Cast: Yuva Chandraa, Ananya Nagella, Ajay, Srikanth Iyengar, Thanasvi Chowdary, Priyanka Sharma, Noel Sean

Crew: 
Cinematography by Monish Bhupathiraju    
Music by Sekhar Chandra
Editing by Karthika Srinivas
Written & Directed by Sahit Mothkhuri
Produced by Nishank Reddy Kudithi, Suresh Kumar Sadige
Release Date: 25th October 2024 

Pottel has been one of the most talked about films in recent times. The film's teaser and trailer have created enough buzz for the film and even Sandeep Reddy Vanga's support has added an extra layer of interest for the film. The rural based theme and comparison with Rangasthalam made it almost a must watch for cinephiles. Let's discuss about this movie in detail. 

Plot: 

Peda Gangadari(Yuva Chandraa) is frustrated with his life as he is being limited to be a shepherd taking care of herd of sheep. He is assigned a task to take care of a Woolly aka Pottel, which is divine for village as it is revered as Goddess Balamma Thalli's gift. He and his wife Bujjamma(Ananya Nagella) want their kid Saraswati(Thanasvi Chowdary) to study and be educated. They try very hard to convince every villager to help them in getting her educated. 

On the other hand, Patel(Ajay) the village head, wants to control the village with an iron fist. He is believed to be Goddess Balamma Thalli's gift to the village. Every now and then, villagers believe that Balamma Thalli orders them what she wants them to do through him. Hence, his words are taken as orders by them. He opposes Gangadari's efforts to get Saraswati educated vigorously. Why? What is the connection between Pottel and this kid's education? Watch the movie to know more. 

Analysis: 

Performances wise Yuva Chandraa and Ananya Nagella are good in the film. Yuva Chandraa has a difficult character for a young actor and he did carry it off with good maturity. He showcased his skills in drama scenes and Ananya Nagella is also good in her part. Ajay takes the cake as the antagonist and his peformance is absolutely great. Others also did their best in the roles given to them. 

But the writing becomes an issue after the set-up of the premise. Director who is also the writer took his time in the first hour establishing premise and it seems like he is dragging it to bits and even more. Also, the story doesn't move after a point. With some good scenes sprinkled here and there, bad scenes keep following them up. Also, it looks like the director is heavily inspired by many films. 

Scenes doesn't add to the flow and keep on disrupting any emotional connect being established. The young actress character needed many more scenes along with leads. But some unnecessary scenes keep dragging the theme to bits. Ajay's performance in several scenes make them watchable but predictability hampers the proceedings. While production values are good and technically movie is strong, narrative is not effective enough to keep us hooked. 

In Conclusion: 

Pottel belongs to that category of movies where the premise and beginning are interesting but the movie lacks in landing an impact and in execution. 

Rating: 2.5/5