Review: Psych Siddhartha – A Quirky Attempt That Falls Short

Movie Name : Psych Siddhartha
Release Date : Jan 01, 2026
123telugu.com Rating : 2.5/5
Starring : Shree Nandu, Yaamini Bhaskar, Narasimha S, Priyanka Rebekah Srinivas and Others
Director : Varun Reddy
Producers : Shree Nandu, Shyam Sunder Reddy Thudi
Music Director : Smaran Sai
Cinematographer : K Prakash Reddy
Editor :  Prateek Nuti
Related Links : Trailer
Psych Siddhartha is a youthful dark comedy drama starring Shree Nandu in the lead role. He also doubles up as the co-writer and producer of the film. Released as a New Year special, the movie attempts to tell a very simple story in a loud, quirky, and slightly mad manner. Here is our take on it.
Story:
Siddhartha (Shree Nandu) is a broken youngster who gets cheated by Mansoor, who promises to make him a big name in event management. Adding to his misery, his girlfriend Trisha (Priyanka Rebekah Srinivas) also deserts him and sides with Mansoor. Lost and disturbed, Siddhartha cuts himself off from the world. Meanwhile, Shravya (Yaamini Bhaskar), a victim of an abusive marriage, leaves her husband and ends up staying in the same apartment. An unexpected incident brings them together, and their lives slowly begin to change. What follows, and how their pasts start affecting their present, forms the rest of the story.
Plus Points:
Shree Nandu finally gets a role where he can go all out, and he does not hold back. Known mostly for soft or friend-type characters, he takes a big risk here by playing a broken and slightly mad person. His effort is clearly visible, and he completely surrenders himself to the character. In many scenes, the madness, frustration, and confusion work well. His combination scenes with Yaamini Bhaskar in the second half have a few genuinely funny moments and offer some relief.
Simha, who plays Siddhartha’s childhood friend Revanth, adds good energy whenever he appears. His expressions, body language, and sharp oral punches bring in some laughs and help maintain the tempo.
The director’s narration is where the film really tries to be different. He takes a wafer-thin story and dresses it up with whacky ideas, onomatopoeia, pop-up texts, and quirky cuts. This gives the film a comic-book-like feel at places. The two-hour runtime also works as a plus, as the film does not overstay its welcome. Crisp cinematography and creative editing add to the madness and help the narration move fast.
Minus Points:
While presenting a simple story in a funky way sounds interesting, it often turns too loud, messy, and chaotic. The film is filled with shouting, overlapping dialogues, adult content, and cuss words almost throughout, which becomes tiring after a point. What starts as whacky fun slowly turns into noise.
Yaamini Bhaskar, who appears on the big screen after a long gap, gets a role that looks decent on paper, but her performance does not fully click. Her dialogue delivery feels off in several places, and the emotional portions fail to create a strong impact. Characters like Mansoor and Trisha (Priyanka Rebekah Srinivas) are barely explored and end up serving only as fillers to push the story forward.
The first half moves at a decent pace but lacks proper buildup. The second half follows the same rhythm until a change comes in the protagonist. Even then, the story remains wafer-thin and never really digs deep emotionally. Despite moving smoothly, the film fails to leave a strong emotional hangover. With its raw language, intimate moments, and adult content, the film is strictly not meant for family audiences.
Technical Aspects:
The director is clear about the kind of film he wants to make and sticks to his style confidently. His idea of narrating the story using whacky cuts and onomatopoeia is interesting and different, though better control and stronger writing could have elevated the film further.
The cinematography by K. Prakash Reddy is neat and suits the gritty mood. The visuals look clean and well composed. Smaran Sai’s music adds flavour to the narration, shifting between crazy, fun, emotional, and calm moods as required. The background score supports the storytelling well. Production values are decent. Editing by Prateek Nuti is sharp in parts and helps keep the film moving, though a bit more trimming would have made it tighter.
Verdict:
Overall, Psych Siddhartha is a different attempt that relies more on style than on strong storytelling. While Shree Nandu’s sincere effort and a few moments work in its favour, the thin plot, loud narration, raw language, and intimate scenes limit its overall appeal. The film may connect with young viewers who enjoy experimental and offbeat cinema, but others, especially family audiences, will find it difficult to sit through.
123telugu.com Rating: 2.5/5
Reviewed by 123telugu Team 
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