Kiran Abbavaram in ‘KA’
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Comebacks are always interesting, especially when an actor is willing to look back and understand what went wrong in the first place. After a series of misfires, a resurgent Kiran Abbavaram is back with a festive release, mysteriously titled KA, that invests in a solid story over the heroics of the male protagonist. The period thriller offers a rich blend of action and emotions with a karmic twist. 

Set in Krishnagiri, a fictional hilly village enveloped by darkness as early as 3 pm, the film unfolds through a series of flashbacks across multiple decades. Abhinaya Vasudev (Kiran Abbavaram) is the orphaned, happy-go-lucky postman who treats the village populace as his extended family. When several women in the village go missing and Vasu’s loved one is nearly abducted, he is determined to find answers.

Debut directors Sujith and Sandeep camouflage the core premise with an innovative script. However, more than the screenplay, what leaves you impressed is their sharp eye for detail. Vasudev’s profession comes with a solid backstory of a traumatic childhood. He grows up discreetly reading others’ letters to overcome loneliness and gain a better understanding of family ties.

Krishnagiri with its mysteries, little pleasures and rich tapestry of characters, is introduced to the viewer with child-like enthusiasm through Vasudev’s eyes. Helping the rural folk with reading and writing letters, the protagonist has a good excuse to sustain his childhood habits, which land him in trouble soon. The romance with a village belle Satyabhama is basic but effective. 

The storytelling is intriguing, given the film is deceptively structured like a kidnap drama, through which the pasts of multiple lead characters are explored. The first hour is a mishmash of every possible genre — crime, romance, humour, suspense — utilised to establish the many layers in the small-town ambience and the philosophy of the protagonist while teasing the viewers with the story trajectory.

Throughout the film, a device keeps transporting the characters to a particular timeline, helping them introspect about their decisions and comprehend the repercussions. While a delicious revelation leading to the intermission turns the film on its head, setting a firm foundation for a gripping contest, it loses its fizz later. The overdose of the ‘world building’ and detailing affects the pacing and sucks the joy out of the film. 

Time and again, the directors try to reiterate that Vasudev is an orphan. It does not help that he switches conveniently from a postman to a detective to a jilted lover to a rebellious hero. Thankfully, he is still made to work hard to decode the mystery behind the missing women in the village, away from the world of CCTV footage, forensic teams and mobiles.

KA heavily relies on the performances, technical finesse and the music to scrape past the dull stretches. Just when you are likely to give up on the film, a fantastic culmination shifts the momentum in its favour. A magnificently lit-up action sequence, where an entire village is in shambles and Vasudev chases the culprit on a bullock cart, provides the right mix of intensity, emotion and heroism.

Yet, the film’s best part is not the action but how it smartly changes gears with the discourse on destiny and karma with a reference to Shankaracharya’s Bhaja Govindam. Much like the interval, the directors generate a whistle-worthy cinematic high through an aptly timed twist. The dialogues summarising the cycle of life, birth and death make up for the film’s rough edges.

As Vasudev, Kiran’s innocence is a throwback to his Raja Vaaru Rani Gaaru days, free from larger-than-life indulgences. Nayan Sarika’s role (as Satyabhama) deserved more prominence, but she is proving to be quite a talent in the making, having proven her worth in Aay and Bench Life (web series) as well.

Veteran Achyuth Kumar’s potential is not tested much in the part of a typical casteist Ranga Rao. It is hard to understand what Redin Kingsley — whose timing largely depends on his uncanny Tamil slang — is doing in a rustic Telugu film. Tanvi Ram bags a crucial role and proves her finesse. Saranya Pradeep, Annapurna, Bindu Chandramouli and Ajay excel in extended cameos. 

The director duo Sujith-Sandeep deserve a larger chunk of the credit for giving a new spin to a period thriller and extracting commendable performances from a fairly young cast and crew. Cinematographers Viswas Daniel and Sateesh Reddy Masam infuse life into the rural ambience with their imaginative lighting and camera angles in a retro setup. The spirited and racy music score by Sam C S makes the most of an eventful script.

KA is not without its shortcomings, though they pale in comparison with the ambition in the writing and technical finesse. It is a thriller with a difference.

KA is currently running in theatres