Movie Name : Tunnel
Release Date : Sep 19, 2025
123telugu.com Rating : 2.5/5
Starring : Atharvaa Murali, Lavanya Tripathi and others
Director : Ravindra Madhava
Producer : A. Raju Nayak
Music Director : Justin Prabhakaran
Cinematographer : Hari Kiran
Editor : Kalaivanan R
Related Links : Trailer
Atharvaa and Lavanya Tripathi’s action thriller Tunnel is now out in theatres. Let’s see how the film is.
Story:
The movie begins with tense encounters between the Police and some bank robbers. Later, a gang headed by Ashwath Kakamanu starts eliminating the officers who were responsible for the encounters. Ashwath plots something big to create unrest among the Police department, and a newly recruited cop (Atharvaa) gets entangled in the unexpected chaos.
Plus Points:
Atharvaa Murali is earnest in his portrayal. As a carefree youngster and a sincere cop, he shows good variation. Instead of projecting him as a larger-than-life hero, the director presents him as a normal cop with vulnerability, which works well.
Ashwath Kakamanu fits the bill as the antagonist, delivering a convincing performance that makes him seem more powerful than the protagonist. His scenes with Atharvaa came out well. Visually, the film looks slick, especially during the slum sequences. Lavanya Tripathi is decent in her role. Artists who played Atharvaa’s friends did what was expected of them.
The film opens on an interesting note with an encounter between robbers and police. Later, a group of newly recruited cops gets stuck in a maze-like situation, making things interesting. The interval sequence builds tension fairly well, and action episodes are neatly executed.
Minus Points:
The romantic subplot in the first half derails the impact of a promising start. Though a few jokes land, the track mostly feels like filler and adds little to the main plot. The film regains momentum only after the flashback ends.
The main drawback of Tunnel is its done-to-death flashback in the second half, which is neither engaging nor has any surprising factor. To make things worse, it was presented in an animated format. Since we have seen the template umpteen times, there should be some freshness to root for the characters. There was no effort to bring some novelty.
As a result, the intended sympathy angle misses the mark, and the ending feels routine. Despite the short runtime, the pre-climax and climax portions are dragged heavily. There’s also some confusion in the Telugu version about the story’s setting.
Technical Aspects:
Justin Prabhakaran’s background score is fine in tense moments. There aren’t many songs, and the ones present are so-so. Sakthi Saravanan neatly captures the night-time action blocks with elegant visuals. The editing could have been better since the second half feels prolonged. The production values are fair.
Writer-director Ravindra Madhava has come up with an overly familiar story. Though he delivered some decent moments here and there, it all boils down to the routine flashback and social messaging, making the film underwhelming on the whole.
Verdict:
On the whole, Tunnel is a routine revenge drama with some decent moments here and there. This Atharvaa starrer had the potential to be a good thriller, but it stuck to the age-old revenge formula and didn’t provide the desired emotional depth. Atharvaa and Ashwath Kakamanu did a fine job, and action blocks look good, but the film falls short ultimately due to the run-of-the-mill backstory and a dragged climax.
123telugu.com Rating: 2.5/5
Reviewed by 123telugu Team
