BOTTOM LINE
From 90s Magic to Epic Disappointment!
RATING
2/5
Story, Screenplay, Director: Aditya Haasan
Cast: Anand Deverakonda, Vaishnavi Chaitanya
Music Director: Hesham Abdul Wahab
DOP: Azeem Mohammad
Editor: Navin Nooli
Producer: Suryadevara Naga Vamsi & Sai Soujanya
Presented By: Srikara Studios
Production Company: Sithara Entertainments, Fortune Four Cinema
U.S. Distributor:
Related Links: Trailer
What Is the Film About?
Epic follows two young students pursuing their studies in the UK. What begins as a casual relationship quickly develops into a live-in arrangement and becomes emotionally complicated for both of them. How the relationship affects the young couple and the decision they eventually make forms the film’s basic story.
Performances
Anand Deverakonda plays a naive, timid, nervous, and often clueless youngster. Initially, it appears as though he is struggling to settle into the role. However, as the film progresses and the character becomes clearer, his restrained body language and the way he carries himself begin to make sense. He does a fairly good job of portraying a confused, innocent, and vulnerable young man.
Vaishnavi Chaitanya has limited scope to perform. It is a fairly routine role, and she does what is required of her.
Analysis
Epic is directed by Aditya Haasan, best known as the creator of the 90’s web series. The film opens as an extension of that world, returning to the same house and familiar family while stirring up nostalgia. The younger son is now grown up, with Anand Deverakonda playing the lead. These opening minutes feel warm and pleasant.
However, once the lead pair moves to the UK, the film shifts to a completely different track, as expected. The biggest problem with the first half is the writing, which is mostly unengaging, and unexciting.
Although the lead pair is presented as students in the UK, there is absolutely no relatability. Most of their story unfolds inside a room through conversations, kissing scenes, and intimate moments. For a film whose director repeatedly spoke about relatability, that element is nowhere to be found here.
Rather than a conventional love story, the first half plays out as a relationship drama. The hero and heroine meet in college, quickly enter a live-in relationship, and the narrative explores what happens between them. However, their characters are not written in a way that makes us connect with or root for either of them.
The director presents their relationship rather confusingly. It progresses from a kiss to intimate scenes, but the journey leading to those moments is never convincingly established. There is neither a clear sense of physical attraction nor any soulful love between them. As a result, their relationship remains confusing throughout the first half.
There are a few enjoyable moments here and there, including the callback to the “Sampradayini” moment. However, they are a very few and not enough to lift the overall experience.
The hero is portrayed as timid, nervous, and innocent, while the heroine is comparatively bold. These contrasting personalities had potential, but the thread connecting them lacks conflict, purpose, or emotional depth. Their journey neither makes us root for them nor makes their time together enjoyable to watch.
The interval ends with another lovemaking scene, fully justifying the film’s A certificate.
The second half begins with the heroine behaving in a completely contrasting and almost unstable manner. The film quickly explains the reason behind her behavior, attributing it to PCOD and menstrual health issues. A couple of scenes then address the difficulties women experience during such phases.
The subject is sensitive, and the director deserves appreciation for making an effort to address it. However, the execution is so overstated that the intended impact gets diluted. Instead of sensitively highlighting an important issue, the entire portion feels overdone. When the hero learns that the heroine is on her period, he runs barefoot through the streets just to see her. Such is the exaggeration. The heroine is also shown holding her lower back to emphasize the pain women experience during menstruation.
Another lengthy stretch revolves around a pregnancy scare. Even this portion is presented so blandly that neither the writing nor the situation generates any engagement. From there, the film begins to dip and drag before eventually leading to the breakup drama.
By this point, we feel for neither the hero nor the heroine because their problems never feel convincing. They travel to the UK as students, but all we see is their live-in relationship, mostly confined to a single bedroom.
Frankly, this story could have been set anywhere. There was no real need to take it to the UK. Considering that Aditya Haasan was once a foreign student himself, calling this a relatable relationship drama feels like the biggest joke.
Toward the end, the parents’ angle is suddenly introduced to generate emotion. The father (Sivaji) struggles financially and calls his son for money. The son feels bad and eventually sends money home. But how is any of this supposed to work emotionally when the son is never shown doing anything in the UK other than spending time with the heroine inside a room? The entire situation feels far too contrived to take seriously or emotionally connect with.
After patiently sitting through the dragging second half, the film rewards us with an unsatisfying climax that makes little sense. The ending completely disappoints and offers no proper emotional closure.
Overall, Epic is an utterly mediocre attempt from Aditya Haasan, who previously delivered a warm, memorable, and feel-good series like 90’s. Here, he presents a relationship drama with no convincing conflict and a lead couple we never connect with. It is a thoroughly disappointing work from the director.
Performances by Other Actors
Epic has a very limited supporting cast. MAD director Kalyan Shankar appears as one of the hero’s friends, but the role feels like a filler character with no memorable writing. Another friend character Gavireddy Srinivas in the UK is also passably written but leaves little impact.
Sivaji and Vasuki Anand, who played the parents in 90’s, make brief appearances. However, the film fails to take advantage of their familiar characters or the nostalgia associated with them, limiting both to blink-and-miss scenes.
Overall, the film relies almost entirely on its lead pair, leaving hardly anything worth mentioning about the supporting cast.
Music and Other Departments?
The music is composed by Hesham Abdul Wahab. “Sancharame” has already worked well, but the other songs are largely forgettable, even visually. The background score and one situational song support the film reasonably well. Overall, the music is hit-and-miss, with one successful song followed by mostly middling work.
Azeem Mohammad’s cinematography is adequate. Most of the film unfolds inside a confined single-bedroom location, with only a few glimpses of UK streets. There is nothing particularly impressive visually.
Navin Nooli’s editing could have been much sharper, particularly in the second half, which is filled with several slow and boring stretches.
The production values from Sithara Entertainments and Fortune Four Cinemas are adequate for a simple love story.
Highlights?
Brief moments of 90’s nostalgia
A couple of breezy moments between the lead pair
Drawbacks?
Weak and largely unengaging writing
Unrelatable lead characters
Relationship lacks convincing conflict and emotional depth
UK setting adds little to the story
Slow and dragging second half
Unsatisfying climax with weak emotional closure
Did I Enjoy It?
No. There are very few moments that feel genuinely warm, emotional, or engaging.
Will You Recommend It?
Not really. The film offers too little to make it worth recommending.
Epic 2026 Telugu Movie Reviewed by Kalyan, M9
#Epic Review: From 90s Magic to Epic Disappointment!
Epic starts with 90s nostalgia but soon settles into mediocrity. A passable first half is followed by a boring second half with no convincing conflict in the live-in relationship leading to an unsatisfying ending. It also relies on the parents angle at the end to evoke emotion, but that does not work either.
The story does not need a UK setting. Despite the director’s claims of relatability, hardly anything here feels relatable.
With multiple intimate scenes, the film fully justifies its ‘A’ certificate.
M9 Rating: 2/5
Detailed review follows.
Story, Screenplay, Director: Aditya Haasan
Cast: Anand Deverakonda, Vaishnavi Chaitanya
Music Director: Hesham Abdul Wahab
DOP: Azeem Mohammad
Editor: Navin Nooli
Producer: Suryadevara Naga Vamsi & Sai Soujanya
Presented By: Srikara Studios
Production Company: Sithara Entertainments, Fortune Four Cinema
U.S. Distributor: Shloka Entertainments
Related Links: Trailer
Epic 2026 Telugu Movie Reviewed by Kalyan, M9
