Kiran Abbavaram’s KA has been a fascinating project from the start. It grabbed people’s attention with its title and promise of a finely written thriller. But the film has many problems to sustain the thrills and deliver on it. It all starts with the ambition to bend your mind without grabbing it in the first place. The film wants to feed you a lot of Biryani without really making you hungry. A great thriller can have the finest climax yet if the film never really grips you or worse, tires you so much to the point you don’t mind grasping the answer, that’s an engagement problem.
Set against the backdrop of the 1970s, KA follows Vasudev (Kiran Abbavaram), an orphan with an unusual habit of reading other people’s letters. He eventually takes on the role of a postman in the village of Krishnagiri, where he unearths troubling secrets, about missing girls, that haunt the village. Nayan Sarika plays Satyabhama, Vasudev’s love interest. Simultaneously, the story introduces a perplexing subplot where Vasudev is held captive by masked figures probing into his past and his time in Krishnagiri. This mystery, the captors’ identities and motives, frames the dual conflict that KA attempts to unravel.
However, these parallel storylines suffer from a lack of cohesion. The split focus, one narrative exploring Vasudev’s captivity and another tracing his investigative journey in Krishnagiri, dilutes the impact, creating a sense of watching two disconnected films in one. While the premise of the missing girls offers a rich setting for suspense, it remains underwritten and planted just to showcase smarts.
Vasudev’s metaphorical representation of Krishna, his antics, his budding romance with Satyabhama, and his curiosity to solve a puzzle eat up a large chunk of the screenplay. A viewer has to give too much benefit of doubt and keep themselves hooked to the bloated narration for the film to unravel everything. Now, that’s a heavy price to ask from today’s pea-sized attention span of audiences.
Regardless of the lackluster mystery, as the revelations start, you realise that the village story was never the actual plot. It is a 2 hour 30 minute tool used to somehow ‘blow your mind’ with a brilliant twist. How the viewer perceives KA entirely depends on whether their minds are blown with the reveal. If the twist doesn’t resonate with you, the film remains a bland experience.
Kiran Abbavaram deserves a lot of credit for taking up such a risky mind-bending thriller. It’s not everyboyd’s cup of tea to shoulder a film like this. Yet, although his performance has shown growth compared to previous projects, he still has ground to cover in portraying emotional nuance. His restrained expressions and monotone delivery occasionally dampen the dramatic impact, lacking the vibrant charm one might expect from a character with Krishna-like undertones.
Yet, Abbavaram shines in moments of vulnerability, particularly in the captivity sequences where his helplessness feels genuine. Nayan Sarika’s role is minimal, while Tanvi Ram’s character offers more significance and depth to the unfolding drama. Meanwhile, Sam CS’s musical score adds an alluring touch to the narrative, particularly amplifying the film’s climactic scenes.
Director duo Sujith-Sandeep clearly aspired to weave a complex philosophical commentary on karma and consequence. A rich thriller needs to provide a blend of concept and revelation.
However, KA feels like a rough draft that needed more refinement to reach its full potential. The film’s philosophical ambition is evident, but its execution feels underdeveloped, as if the reveal overshadowed the narrative. With more time on writing, the film could have transformed its intriguing premise into a more satisfying thriller. You can watch the thriller only for the climax but that’s like saying—sit on the top of a beautiful mountain without really climbing.
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Cast: Kiran Abbavaram, Nayan Sarika, Tanvi Ram, Achyuth Kumar, Redin Kingsley
Director: Sujith - Sandeep