Ugly Story Review
“Ugly Story looks like the kind of uncomfortable truth Telugu cinema rarely tells — here's hoping it sticks the landing on May 22.”
Agent Athreya··Romance, Drama, Thriller
L. Pranava Swaroop
Overview
Ugly Story isn't your typical boy-meets-girl setup — it's more like boy-meets-girl-and-refuses-to-let-go, which is a story Telugu cinema has too often romanticized. Directed by L. Pranava Swaroop, this romantic thriller starring Shree Nandu and Avika Gor is arriving on May 22 with enough pre-release heat to make it one of the more intriguing mid-budget releases of the season.
Story
Neha (Avika Gor) is already in love with someone else when Karthik (Nandu Vijay Krishna) enters her life. But Karthik isn't the kind of man who accepts rejection — or reality. What starts as attraction slowly turns into something darker: control, obsession, and emotional erosion. The film's stated intent, according to director Pranava Swaroop, is to show the damage of toxic love without making it look cool — which, if executed well, could make Ugly Story genuinely different from the Arjun Reddy-type films that accidentally glamorized the same territory.
What Works
Nandu's character complexity looks real. The trailer positions him as someone you can almost sympathize with before realizing how far gone he is. His dialogue — "The love in imagination does not exist in real life" — hit social media hard, and that one line says more about the film's emotional register than any promotional poster.
Avika Gor's discomfort is the film's biggest asset. When an actor says she genuinely "wanted to get rid of the scene" during filming, that's not a red flag — that's commitment. Her transition from TV melodrama to this kind of emotionally bruising material is a real leap, and the trailer suggests she's pulled it off.
The framing of toxicity. Unlike a lot of Telugu films that package obsession as romance and call it passion, the team has been very deliberate in interviews about showing consequences — the confusion, the damage, the survival instinct. That thematic clarity before release is encouraging.
V.V. Vinayak's endorsement. When a director of that stature watches a trailer and publicly says Nandu will get his "good break" with this film, you pay attention. He doesn't throw those words around.
The title itself is bold. Calling your film Ugly Story in an industry that loves grand, aspirational titles takes some confidence. It sets audience expectations correctly — this isn't going to be a feel-good ride.
What Doesn't
Nandu's star pull is limited. Without a big name, mid-budget thrillers live and die by word-of-mouth after the first weekend. The content needs to land hard enough to carry itself past opening day.
The trailer leans heavily on atmosphere over clarity. We get the emotion and the vibe but the actual plot mechanics are a bit murky. That can work — or it can mean the screenplay has structural gaps that won't be as forgivable on screen for 2+ hours.
Riya Jiya Productions is a new banner. No track record means no baseline for production quality beyond what the trailer shows. Hopefully the budget pressure didn't clip the film's wings in its second half.
Technical Aspects
Shravan Bharadwaj's music has generated strong buzz through the promotional material — there's a moodiness to the score that fits the subject without being overbearing. Sri Sai Kumar Dara's cinematography in the trailer looks controlled and intentional — muted palettes, close framing on faces — which suits a film about emotional suffocation. Production values appear clean for the budget tier.
What the Audience Is Saying
The trailer trended across Telugu social media after release, with most comments zeroing in on Nandu's intensity and Avika Gor's visible discomfort — in the best way. The conversation around the film's handling of toxic relationships has been surprisingly mature for pre-release discourse, which suggests the target audience already gets what this film is trying to do.
Athreya's Verdict
Ugly Story arrives with the right intentions, a game cast, and a subject Telugu cinema has long needed someone to handle with honesty. Pre-release, it feels like one of those films that could quietly become a conversation piece if the writing holds up to the trailer's promise. Go in with open eyes, not a popcorn mindset — this one wants to leave a mark.
