‘Andhra King Taluka’ Movie Review: A Simplistic But Winningly Sweet Fan's Diary

The sun and sea might look like they’re deceivingly close, but can one meet the other? This is a question that the hero of Andhra King Taluka has to navigate quite early in the film. The analogy isn’t just a metaphorical reference to a “star” and his humble disciple who stays miles beneath him, but also a direct nod to their names: Surya (Upendra), the Telugu film star who is worshipped by Sagar (Ram Pothineni), a young man who is besotted by his love for his on-screen idol. How far can a fan go to show his love for his star, without ever setting eyes on the actor? Like the sea, a spectator that gently waits for the sun to rise and set in glory every day, a fan’s fate isn’t too dissimilar from the former. He waits and waits to see his star at the movies one more day. 

Director Mahesh Babu’s Andhra King Taluka is designed to make you reminisce about your love for your star, even feel embarrassed by the unrequited nature of this love, or maybe even remind you of a crazed fan you’ve seen whistling at the cinemas. But it’s primarily designed to make you feel good. This is the story of Sagar, a fan who is so in awe of his star that when Surya gets a rough reality check which reminds him of the fragility of his stardom, he hatches a plan to live another day to see his star. But instead of focusing on the muscular nature of this obsession, the film tunes us into the emotion behind this madness. The film, edited ingeniously by Sreekar Prasad, takes us back and forth between pivotal moments in a young and younger Sagar’s life, etched and shaped into place by Surya. 

The film’s writing deems it important enough to tell us why Sagar adores Surya in the first place, an important detail that distinguishes Andhra King Taluka from many others of its ilk. It also weaves a beautiful story around Sagar’s village, where it takes boats that brave the tempestuous waters of the Godavari to reach Godapali Lanka, a reclusive island with no electricity. It is a village where kids run around with bells in place of amulets to stay noticeable, and neighbours walk in and out of each other’s houses to borrow condiments. And true to its name, the village also gets an arc befitting a Ramayana comparison. 

Andhra King Taluka wants to tell the story of a star, and its chosen language of depiction is beautifully visual. We see that in the adorable subplot of the sweet bananas that reach Surya, who remains unknowing of the blood, sweat and tears that went behind it. We see it in the way a fan recognises his star, not directly, but by just a reflection of his gait on the projector. And we also see it in how sand, a marker of poverty in the eyes of one, is an identity of power for another. Cinematographer Siddhartha Nuni’s images lend depth to this storytelling. 

Surya might be the hero of Sagar’s life, as Mahalakshmi (Bhagyashri Borse, who mostly fights her own battles for a relationship based on respect) points out to her boyfriend. But the film makes sure it props up Sagar, and in the process, every fan like him watching, to be the hero they deserve to be.

While Andhra King Taluka isn’t really on the lines of a film about a film, Sagar’s coming-of-age arc is shot and treated like a dramatic mass film of redemption unfolding in front of our eyes. Like any commercial entertainer, the story within this story also suffers from excesses, often resorting to convenient resolutions and tightening of loose ends. But no one is really expecting the authenticity of a redemptive sports drama with an entertainer such as this. And for that, Andhra King Taluka largely exceeds expectations and wins us over.