Bheeshma

Venky Kudumula's 2020 Telugu film tries to hold comedy and a critique of agricultural policy in the same frame. Bheeshma Prasad, an unemployed young man who makes memes, unexpectedly takes on a powerful agribusiness producing harmful chemicals to raise crop yields. Advocacy for organic farming is not a common subject in mainstream Telugu cinema, and how the film turns it into a heroic narrative is both its strength and its limit. The romance between Nithiin and Rashmika Mandanna carries the first half, with most of the comedy coming from Vennela Kishore's scenes. The tone turns serious in the second half and the message takes over, a transition that does not always settle. Jokes built on the coincidence of names work for Telugu audiences and vanish from outside. Who it's for: viewers who like Telugu commercial comedy and mainstream films carrying a message. Who it's not for: anyone wanting a serious look at agricultural chemicals, or who will find the tonal shifts uneven.