Jetlee Review
“Jetlee had a killer premise and a fun hero — but Ritesh Rana's quirky compass pointed in the wrong direction this time.”
Agent Athreya··Action, Comedy, Thriller
Ritesh Rana
Critic Scores
Overview
A plane full of mercenaries, a mystery man with many identities, and a fugitive banker on the run — on paper, Jetlee sounds like the most fun you can have in a 132-minute flight. In reality? It's closer to a flight delayed at the gate with no explanation. The Mathu Vadalara magic, unfortunately, doesn't take off.
Story
Prajapathi (Ajay), a bigwig banker who loses everything in a crypto crash and fakes bankruptcy, survives an assassination attempt and bolts to Dubai — breaking every court order in the book. The meat of the story happens aboard SwingFisher 6EB1CH, a Kochi-bound flight that becomes a pressure cooker of mercenaries, covert agents, and chaos. At the centre of it all is Ved Vyas (Satya) — is he a blind doctor, a secret agent, or something else entirely? It's a genuinely clever setup that Tollywood hasn't tried before, and the first half keeps you guessing.
What Works
The airplane setting is legitimately fresh. Cinematographer Suresh Sarangam deserves full marks for making a flight cabin feel alive — tight corridors, claustrophobic tension, polished visuals throughout. For a mid-budget film, the production design inside that aircraft is genuinely impressive.
Satya's comic timing carries the first half. When he's in his element — particularly the early mystery-building scenes where you can't tell what Ved Vyas actually is — he's genuinely funny and watchable. The guy has real screen presence.
The pre-climax prayer song is peak Ritesh Rana. Kaala Bhairava's composition with relatable lyrics about passengers praying mid-crisis is exactly the kind of left-field, self-aware moment this director does best. Trademark stuff.
The meta-humour lands in flashes. The satire on Tollywood's Rama/Hanuman climax trend, the jab at multi-part film announcements — when Ritesh Rana is in satirical mode, you remember why Mathu Vadalara worked.
The co-pilot is the unsung hero. His dialogue delivery generated the most genuine laughs in the theatre. No name on the credits, but the man delivered.
What Doesn't
The second half tests your patience like a middle seat on a long-haul flight. After a reasonably engaging first half, the film loses altitude fast. The action-comedy-thriller balancing act collapses, and you end up with none of the three working properly. Editing by Karthika Srinivas needed to be far sharper here — at least 15-20 minutes could have been trimmed.
The comedy ages poorly within the film itself. "Coffee machine not working, so drinking tea" as a gag, plus "Then Go" and "Mountain red flower" as punchlines — these feel like jokes that were stale before the screenplay was printed. In 2026, that's a problem.
The supporting cast is underused in ways that hurt. Vennela Kishore — a man who has saved lesser films — gets portions that drag. Srinivasa Reddy is completely wasted. For a film with this comedy pedigree in the cast, that's a real missed opportunity.
Technical Aspects
Kaala Bhairava's music is a mixed bag — two decent songs, with the prayer song clearly the standout, but the background score doesn't do much to elevate the film's thriller elements when it needs to most. Suresh Sarangam's cinematography is the real MVP of the technical crew, especially impressive given how limiting a single flight cabin can be. VFX by Hrishikesh CH gets the job done without embarrassing anyone.
What the Audience Is Saying
Early reactions from the Labour Day first-day crowd suggest audiences enjoyed bits of the first half but walked out with the same feeling critics have — good idea, average execution. The Telangana theatre boycott (AMB Cinemas and AAA Cinemas both sitting this one out due to the percentage-sharing dispute) didn't help the opening day energy. Word of mouth seems to be settling around "wait for OTT" territory.
Athreya's Verdict
Jetlee is Ritesh Rana's Happy Birthday problem all over again — too clever for its own good, too unfocused to land. Satya needed a tighter script to become a franchise hero, and this wasn't it. Catch it on OTT on a lazy Sunday if you enjoyed the Mathu Vadalara vibe — just don't buy a ticket expecting that hat-trick.
