C/o Kancharapalem

Venkatesh Maha's 2018 Telugu film tells four separate love stories set in the Kancharapalem district of Visakhapatnam. A primary school boy falls for a classmate, a secondary school student runs into the difference of caste, a man working at a liquor shop approaches a widow, and a middle-aged clerk grows close to a woman newly arrived at his office. All four meet an obstacle of religion, caste, age or social position. The cast is made up almost entirely of people who live in the neighbourhood and had never acted, a choice that gives the film a documentary texture. How the stories are tied together in the final section was the most discussed thing about it. It is among the few Telugu films made without stars to find an audience. Who it's for: viewers who like plain realism and portmanteau narratives. Who it's not for: anyone expecting a quick story; the film moves slowly.