Kishkindhapuri – September 2025: A Haunted Turn for Tollywood Thriller
Kishkindhapuri 2025 Epic Thrilling Success “Kishkindhapuri” is a Telugu horror-thriller film that released theatrically on 12 September 2025. Directed by Koushik Pegallapati and produced by Sahu Garapati under the banner Shine Screens, the film stars Bellamkonda Sai Sreenivas in the lead as Raghav, and Anupama Parameswaran as Mythili.
Plot & Premise
Kishkindhapuri 2025 Epic Thrilling Success
Set in a village named Kishkindhapuri, Raghav and Mythili run a “ghost-walking tour” business, taking tourists through abandoned buildings and narrating spooky tales – mostly made up for effect. One day, they take a group into an old, derelict radio station called Suvarnamaya, long since closed, where they unintentionally disturb a dormant spirit. The spirit begins to torment them via the radio, predicting names of its next victims, trapping the tourists and team inside the station. What follows is a fight to survive, and an unraveling of the mystery: what really happened at Suvarnamaya, what is the backstory of the ghostly presence, and can those trapped escape?
Cast, Crew, Technicals
Kishkindhapuri 2025 Epic Thrilling Success
- Lead actors: Bellamkonda Sai Sreenivas (Raghav) and Anupama Parameswaran (Mythili) carry the film’s central emotion and tension.
- Supporting cast: Names such as Makarand Deshpande, Hyper Aadi, Tanikella Bharani, Srikanth Iyenger, Sudarshan appear in the ensemble.
- Music & Sound: Score and background music play a crucial role in horror, and here composers Chaitan Bharadwaj and Sam C. S. provide the music and background impact. Cinematography by Chinmay Salaskar.
Release, Reception & Box Office
Kishkindhapuri 2025 Epic Thrilling Success
Upon its release, Kishkindhapuri enjoyed a positive response. The film opened on 12 September worldwide and gradually built momentum through word of mouth. Ticket sales reportedly increased on the second and third days, indicating growing interest.
One notable moment in its publicity was during competition: Kishkindhapuri clashed at the box office with Mirai starring Teja Sajja. The comparison generated buzz and audience curiosity.
As for streaming, the OTT rights have been acquired by Zee5, with a planned premiere during the second week of October 2025, following its theatrical run. Kishkindhapuri 2025 Epic Thrilling Success
Strengths & Criticisms
Kishkindhapuri 2025 Epic Thrilling Success From published reviews and audience feedback, Kishkindhapuri’s strengths include:
- Atmosphere & Suspense: Its ghost station premise, claustrophobic setting (being trapped inside), and using radio as a medium for supernatural communication were viewed as effective. The tension builds via technical aspects (sound design, cinematography) more than over-used horror tropes.
- Strong Supporting Cast & Technical Values: There’s praise for how the supporting actors contribute to the unfolding mystery, and for the sets, production values. It was noted that a large set (costing around ₹2 crore) was constructed, which underlines the investment in environment and mood.
On the flip side, among the criticisms:
- Some reviews felt that parts of the narrative were predictable once the “ghost station” angle was established.
- Others commented that while the film delivers on jump scares and horror moments, the emotional depth or character exploration could have been deeper. The fake vs real ghost‐story dynamic sometimes felt uneven. (This is typical in horror films where setup overshadows character arcs.)
Themes & Observations
Kishkindhapuri 2025 Epic Thrilling Success
- The film plays with the idea of storytelling vs reality: Raghav and Mythili narrate spooky tales, mostly pure fiction, for tourism, but then cross the boundary where fiction becomes dangerous reality. This crossover is rich with tension, raising questions about consequences of deceiving people, and what happens when myths manifest.
- The use of abandoned infrastructure (old radio station) taps into nostalgia, decay, and fear of the forgotten. The radio medium itself a voice from the past, an old station symbolizes how history and suppressed stories linger in physical spaces.
- There is also a theme of entrapment (physical and psychological), as the protagonists and others are locked into the station and forced to behold truth and consequences, not just ghosts.
Context in Tollywood & Industry Impact
- Kishkindhapuri joins a growing wave of Telugu films that are experimenting beyond action and romance mixing horror, mystery, thriller elements and investing in better atmospherics and technical craft.
- At the box office, it has shown that there is audience appetite for horror-thrillers, especially when promotional content teases suspense rather than just spectacle. The strong word of mouth has helped drive showings beyond opening weekend.
- Director Koushik Pegallapati and producer Sahu Garapati taking the risk with big sets, rich sound design, and ambitious horror setups is significant; it suggests that producers are increasingly willing to fund such genre pieces if they feel confident in technical and storytelling execution.
- The clash with Mirai also shows how the release calendar for Telugu cinema is becoming more crowded, with multiple high-interest films vying for attention. As such, visibility, pre-release buzz, and early reviews are more important than ever. Kishkindhapuri 2025 Epic Thrilling Success
Conclusion
Kishkindhapuri 2025 Epic Thrilling Success Kishkindhapuri (September 2025) is a noteworthy entry in the Tollywood genre of horror-thrillers. While not flawless, it succeeds in building suspense, delivering scares, and hooking the audience with its haunted radio station premise. Its technical richness, through sound and atmosphere, plus the investment in sets and mood, mark it as a serious effort in its genre. With OTT release on the horizon, it will be interesting to see how the film is received by a wider streaming audience, and whether its themes of story vs reality resonate further.