Nagarjuna and Dhanush during the trailer launch in Hyderabad
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Fifteen years after Leader, director Sekhar Kammula treads in the zone of a socio-political drama with Kuberaa, scheduled to release in theatres on June 20. The Telugu film marks his first collaboration with actors Nagarjuna Akkineni, Dhanush, Rashmika Mandanna and Jim Sarbh. The trailer that was unveiled in Hyderabad on Sunday evening outlines a story that discusses corporate and political greed, ambition and power.

Dhanush is cast as a beggar, who is nearly ‘invisible’ to the forces in power, until he crosses paths with Nagarjuna, whose character believes that money and power run the country. The trailer, without revealing crucial details of the story, shows glimpses of how Dhanush’s character is a complex one and nearly threatens to shake up the political forces.

Devi Sri Prasad and Sekhar Kammula during the trailer launch
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Sekhar moves away from his comfort zone of family dramas to attempt a hard-hitting social drama that looks at two polar opposite sections of society. Rashmika, sporting a tanned look, is cast in a character that cautions Dhanush of the possible threats that is up against. Speaking his lines in Telugu, Jim Sarbh makes his debut in the language as a cool, calculating antagonist.

The trailer has also become a talking point for Devi Sri Prasad’s music, cinematographer Niketh Bommi’s visuals and the production design helmed by Thota Tharani.

Written by Sekhar Kammula and Chaitanya Pingali, Kuberaa was filmed in both Telugu and Tamil and is also reportedly high on visual effects.