Sita Ramam to Jathi Ratnalu: 5 Telugu movies to binge-watch on Ugadi 2023

Ugadi is one of the most cheerful and refreshing seasons of change that is celebrated every year around the month of April to celebrate the “New Year” according to the Hindu calendar. The festival is celebrated in various parts with colourful drawings on the floor called Muggulu, the leafy decorations running through doors called Torana, and also involves the exchange of specific gifts and engaging in charity, devoted to a year of change and new possibilities. The festival is a reminder for people to expect only good things for their subsequent years. And how can one celebrate Ugadi without sitting around with your loved ones, streaming the best films out there that are worth your time and energy?

After the Pongal and Sankranti festivals, Telugu cinema has been going through a bit of a quiet phase with little indie films and the more commercial stuff doing passive business with no spectacular standouts to boast of especially. Here is a list of five films that you can stream for this Ugadi to have a good time with your loved ones.

Here are our choices for a wonderful Ugadi watchlist:

Sita Ramam
Streaming: Amazon Prime Video

What better than an old-school love story to begin your Ugadi celebrations with? The Dulquer Salman and Mrunal Thakur starrer Sita Ramam is a heartfelt ode to the romantic films of yore done within the trappings of a saccharine-coated heartbreak story. The film revolves around a good-natured lieutenant of the Indian army and his muse Sita Mahalakshmi, an orphan separated by fate but connected by an arrogant youth movement leader, whose only hope is to deliver a letter to Ram, to get access to her estranged grandfather’s fortune. Through the initially reluctant journey tracking Ram and Sita Lakshmi who loved during the 1960s, she unravels some mysterious story of the young couple and whether they were finally united or not through numerous acquaintances that she meets on her way. The film got great reviews and was a blockbuster on release.

Jathi Ratnalu
Streaming: Amazon Prime Video

Naveen Polishetty’s humorous take on the caper genre is one of the most hilarious films to have come out of Telugu cinema in a long time, period. The film deals with the trials and tribulations of three unemployed friends caught in a merry-go-round adventure of over a lost mobile phone. The film is a satire that uses everything from absurd humour and slapstick touches to frame the story of these guys who were caught at the wrong place at the wrong time, and forced to prove their innocence and uncover a political scam in the process. The film was lauded for its originality and genuine laughs that it provided at a time of dark, brooding thrillers and is still the top-grossing film for Naveen in his career.

Ante Sundaraniki! 
Streaming: Netflix

Nani has been on a roll delivering quality content across the board in all possible genres and his romantic comedy Ante Sundaraniki, proved to be a very welcome entry in his filmography. The film follows the hardships that follow a couple – Sundar and Leela, hailing from two religions, trying to make their relationship work between excessively conservative parents and a supposed pregnancy that looms over their life as a blade ready to strike down at any point. The weirdly structured, urban rom-com is a modern take on the nuances of inter-faith marriages and their practical realities. The film was a sleeper hit in theatres but got good reviews upon its streaming release.

Oke Oka Jeevitham
Streaming: SonyLIV

This quirky science fiction drama seemingly integrated the high-end time travel logic within the confines of a coming-of-age drama. The film is framed around a group of friends whose life goes for a toss when they get mangled by a failed scientific experiment from the past, in search of a better life and redo private losses. The film starring Sharwanand and Amala in the lead roles managed to narrate the science fiction plot line with the necessary philosophical weight and social commentary about grief, family, and the role of time in our lives. The film was well-lauded by the critics and was the third-highest-grosser for Sharwanand till now.

Major 
Streaming: Netflix

To end things on a slightly patriotic note, we suggest Adivi Sesh starrer Major. The film which is an authorized biography of Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan, our forces martyr in the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Unlike other biopics on similar lines, Major side-stepped melodrama to competently paint a picture of Major Sandeep’s life and his early years. The focused, emotional core of the story is honoured and the film delivers on the promises of a well-intentioned tribute to one of our heroes within the confines of mainstream storytelling.

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