especially the bits involving Harsha) fall completely flat.

The story begins with Siddu’s character burning memories of his ex after a breakup and vowing revenge. Now a chef looking to settle down, he marries Raashi Khanna — but when she fails to conceive, fate brings his ex-lover (Srinidhi Shetty) back into his life as a surrogate mother. What should have been an emotionally charged drama instead turns into a tedious exercise in melodrama.

Siddu tones down his flamboyance to play a sensitive husband, but the poorly etched script lets him down. He desperately needs a solid story to bounce back. Srinidhi Shetty, after her action-packed turn in HIT 3, delivers a layered performance as a conflicted lover. Raashi Khanna looks stunning in her modern wardrobe, but her predictable role doesn’t give her much scope to shine.

Director Neeraja Kona’s biggest misstep is rushing through the romance and focusing excessively on pregnancy and childbirth sequences. Dialogues like “testosterone scoring over estrogen” may sound bold, but they fail to evoke any real emotion. Thaman’s music is serviceable at best, and the film overall leaves you unmoved.

Telusu Kada had potential for an emotional, layered story about love, loss, and motherhood — but ends up a bland, slow-paced affair that tests your patience more than your emotions.