When I walked into the theatre for Kuberaa, I already had a strange mix of eagerness and skepticism in my mind. After all, a film starring Dhanush, Nagarjuna, Rashmika Mandanna, and Jim Sarbh naturally builds expectations, but the way its promotional campaign unfolded made me unsure of how the final picture would turn out. Ever since I saw the teaser, I found myself genuinely curious about what kind of film they were crafting. But another thought nagged me: Will they even release the Hindi version? Because, to my surprise, the trailer never came out in Hindi. Not even a dubbed one.
Still, on Friday, when the film officially released, I checked nearby theatres with a bit of hope – but it wasn’t showing anywhere close enough, and whatever show timings were available were completely unworkable for me. So finally, on Saturday, I decided I wasn’t going to miss it. I watched the Hindi dub, titled Kuber, a film shot simultaneously in Tamil and Telugu, carrying the same identity but two cultural pulses.
To be honest – the opening of this film absolutely blew me away.
A Powerful, No-Nonsense Opening That Grabs You Instantly
Right from the first frame, Kuberaa establishes itself as an efficient storyteller. What I instantly loved was how the film refuses to meander. There is no unnecessary melodrama, no theatrical buildup, nothing stretched out just for effect. Instead, the film places every important detail right in front of you, rapidly, almost ruthlessly, as if the director were telling you: Pay attention, this matters.
We’re taken straight to the Bay of Bengal, off the coast of Tamil Nadu, where a massive discovery is made – natural gas or crude oil hidden deep below, waiting to be extracted. Suddenly, we enter a world where black gold isn’t a metaphor but a literal fortune capable of generating thousands, lakhs, crores – unimaginable wealth for anyone who controls it.
Enter Jim Sarbh, playing a wealthy Indian industrialist with razor-sharp arrogance and a ruthless sense of entitlement. The moment he smells the opportunity, he does what powerful men in cinema – and often in real life – do without hesitation: he strikes a deal with politicians overnight, ensuring that whatever needs to be done will be done.
“Whoever needs to be killed, kill them. Whatever needs to be covered, cover it. Tell me how much money you want. I should get the contract.”
It’s chilling, not because it’s exaggerated, but because it’s disturbingly believable.
The politician’s demand?
₹1 lakh crore. Half in black. Half in white.
A sum so absurd that even characters in the film struggle to comprehend it.
At this point, the story doesn’t dive into complicated subplots or elaborate corporate explanations. It simply anchors itself to one core idea: This is a story about money – what it can buy, what it can destroy, and the very different kinds of people it pulls into its orbit.
- A Powerful, No-Nonsense Opening That Grabs You Instantly
- Two Worlds: The Billionaires and the Beggars
- The First Hour: Easily the Best Part of Kuberaa
- But Then… Convenience Creeps In
- The Second Half: Engaging but Repetitive
- Technical Aspects: Strong Score, Mixed Dubbing
- Final Thoughts: A Strong, Ambitious Film With Weak Edges
Two Worlds: The Billionaires and the Beggars
One of the most striking layers of Kuberaa is its exploration of the extreme ends of society. On one side, you have the elite – the billionaires, the decision-makers, the untouchably powerful people sitting at the very top. On the other side, you have the most overlooked, the most ignored, the most invisible people in the country: beggars on the streets, at traffic signals, outside temples.
The film smartly stitches both worlds together through a single thread – Deva, played by Dhanush.
And I have to say this: Dhanush’s performance is extraordinary.
He doesn’t play a stylized beggar. He plays an actual one – uneducated, naïve, rough around the edges, but not foolish. There is no self-conscious “superstar image maintenance.” No vanity. No glamour. Just pure, grounded performance that earns respect.
Dhanush becomes Deva so effortlessly that you forget the actor behind the face. There’s innocence in his confusion about lakhs and crores, but there’s also a sharpness when he starts recognizing what money can do.
He doesn’t know what ₹1 lakh crore means – and honestly, neither do I nor you – but when that much wealth is dangled before him, he grasps its implication with dangerous clarity.
“Number one businessman. Now you will dance on my hands.”
The transformation begins.
The First Hour: Easily the Best Part of Kuberaa
If I had to pick the highlight of the entire film, it is unquestionably its first hour. It is tight, engaging, and masterfully structured. The film builds its world with confidence, establishing the players, the stakes, and the financial networks that form the backbone of the narrative.
Every element comes together with purpose –
- Where the money flows from and where it goes,
- Which characters control which parts of the chain,
- Why Deva, a beggar, becomes significant in this high-stakes world.
It reminds you of how gripping a well-written drama can be, even without loud action or stylized fan-service moments. The writing here feels refreshing, mature, and impactful.
The casting from multiple industries elevates this effect even more.
Jim Sarbh and Nagarjuna Deliver Immaculate Character Work
Jim Sarbh is magnetic as the egoistic billionaire who behaves like he owns the world. His portrayal isn’t of a cliché villain – it’s of a believably human monster, someone you genuinely feel like slapping because his arrogance is so piercing.
Then comes Nagarjuna, and oh, what a delight he is.
His character is entirely grey – not a hero, not a villain, just a deeply layered man whose motivations unfold gradually. Watching an actor of his caliber pick such a role in a time when many senior stars rely heavily on “mass image-building” action films feels refreshing. Here, he lets the writing shine.
And it works.
This is the kind of film where drama carries the weight, not punch dialogues or exaggerated slow-motion walks. Even the humor is used sparingly but perfectly, sprinkled across the narrative in little bursts that make you genuinely smile.
At this point, I sat in the theatre thinking:
Is this movie heading toward becoming a masterpiece?
But Then… Convenience Creeps In
Just when I was praising the writing inside my head, the film made its first stumble. Right before the interval, we get a convenient jump, one of those moments that make you go:
“Oh… so this happened.”
It’s not a deal-breaker. Fine – one such narrative leap is acceptable. But then, before the interval ends, the film does it again.
This time, it becomes noticeable.
Not enough to break the film, but enough to remind you that the writers wanted certain things to move quickly, even if logic took a backseat for a moment.
When the interval lights went up, it struck me: I feel like I’ve already watched an entire movie. And rightly so – the first half is 1.5 hours long.
The total film crosses 3 hours, and that is where the biggest flaw comes in.
The Second Half: Engaging but Repetitive
The story continues confidently after interval, but the convenient jumps return sporadically. New developments happen too suddenly, and some scenes feel stretched or repeated unnecessarily.
This is where you begin to feel the runtime.
It’s not boring – far from it. Your attention stays. Your interest remains. But the film undeniably feels long, and that “creeping” sensation of time becomes unavoidable.
Still, what kept me hooked is the interesting clash between the mega-millionaire and the beggar, a dynamic that forms the emotional and moral heart of the film. Their final confrontation and the climax are engaging, offering something unexpected – even bold.
But the ending? I know it will divide people.
Some may feel unsatisfied after such heavy emotional and time investment. I, too, felt a tinge of “Oh… this is the ending?” But again, the runtime contributes heavily to that feeling.
Technical Aspects: Strong Score, Mixed Dubbing
Since I watched the Hindi dub, I must mention this specifically:
The dubbing is good enough, and I would definitely recommend watching it. However, at a few moments the audio peaked – dialogues sounded like the mic burst, as if the artist shouted too close to the microphone. It becomes noticeable in emotional scenes.
Song dubbing is not perfect either, though better than many South Indian Hindi dubs we commonly get.
Devi Sri Prasad’s background score, however, supports the film superbly. It never dominates but enhances.
Final Thoughts: A Strong, Ambitious Film With Weak Edges
When I walked out of the theatre, my mood was genuinely good. Kuberaa is a well-made film with excellent performances, impactful writing (especially in the first hour), and a refreshing dramatic tone in an era dominated by mass-commercial cinema.
Yes, the runtime is unnecessarily long. Yes, the convenient jumps dilute the believability in places.
Yes, the ending will polarize audiences.
But none of these issues are big enough to overshadow the fact that this is a good film – a gripping character-driven drama that dares to be different.
Rating: 3.5/ 5
A strong, engaging film with standout performances – especially by Dhanush and Nagarjuna – held back only by runtime and convenience-driven writing choices.
