Custody is a 2023 Indian political action thriller film written and directed by Venkat Prabhu in his Telugu directorial debut. The film stars Naga Chaitanya Akkineni, Krithi Shetty, Arvind Swamy, Priyamani, Premgi Amaren, and Vennela Kishore. The film follows a police officer who is assigned to escort a witness from police custody to the courtroom. However, he soon learns that the entire police department wants the witness dead.
The film was released theatrically on 12 May 2023 and received mixed reviews from critics. Sangeetha Devi Dundoo of The Hindu wrote “Custody is not without its pitfalls. It wobbles when it explores a cliched emotional backstory. The romance and some of the humour surrounding it could also have been written better. But the film has a lot going for it.” Haricharan Pudipeddi of Hindustan Times wrote “For a story that predominantly unfolds over a span of 48 hours and involves some solid chase sequences, the film wastes quite a lot of time initially in needless subplots. The film needed to be more relentless and crisper to have made the audience feel its intended impact.”
Despite the mixed reviews, Custody was a commercial success at the box office. The film grossed over ₹100 crore worldwide, making it one of the highest-grossing Telugu films of 2023.
Here are some of the things that I liked about the film:
- The action sequences were well-choreographed and exciting.
- The cinematography was top-notch.
- The performances by the cast were strong.
- The film had a strong emotional core.
Here are some of the things that I didn’t like about the film:
- The film was a bit too long.
- Some of the plot points were a bit predictable.
Overall, I thought Custody was a good film. It had some flaws, but it was also entertaining and well-made. I would recommend it to fans of action thrillers and Telugu cinema.
