Gurram Paapi Reddy Review: Laughs in parts, loses momentum

Gurram Paapi Reddy… What’s it about?

Gurram Paapi Reddy (Naresh Agastya) hails from a small village in Khammam. Once associated with a chit fund company owned by the influential Hayagreeva brothers, Gurram ends up serving four years in prison after being blamed for cheating the public. Soudamani (Faria Abdullah), whose family loses money in the scam, initially plans to kill him. However, she later realises that Gurram himself was betrayed by the Hayagreeva brothers.

Driven by a shared desire for revenge, Gurram and Soudamani team up to outwit the powerful brothers.

Their plan involves Goyyi (Jeevan Kumar), a grave digger, whom they attempt to project as the rightful successor to the Hayagreeva royal lineage. Unaware of the larger scheme, Chilipi (Vamshidhar Kosgi) and Military (Rajkumar Kasireddy) are roped in as accomplices. The rest of the narrative revolves around how Gurram executes his elaborate plan and whether it unfolds as intended.

Analysis

Dark comedies have been slowly finding favour in Telugu cinema, and “Gurram Paapi Reddy” attempts to blend dark humour with thriller elements. The film largely maintains a comic tone for most of its runtime before gradually shifting into a more serious thriller space towards the end.

Written by Poorna Pragna and directed by Murali Manohar, the film has a reasonably structured plot with a few interesting twists. However, the execution falters due to lack of narrative discipline.

The writing misses brevity, and the editing fails to rein in prolonged and repetitive sequences. As a result, several comedy episodes that initially generate laughs begin to feel stretched and tiresome.

Despite these issues, the film does manage a solid interval bang that momentarily revives interest. A handful of sequences, including Yogi Babu’s Christian father avatar and a subsequent comedy stretch set in Hyderabad, provide genuine laughs. Unfortunately, these moments are diluted by excessive runtime and uneven pacing, affecting both halves of the film.

Naresh Agastya delivers a confident performance as Gurram Paapi Reddy and anchors the film effectively. Faria Abdullah does well in a role that goes beyond the conventional heroine template. Yogi Babu, Rajkumar Kasireddy, Vamshidhar Kosgi, and Jeevan Kumar contribute intermittent humour, while Brahmanandam’s appearance as a judge remains functional. Soumya appears as a lawyer.

Bottom-line: “Gurram Paapi Reddy” starts off on a promising note with a decent premise and a few effective comedy moments. However, prolonged narration, repetitive sequences, and pacing issues dampen the overall impact.

By: TC Team

Rating: 2.5/5

Movie: Gurram Paapi Reddy
Cast: Naresh Agastya, Faria Abdullah, Brahmanandam, Yogi Babu, Rajkumar Kasireddy, Vamshidhar Kosgi, Jeevan Kumar, and others
Music: Krishna Saurabh Surampalli
DOP: Arjun Raja
Editor: Karthika Srinivas
Producer: Venu Saddi, Amar Bura, Jayakanth (Bobby)
Screenplay and Directed by: Murali Manohar
Release Date: Dec 19, 2025