Pitta Kathalu Review: An Experiment That Has It’s Ups and Downs!

Pitta Kathalu, the first Telugu Original from Netflix India, brings together four new-age Tollywood directors for an anthology that is unlike anything the Industry had ever witnessed before. The four-episode mini-anthology series stars a promising cast with Tharun Bhascker, B.V. Nandini Reddy, Nag Ashwin, and Sankalp Reddy helming their individual short stories. Pitta Kathalu Review

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Pitta Kathalu, amongst all four stories, explores a central theme of Shifting Power Dynamics and characters using that trump card that changes the entire situation. The individual stories, however, maintain that variety through and through, from a love story set in a rural background to a toxic relationship between a married couple. Subsequently, it also deals with a narrative set in a dystopian world that conveys a social message to a basic story of desire. Pitta Kathalu Review

Every director in their short stories did a fantastic job in modifying themselves while staying true to the overall idea of Pitta Kathalu. Let’s start with Tharun Bhascker, who manages to recreate the magic that worked in his critically acclaimed short film, Sainma, and captures the authentic vibe of rural Telangana flawlessly.  The storyline, unlike anything he had ever attempted before, has that dark humor, even though his characters are relatable yet complex.

The technicalities in his story stand-out from the rest, especially when it comes to the process of using sync-sound technology to his advantage, which captures those raw emotions and authentic feel. The excellent background score by Vivek Sagar also adds that variety to the film as this is the first time I’ve seen Opera tunes blend brilliantly with a rural setting. The cinematography by Niketh Bommi and the production design by Latha Tharun also add to the technicalities of ‘Ramula’ (the title of the film), which is, without a doubt, the best out of the four.

B.V. Nandini Reddy’s movie is decent at managing that crux needed for a decent drama. From a narrative that is engaging to a point and characters that are established well. However, her short suffer in regards to the over-the-top performances, exaggerated use of cuss words in English, and also exposes the disadvantages of dubbing after the film, which can sometimes take away from the emotion the filmmaker is trying to put across.

Despite his comments about it being a different film in terms of scale and so on, Nag Ashwin’s short named X-Life is a decent example of what we can expect when it comes to his upcoming movie with Deepika Padukone and Prabhas. With a very straightforward storyline with a social message that is prevalent in today’s internet culture, his thirty-minute sci-fi drama also stands out when it comes to technicalities.

The production design in his film was top-notch and felt futuristic, and was complimented well with terrific camera work and costume design that blended well with the setting. Sankalp Reddy’s film, Pinky, while being very different from others, felt like it’s more on the “open-to-intrepret” side of things with no back story or a clear ending to the drama.

A few performances stand-out across all four episodes, Lakshmi Manchu, commands her role as Swaroopa Akka with imposing screen presence and terrific body language. Saanve Megghna, who plays the character, Ramula, also shines as a naive girlfriend who loves, and at the same time, puts his boyfriend in check when he crosses the line. Sanjith Hegde, who also had done a fantastic job composing the music in his short, X-Life, fits his role as the Gen Z CEO perfectly, and Shruti Haasan as his counterpart is a weird yet perfectly-suited pairing when compared to others.

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Overall, Pitta Kathalu on Netflix India maintains that universal appeal and is a simple series with basic storylines and complex characters. However, far from being perfect and extraordinary, there are a few moments across all four shorts that felt less compelling. But this is a great experiment by Netflix India to try something different from the traditional cookie-cutter Tollywood industry, and I hope they take more chances. Watch ‘Pitta Kathalu’ on Netflix here.

Rating – 3/5 | Grade – B

Images via Netflix India