‘Itllu Arjuna’ movie review: Aniesh, Anaswara Rajan’s film is a contrived action-romance

Debut director Mahesh Uppala’s Telugu entertainer has slick visuals and tolerable humour, but plays it too safe

Published - November 13, 2026 01:35 pm IST

Anaswara Rajan and Aniesh in the film | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

The much-publicised Telugu film Itllu Arjuna, helmed by debut director Mahesh Uppala, is designed to be a slick showreel for newcomer Aniesh. Yet, for a conventional launchpad, it is relatively grounded, stylish and lightweight. The action-romance follows two young, lovestruck protagonists: a speech-impaired boy and a spirited medical student, as they navigate a high-stakes situation.

Itllu Arjuna’s storytelling has an assured, easy-going rhythm. Cinematographer Raja Mahadhevan lights up every frame with enthusiasm. Even a speck of dust has a symmetry to it, carefully orchestrated to add to the film’s visual appeal. The drama is gentle, the humour just about tolerable, and the romance generic. No sequence is blown out of proportion. Arjun (Aniesh) may be non-verbal, but he is the know-it-all too.

This breeziness is both the film’s strength and its problem. As Arjun’s childhood unfolds, the makers hope that the audience will understand his burden of being raised as a burglar’s son, ostracised by his neighbours and forced to resort to petty thefts for a living. However, the film merrily chugs along and shows little interest in building on the emotion or drama. Arjun’s speech impairment never feels like a vulnerability.

The romantic episodes are packed with stock tropes. An orphaned boy stays by Arjun’s side, prodding him to propose to his pretty neighbour, Keerthi (Anaswara Rajan). Like a typical mainstream film heroine, Keerthi is dumbed down to look cute, wear pretty clothes, act helpless and remain confined to a pious household, waiting to be rescued by Arjun whenever trouble strikes.

The film is in a rush to flesh out its crime track: an operation in Jaisalmer involving a pen drive tucked inside a yellow box, an expiring password, a ₹1,000-crore deal and the death of a big-time thug’s son, before cutting back to Arjun’s everyday life. Itllu Arjuna attempts to blend two seemingly disparate worlds, yet neither feels weighty or impactful enough.

The leads goof around, drop off a thug’s parcel from a flyover, stumble upon a crime scene, spend a night on a bus and enjoy a terrace party. Arjun is stripped of all privileges and affection during childhood, yet he can seemingly do no wrong. He is armed with a string of talents, from performing magic tricks and whistling popular songs to handling any danger with remarkable calm. There are other familiar fixtures too, including comical henchmen, corrupt cops and strict mothers.

The entire thread around Keerthi’s struggle to escape the confines of an orthodox home and its constant moral policing could have led to something substantial. Instead, Itllu Arjuna makes it less about a girl setting herself free and more about her depending on Arjun in her hour of need.

Even as the stakes are raised after the interval, the film remains stuck in a similar narrative loop. Vennela Kishore offers some respite in both halves, providing a welcome break from the crime backdrop, which is dealt with in broad strokes.

The subplot involving Irani (Elango Kumaravel) and Gowri (Kalaiyarasan) never becomes absorbing. Still, the jathara sequences in the villain’s camp bring the cinematographer’s roots (he is an associate of G.K. Vishnu) clearly to the fore, and the aesthetics remain a treat to watch.

The flat emotional graph never lets us appreciate the ending. The highs are not impactful, and the lows are not damning enough. Forget logic, the narrative lacks emotional connect.

Aniesh has a rather limited range of expressions and remains almost zen-like despite the many situations thrown at him. Anaswara Rajan has a charming screen presence, but is given little to do beyond dressing up and looking scared.

Elango Kumaravel’s casting as a corrupt cop adds a touch of freshness, though the role needed more grit. Mukesh Rishi and Kalaiyarasan are handed fairly templated baddie characters. Raghu Babu impresses, while Brahmaji and Getup Srinu’s talents remain underutilised.

S. Thaman’s score is in dire need of reimagining, though it lends some much-needed heft to the picturesque visuals and the film’s light treatment.

Itllu Arjuna plays it too safe and makes things too easy for Aniesh to emerge as a satisfying commercial entertainer. It offers a bit of everything, from action to romance and humour, but nothing in abundance.