A2 hrs 15 minsReleased: 10 Sep, 2026
TeluguDrama, Thriller & Action
Cast & Crew
Maremma Movie Review: Folklore adds intrigue, but the drama falls flat
The Times of India
TNN, Sep 16, 2026, 1:05 PM IST
Story
In a village where faith and tradition are deeply woven into everyday life, the bond between a young man and an animal becomes the centre of an unexpected conflict. Karni (Maadhav Bhupathiraju) shares a close bond with Maari, a buffalo that is being raised as an offering to the village deity Maremma. But when Maari goes missing, Karni sets out to find the animal, taking him deeper into the village’s customs, beliefs and conflicts. What begins as a simple search gradually opens up the world surrounding the deity and the practices followed by the villagers. As Karni continues looking for Maari, the film attempts to explore questions of faith, tradition and the emotional connection between humans and animals, against the backdrop of rural Telangana.
Review
In a village where faith dictates customs and customs dictate lives, the disappearance of one buffalo is enough to unsettle the entire social order. Maremma uses Maari’s disappearance to enter a world shaped by devotion, tradition and fear, but the screenplay takes too long to give this conflict a compelling dramatic shape. Director Manchala Nagaraj takes time to establish the village and its belief system, allowing the rural atmosphere to become an important part of the film. There is a certain authenticity to the setting, particularly in the way customs and faith are presented as part of everyday life rather than simply being used as background decoration. The Telangana flavour gives the film a distinct identity too. However, the writing doesn’t always provide the characters with sufficiently strong motivations. Karni’s attachment to Maari is central to the story, but the screenplay could have spent more time establishing their relationship in a way that makes his subsequent search emotionally compelling. Without that foundation, some of the character decisions feel more functional than organic. Maadhav Bhupathiraju fits comfortably into the rural setting and brings a raw quality to Karni. He looks convincing as a young man from the village and keeps his performance relatively natural, but the role demands greater emotional range in some of the crucial scenes. The intensity of Karni’s desperation doesn’t always come through as strongly as the story requires.Deepa Balu makes an impression within the limitations of her role, while Vikas Vasishta and V.S. Rupa Lakshmi bring some texture to the supporting characters. The performances generally suit the film’s grounded setting, though the writing leaves several of them with limited room to develop. The film is more effective when it observes its rural world than when it tries to manufacture tension. Once Maari goes missing, the search becomes the primary driving force of the second half. In theory, this should steadily raise the stakes, but the screenplay doesn’t introduce enough complications or emotional turns to make the journey particularly gripping. The search consequently begins to feel repetitive rather than increasingly urgent. This is where the film’s pacing becomes a problem. At 2 hours and 15 minutes, Maremma isn’t excessively long, but the narrative feels longer because several sequences don’t add enough to the central conflict. A tighter screenplay could have preserved the atmosphere while giving the story greater momentum. The music works well with the folk setting, adding to the film’s rural texture rather than taking it away from its grounded mood. The overall treatment also avoids making the village feel overly polished, which works in the film’s favour. The climax attempts to bring together the film’s ideas about faith, tradition and the value placed on Maari, but by this point the screenplay hasn’t built enough tension or emotional investment for the payoff to have the desired impact. What remains is an interesting premise that never quite develops into the compelling rural drama it could have been.-Sanjana Pulugurtha
Videos
03:05
03:05
Maaremma | Song – Maari
2 months ago01:30
Maremma – Official Teaser
7 months ago
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