Telusa Kada - Parent Trap

Telusa Kada

Telugu, 2025

Genre: Romantic Comedy 

Director: Neeraja Kona

Stars: Siddhu Jonnalaguda, Raashii Khanna, Srinidhi Shetty, Harsha Chemudu

Mohan's Measure ⭐️ 

To older American men, the idea of manhood is best defined by actors like Gregory Peck. Both in real life and in his acting, Mr. Peck exemplified what it meant to be a gentleman - reserved but warm, stoic but sentimental, religious but not fanatical, romantic but never obsessed.  These values have shaped my understanding of myself and what the world expects of me.

 

But such is the America of the past.  The America of today, and its reflection in the Hyderabad of today, have rebooted men to be...Arjun Reddy. 

Telusa Kada is a film targeted towards today's youth. It creates the idea that men are to be amoral, sex-crazed, controlling and misogynistic, and women supposedly are to like them that way. It continues an ongoing set of urban movies that feature men like this, and the actors of this generation seem to fit the bill for these male flights of fancy.

Ironically the writer and director of this movie is a woman, and the plot largely revolves around two strong, educated, and worldly-wise young women who form a strong bond of friendship.  So much so, that one agrees to serve as the surrogate to the other.  What the wife doesn't know until her husband makes it clear is that the surrogate in question is his ex-lover.

/this evolves into is supposed to be an urban family comedy with innuendo.  What this projects and extols is gaslighting, emotional blackmail, and misogyny.  All this is observed by an otherwise comic actor who serves as narrator and observer, who simply rolls his eyes and makes sarcastic remarks in admiration of his buddy's cleverness.

 

While Ms. Khanna stands out as the best among the actors, it is little doubt that she is faced with carrying the burden of making this ridiculous take on Three's Company work until the end.  It will surprise us to understand how her character's justifiable call for a divorce is downplayed, how her rationalism is put to question, and how she bows so easily to her husband's mind games.

 

But, that is the problem with today's generation, isn't it.  Living in their virtual reality, they are seeing life as one big game, and the movies naturally kowtow to this. The hard reality which is never quite mentioned is that all this is supposed to be about the blessing of a child.