Love Story

Sekhar Kammula's 2021 Telugu film follows two young people who come from a village to Hyderabad. Revanth wants to open a dance studio and Mounika to start her own business; both face obstacles arising from caste and gender, and those obstacles are not the same. What distinguishes the film is placing caste at the centre of a romantic narrative rather than in its background. Revanth is Dalit, and that produces a concrete consequence at every stage of the relationship. What Mounika carries has to do with abuse in childhood, and the film addresses it late but plainly. Naga Chaitanya and Sai Pallavi lead. Dance and music serve a function inside the narrative. Kammula keeps the tone calm and does not resolve conflict through loud scenes. Who it's for: those who like socially grounded Telugu drama. Who it's not for: viewers sensitive to child abuse; the film treats it openly in flashback.