What’s it about?
Set in 1996 in Kotha, a town infamous for its ganja (cannabis) addicts, there is a don named Kanna Bhai (Shabeer Kallarakkal). Even the cops are afraid of meeting him. A new police officer (Prasanna) promises to clean up Kotha and starts digging the background and rise of Kanna Bhai.
Raju (Dulquer Salmaan) was the gang leader of this location in 1986, and Kanna was his close friend and associate. Tara (Aishwarya Lekshmi), the lady he loved, betrayed him, he felt. On the other side, his pal Kanna, in collaboration with another gang leader Ranjith, defrauds Raju. Raju becomes infuriated and hits Kanna severely, damaging his eye. Raju decides to relocate from Kotha to Luckow as a result of this the incident. Kanna Bhai takes over as don in Raju’s absence.
And ten years later, Raju comes to town. Will things be the same in Kotha when he returns?
Analysis
Since the advent of blockbusters like pan-Indian movies like “KGF,” it has become fashionable for filmmakers to narrate period stories set in a place where anarchy ruled and one individual (presumably the film’s lead hero) becoming the savior of the place. The film “King of Kotha” is similar. To obtain the action hero image, however, the highly talented Dulquer Salmaan, who recently impressed Telugu viewers in “Sita Ramam,” picked the wrong storyline.
Aside from being an exercise to cement Dulquer’s status as an action hero, the “story” (if it can even be called that) in “King of Kotha” is weak and muddled. The film’s subplots are poorly explained. The very thread between hero and his friend turned foe is pointless.
Raju’s parents never speak to him. Even when he returns to their house ten years later, his father maintains same stubborn face, but in the following scene, the son and father become emotional. Aishwarya Lekshmi is introduced as a woman who is battling for a drug-free town. She is portrayed as Raju’s girlfriend. However, it is revealed after a few scenes that she is in love with her university friend. In the second half, he meets her again and invites her to his sister’s birthday celebration, as if all of their prior episodes had vanished in an instant. The entire Dulquer Salmaan and Aishwarya Lekshmi thread is ridiculous. So is the fundamental rivalry between Dulquer’s Raju and Shabber’s Kanna Bhai.
The entire first half is a big bore. Thankfully, some drama in the second half holds our attention.
Except for Dulquer Salmaan’s presence and his genuine portrayal of Raju, this film is a yawn. The work of the production designer is among the best in the technical categories. Jakes Bejoy’s background score works well. The writing is bad. The direction of new filmmaker Abhilash Joshiy is poor.
Bottom line: “King of Kotha” is a predictable action drama with nothing new to offer. It puts our patience to the test and is a yawn-inducing drama.
Rating: 1.75/5
Film: King of Kotha
Cast: Dulquer Salmaan, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Shabeer Kallarakkal, Prasanna, and Anikha Surendran
Writer: Abhilash N Chandran
Cinematography: Nimish Ravi
Music: Jakes Bejoy
Editor: Shyam Sasidharan
Production Design: Nimesh M Thanoor
Directed by: Abhilash Joshiy
Release date: August 24, 2025
